Manifold

This is a short episode recorded at the end of a trip to Caltech (LA), Frankfurt, and Reykjavik.Black hole information and replica wormholes at Caltech (talk slides):https://stevehsu.substack.com/p/black-hole-information-and-replica00:00 Intro: summer in Iceland02:04 deCODE genetics 05:52 Chess: Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik11:56 Hyperscaling genAI23:11 Synthetic data and Hyperscaling24:26 Is the Transformer architecture enough for AGI?29:45 Quantum black holesMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley

Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He has worked in a variety of fields, including Physics, AI, Economics, and Futurism.Follow him at https://x.com/robinhanson"When the typical economist tells me about his latest research, my standard reaction is 'Eh, maybe.' Then I forget about it. When Robin Hanson tells me about his latest research, my standard reaction is 'No way! Impossible!' Then I think about it for years." -- Prof. Bryan Caplan, GMU0:00 Introduction00:34 Welcome and Manifest conference introduction03:12 Robin Hanson: Education and Early Influences08:38 Transition from Physics+AI to Social Science and Economics22:02 Prediction Markets: Potential and Challenges28:37 Cultural Drift and Challenges to Modern Society40:49 Fertility and Demography48:37 Life as a Polymath59:27 Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation Question01:09:29 Audience Q&AMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor

Steve discusses China myths and realities with Victor, a tech founder who ran a company in Beijing for 7 years. Among the topics covered: economic growth, real estate bubble, technology innovation, human capital, freedom of expression, Confucianism and Culture.00:00 Introduction02:02 Post-COVID economy and bursting of the real estate bubble08:25 Semiconductor Industry and US-China Tech War16:57 STEM Education and Workforce: China vs US20:36 Slides on PRC human capital deepening, STEM and total workforce39:58 Economic indicators and potential war economy41:03 Singapore as model for PRC development, leadership exchanges45:45 Travel plans, changes since pre-COVID era, YouTube travel content53:00 Freedom of expression1:02:20 Confucianism, leadership styles1:17:57 Backyard Addendum: Further thoughts, travel to ChinaMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at M

Earlier episode, Harvard Veritas:https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/harvard-veritas-interview-with-a-recent-graduate-anonymous-18Chapter markers:(00:00) - Introduction and Guest Welcome (02:12) - Campus Protests and Media Perception (06:29) - Student Political Views and Academic Freedom (21:44) - Intellectual History of Wokeism (35:46) - STEM vs. Humanities: A Cultural Divide (54:30) - Future of Academia and Closing Thoughts Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, an

Steve talks about AI in light of his recent travels to SF, Singapore, Manila, Berkeley, and Silicon Valley.Chapters:(00:00) - Overview: SF, Singapore, Manila, Berkeley (01:48) - The AI Bubble in Silicon Valley (04:00) - Scaling Laws and AGI (23:36) - Global AI: Singapore, Philippines, real Enterprise applications (34:59) - AGI: Manhattan Project? Manifest and P(doomers), Situational Awareness (51:00) - China LLMs, Huawei vs Nvidia GPUs, US vs China AI race Links:Scaling Laws for Neural Language Models: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2001.08361AI rollout in Philippines Call Centers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kps3M1wMHUMLLM rankings and Qwen2: https://huggingface.co/spaces/open-llm-leaderboard/blogThe Economist on China LLMs: https://archive.ph/nW7chSituational Awareness summary: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1803414701159714825Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and En

Philippe Lemoine is a PhD candidate at Cornell University in philosophy and a widely-read public intellectual. We discuss philosophy, the scientific research used to justify COVID lockdowns, and the Russia-Ukraine war.Philippe’s writing: philippelemoine.comPhilippe on X: https://twitter.com/phl43(00:00) - Introduction and Guest Background (00:54) - Philippe's Academic Journey (08:29) - Philosophical Insights and Career Shift: Public Intellectual (46:17) - Russian Energy and European Economy (48:27) - Covid Epidemic Modeling: Bad Science (56:22) - Critique of Scientific and Policy Incentives (01:31:54) - The Messy Reality of Ukraine Maidan Uprising (01:32:59) - Could Security Guarantees Have Prevented the Ukraine War? (02:07:21) - Ukraine War: Long-Term Predictions Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Se

Dr John Seo is co-founder and a managing director at Fermat Capital Management, LLC. He has over 30 years’ experience in fixed income bond and derivatives trading and has been active in the Insurance-Linked Securities (“ILS”) market for over 25 years. Prior to forming Fermat with his brother Nelson in 2001, Dr Seo was senior trader in the Insurance Products Group at Lehman Brothers, an officer of Lehman Re, and a state-appointed advisor to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Dr. Seo’s work in catastrophe funds was featured in a cover article for the New York Times Magazine (‘In Nature’s Casino’ by Michael Lewis, 26 August 2007), and he has also testified before US Congress as an expert on the catastrophe bond market (‘Hearings from the 110th Congress’, 6 September 2007). Dr Seo holds a PhD in Biophysics from Harvard University and a BS in Physics from MIT. He is based in Connecticut.Steve and John discuss:00:00 Introduction00:36 Early Career and Influences02:10 The Investor Choice Problem07:21 Academic Ba

Molson Hart is the CEO of Viahart, an educational toy company. He has deep experience selling products manufactured in China, using Amazon and other platforms. He produced a documentary about the challenges Amazon's market dominance creates for sellers and buyers worldwide. His recent video about a recent trip to visit factories in China went viral, generating millions of views on X.Molson Hart on X: https://x.com/Molson_HartAmazon Documentary: https://youtu.be/8L6MaNVNBuQ?si=YMRb4z5F12CoJJI3Steve and Molson discuss:1:22 Molson Hart's background, experience in China5:26 The IQ Question13:19 Entrepreneurship and China38:40 Selling on Amazon 48:32 Alternatives and Competitors to Amazon50:40 The Future of Amazon55:30 Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs57:27 Understanding China1:07:43 China's Rising Global Influence1:16:12 Personal and National Identities1:18:45 Demographics: China's FutureMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoreti

Jaan Tallinn is a billionaire computer programmer and investor. He was a co-founder of Skype, and has invested in companies like DeepMind and Anthropic.Tallinn is a leading figure in the field of existential risk, having co-founded both the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom and the Future of Life Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States.Steve and Jaan discuss:00:00 Introduction00:33 Jaan Tallinn: AI Investor02:03 Acceleration Toward AGI: Excitement and Anxiety04:29 AI Capabilities and Future Evolution05:53 AI Safety, Ethics, and the Call for a Moratorium07:12 Foundation models: Scaling, Synthetic Data, and Integration13:08 AI and Cybersecurity: Threats and Precautions26:52 Policy goals and desired outcomes36:27 Cultural narratives on AI and how they differ globally39:19 Closing Thoughts and Future DirectionsReferences:Jaan’s top priorities for reducing AI extinction risk: https://jaan.info/priorities/Music used with permiss

Glenn Luk has worked as an investment banker, private equity investor, and startup founder. He has closely analyzed aspects of the Chinese economy, including its GDP and high speed rail system.Steve and Glenn discuss:(00:00) - Introduction (01:21) - Glenn Luk's Background: HK, Taiwan, China (07:59) - Evolution of Chinese Companies and Economy (14:58) - From Banking to Private Equity and Venture Capital (23:08) - Founding a Healthcare Startup and Entrepreneurial Ventures (26:35) - China's Development and Economic Policies (41:17) - Comparing US and China's Economies and Cultures (47:12) - Demographics and Consumer Behavior in China (49:09) - China's Economy: Beyond GDP (56:34) - High Speed Rail: huge success, or white elephant? (01:17:26) - Future of China's Economy References:Glenn Luk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlennLukGlenn on High Speed Rail: https://www.readwriteinvest.com/p/is-high-speed-rail-in-china-a-grayMunger and Ricardo: https://infoproc.blogspot.com/2008/03/charlie-munger-ricardo-and-finance.

Casey Handmer (PhD, Caltech, general relativity) is the founder of Terraform Industries. He is one of the most capable and ambitious geo-engineers on planet Earth!Terraform Industries is scaling technology to produce cheap natural gas with sunlight and air. Using solar energy, they extract carbon from the air and synthesize natural gas, all at the same site.March 2024: "Terraform completes the end to end demo, successfully producing fossil carbon free pipeline grade natural gas from sunlight and air. We also achieved green hydrogen at <$2.50/kg-H2 and DAC CO2 at <$250/T-CO2, two incredible milestones."Links:Casey Handmer’s website: https://www.caseyhandmer.com/Terraform Industries: https://terraformindustries.com/Nerds on Patrol [Episode 3] - Terraform Industries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9k3dHFJPEUSteve and Casey discuss:0:00 Introduction00:31 Casey's early life and background, from Australia to Caltech07:55 The academic path and transition to tech entrepreneurship10:40 Terraform Industries15:2

Russell Clark is a hedge fund investor who has lived and worked in both Japan and China. He writes the widely followed Substack Capital Flows and Asset Markets: https://www.russell-clark.com/Steve and Russell discuss:0:00 Introduction0:52 Russell's background and experiences in Japan13:25 Hong Kong and finance31:53 China property bubble48:54 Dollar status as global reserve currency56:09 Japan and China economies from a long run perspective1:05:07 Inflation, US economy, and macro observationsMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He wa

Stephen Grugett is the co-founder of Manifold Markets, the world's largest prediction market platform where people bet on politics, tech, sports, and more. Steve and Stephen discuss:0:00 Introduction0:52 Stephen Grugett’s background5:20 The genesis and mission of Manifold Markets11:25 The play money advantage: Legalities and user engagement20:47 Manifold’s user base and the power of calibration23:35 Simplifying prediction markets for broader engagement27:31 Revenue streams and future business directions30:46 Legal challenges in prediction markets31:47 Dating markets32:53 The Art of PR38:32 Global reach and community engagement39:27 The future of Manifold Markets and user predictions43:38 Life in the Bay Area; Tech, culture, and crazy stuffManifold Markets: https://manifold.markets/Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Prev

Raymond McGovern is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analyst, serving from 1963 to 1990. His CIA career began under President John F. Kennedy and lasted through the presidency of George H. W. Bush. McGovern advised Henry Kissinger during the Richard Nixon administration, and during the Ronald Reagan administration he chaired National Intelligence Estimates and prepared the President's Daily Brief.He received the Intelligence Commendation Medal at his retirement but returned it in 2006 to protest the CIA's involvement in torture.Steve and Ray discuss:0:00 Introduction01:25 Ray McGovern's assessment of the JFK assassination26:10 Hunter Biden's laptop30:50 Ukraine and the U.S. intelligence services' role in the deep state55:20 Strategic implications of the Ukraine war for the U.S.01:03:38 Are things worse today, versus 1963?Books referenced in this episode:JFK and the Unspeakablehttps://www.amazon.com/JFK-Unspeakable-Why-Died-Matters/dp/1439193886Mary's Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kenn

Steve discusses DNA and the origin of life on Earth, the Fermi Paradox (is there alien life?), AI and its implications for the Simulation Question: could our universe be a simulation? Are we machines, but don't know it?Slides: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CrWLiKYhLbDLG8yTOBySrsKrzAUbV-FES1toeJL-UWE/edit?usp=sharingFurther discussion of the Simulation Question in light of AGI, and a refinement from quantum mechanics: The Quantum Simulation Question: https://infoproc.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-quantum-simulation-hypothesis-do-we.htmlCORRECTION: 31:25 The size of our galaxy is not 100 million light years. I should have said ~100 THOUSAND = 100k light years instead!!!Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretica

Sean Reyes is Utah’s Attorney General and a producer for the movie “Sound of Freedom.” Steve and Sean discuss his personal story, human trafficking, and the role of technology in law enforcement.More on Reyes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_ReyesNOTE: Reyes has announced that he will not seek re-election as Utah AG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEEj4UgjDL400:00 Sean Reyes’ early life and family history14:21 Sean's personal journey and career21:28 Political journey and decision to run for AG24:08 The movie Sound of Freedom28:45 The reality of human trafficking31:40 Technology and law enforcement44:00 The horror of human trafficking: victims, aftercare, and the media01:05:23 Future plans and aspirationsMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and

TP Huang returns for the third time to discuss the US-China strategic competition in terms of military technology.Previous episodes with TP include:China's EV Market Dominance and the Challenges Facing Tesla — #48: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/chinas-ev-market-dominance-and-the-challenges-facing-tesla-48Huawei and the US-China Chip War — #44: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/huawei-and-the-us-china-chip-war-44Steve and TP discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (02:23) - Hypersonic weapons and A2AD (08:15) - The evolution of China’s military technology (13:30) - Hypersonic missiles: targeting and interception (29:52) - Surprise attack on Hawaii or Seattle? (33:36) - Japan's role in a U.S.-China military conflict (36:15) - Chinese invasion of Taiwan (42:44) - Amphibious landing, boots on the ground (45:20) - Red lines and Taiwan independence (48:38) - PRC nuclear weapons buildup (51:17) - PRC-Russia alliance: natural resources, technology; Ukraine strategy disaster (59:37) - Future developments of military tec

Louis-Vincent Gave of Gavekal discusses China's economic growth, its focus on education, and the global implications of its economic and political policies.https://research.gavekal.com/Steve and Louis discuss:(00:00) - Early life - Gave as French infantry officer (14:42) - Founding Gavekal (23:50) - Understanding China economic growth (32:57) - China real estate market (42:48) - The impact of China’s economic growth (48:19) - Comparing the size of the Chinese and U.S. economies (01:07:09) - China’s trade surplus and U.S. debt (01:18:11) - Will there be a U.S. debt crisis? Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (Superfocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic P

Charles Miller is co-founder and CEO of Lynk. He is a serial space entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the space industry.Lynk - https://lynk.world/Steve and Charles discuss: 0:00 Introduction and guest background1:27 Miller's early passion for space3:54 Evolution of commercial space6:42 Impact of Elon Musk and SpaceX8:01 The challenges of early stage startups11:26 The birth of Lynk, its technical challenges, and breakthroughs33:11 Use cases for satellite connectivity35:20 The plan for Lynk satellites36:41 Competition with Starlink39:25 Investment opportunities in Lynk47:04 Satellite technology and global competition50:21 Impact of Huawei’s satellite phone features59:01 Advice for entrepreneursMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Direc

TP Huang is a computer scientist and analyst of global technology development. He posts often on X: https://twitter.com/tphuang.0:00 Introduction2:21 How TP Huang became interested in electric vehicles6:30 The perception and reality of Chinese products, future of Chinese auto market9:24 The impact of Tesla on the Chinese electric vehicle market14:41 Buying a car in China27:05 China dominates with electric vehicle batteries30:44 The challenges facing Tesla in China40:11 The evolution of smart cars, autonomous vehicles, and self driving50:48 LIDAR technology and autonomous driving59:08 BYD, China’s energy independence, and power grid1:14:04 The downstream impact of China leading in tech and electric vehiclesMusic used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.--Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and D