It’s been a minute since I shared a podcast. Primarily, it’s because I haven’t watched many lately. Kathy and I had what I dubbed our “Round, round, get around, we get around” Beach Boys summer. Summer 2026 was our first without a dog in twenty-four years. So, instead of diving into intellectual spaces, we decided to enjoy the summer like proper citizens of the Northeastern United States and dive into the waves at the Jersey Shore. But now it’s mid-October, a time when all good boys must shake off the attitude of a carefree summer.
I recently hunkered down with Steven Bartlett’s podcast. His guest was Eric Weinstein. Among an array of subjects they touched on were the geopolitical dangers of Artificial Intelligence. I’ve long believed that AI is the 21st-century iteration of the nuclear arms race. The race may not include thermonuclear consequences, but it does carry an ultimate irony: While Sam Altman and Dario Amodei believe victory is essential, given the other participants in the game, victory, irrespective of who claims it, will steer humanity over a cliff. I mean, who needs nuclear weapons when we can peacefully drive ourselves into extinction?
In one segment, Eric compares the human body to an automobile. A car has an exhaust system; it takes in fuel, uses what it needs, and eliminates the rest. It also has a regulated temperature, a skeleton, muscles, and a skin that comes in a variety of colors. The one thing it doesn’t have is what no other invention has: a reproductive system. But now we have AI, the only invention able to reproduce itself. Moreover, we’ve arrived at a seminal moment: We have about five more minutes until we’re no longer smarter than AI. The clock is running.
In another segment, Eric said something that gave me pause. Up until the 1970s, the dollar was backed by gold. Then America jumped the rails and decided that the dollar should stand squarely on the shoulders of the world’s lifeblood: Oil. With the dollar backed by oil, it is essentially supported by violence, or a nation’s propensity to use violence as a tool. How fitting for a species unable to shake its impulse to run with scissors.
The podcast link is below. Whether you’re an AI apostate or champion, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Leave a Reply