Stuart RussellEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

The existential alignment problem sits at the heart of the AI revolution — and the consequences of getting it wrong could be irreversible. What happens when superintelligent systems pursue fixed objectives that don’t fully capture human values? How do we govern machines that may soon outperform us across domains? And who decides what level of risk humanity should accept? The conversation spans AGI timelines, the concentration of economic and political power, democratic resilience, liability-based regulation, and whether governments can realistically regulate frontier AI amid an intensifying global race. From extinction-level risk estimates cited by AI CEOs to experimental evidence of systems resisting shutdown, this is no longer speculative science fiction — it is a live governance crisis unfolding in real time. On this episode of The Morning Brief, ET’s Swathi Moorthy sits down with AI scientists and pioneers Stuart Russell and Yoshua Bengio for a candid, high-stakes discussion on the trajectory of artificial intelligence and the choices that will shape humanity’s future. As capabilities surge and geopolitical rivalry sharpens, one defining question remains: are we building tools to serve humanity — or systems that could ultimately outmaneuver it? You can follow Swathi Moorthy on her social media: X and Linkedin Check out other interesting episodes like: AI Impact Summit: Amazon's Bet on India's AI Future , Anthropic’s India Play , India AI Impact Summit: Microsoft’s Brad Smith on Sovereignty, Scale and Skills , and much more . Catch the latest episode of ‘The Morning Brief’ on The Economic Times Online , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , JioSaavn , Amazon Music and Youtube . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of the *AI Futures* podcast, we speak with Professor Stuart Russell, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence, and the author of the field’s standard textbook, _AI: A Modern Approach_ .The *AI Futures* podcast series is hosted by Anirudh Suri, in collaboration with the *Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India* This podcast serves as the intellectual prelude to the *India AI Impact Summit 2026* , which is taking place from February 16–20, 2026, in New Delhi, India.In this conversation, Professor Russell and Anirudh discuss how fast AI is changing, the limits of today’s dominant ways of building AI systems, and why there is a growing need for global rules to keep AI safe. They explore key questions such as:- How close are we really to Artificial General Intelligence?- Does today’s 'brute force' approach of using more data and computing power risk creating an economic bubble?- Where is AI making the biggest real-world impact right now, in areas like healthcare, education, or science?- Which countries have the strongest AI strategies, and why is the U.S. approach of resisting regulation surprising?- Could the “Age of AI” weaken our mental skills, much like the Industrial Revolution reduced the need for physical labor?This conversation looks at what it will take to move AI debates beyond theory and into real-world outcomes, especially for the Global South.🔔 Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.-----Follow the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About Prof. Stuart Russell*Stuart J. Russell is professor (and formerly chair) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley. He is holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering and director of the Centre for Human-Compatible AI. His book *Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach* is the standard text in AI; it has been translated into 14 languages and is used in over 1,400 universities in 128 countries.*About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association. He tweets @AnirudhSuri.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#AIFuturesPodcast #IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AISummit #AIFutures #ArtificialIntelligence #AGI #Computing #GlobalSouth #DataCenters #AIInfrastructure #AnirudhSuri #StuartRussell #UCBerkeley #AIEthics #TheGreatTechGame #TGTGpodcast #podcast #IndiaAIMission

In this episode of the *AI Futures* podcast, we speak with Professor Stuart Russell, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, one of the world’s leading experts on artificial intelligence, and the author of the field’s standard textbook, _AI: A Modern Approach_ .The *AI Futures* podcast series is hosted by Anirudh Suri, in collaboration with the *Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India* This podcast serves as the intellectual prelude to the *India AI Impact Summit 2026* , which is taking place from February 16–20, 2026, in New Delhi, India.In this conversation, Professor Russell and Anirudh discuss how fast AI is changing, the limits of today’s dominant ways of building AI systems, and why there is a growing need for global rules to keep AI safe. They explore key questions such as:- How close are we really to Artificial General Intelligence?- Does today’s 'brute force' approach of using more data and computing power risk creating an economic bubble?- Where is AI making the biggest real-world impact right now, in areas like healthcare, education, or science?- Which countries have the strongest AI strategies, and why is the U.S. approach of resisting regulation surprising?- Could the “Age of AI” weaken our mental skills, much like the Industrial Revolution reduced the need for physical labor?This conversation looks at what it will take to move AI debates beyond theory and into real-world outcomes, especially for the Global South.🔔 Subscribe and listen to the full conversation now.-----Follow the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026: https://impact.indiaai.gov.in/*About Prof. Stuart Russell*Stuart J. Russell is professor (and formerly chair) of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley. He is holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering and director of the Centre for Human-Compatible AI. His book *Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach* is the standard text in AI; it has been translated into 14 languages and is used in over 1,400 universities in 128 countries.*About Anirudh Suri, Host of the Podcast*Anirudh Suri is a non-resident scholar with Carnegie India, where his research and writing focus on technology, artificial intelligence and geopolitics. He is the author of The Great Tech Game: Shaping Geopolitics and the Destinies of Nations, and host of The Great Tech Game Podcast. He is also the Managing Partner at India Internet Fund, a US and India based technology-focused venture capital fund. Previously, Anirudh has worked with the Government of India in New Delhi, McKinsey and Co in New York, Goldman Sachs in London, the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC, and China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. He completed his MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School. Named a Goldman Sachs Global Leader, Anirudh has also served on the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association. He tweets @AnirudhSuri.The Great Tech Game by Anirudh Suri - https://amzn.eu/d/1Su38My Follow Anirudh here:X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/anirudhsuriLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anirudhsuri/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anirudh_suriFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnirudhSuri.inWebsite: (http://www.anirudhsuri.com/) Book and Podcast: (http://www.greattechgame.com/)#AIFuturesPodcast #IndiaAI #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026 #AISummit #AIFutures #ArtificialIntelligence #AGI #Computing #GlobalSouth #DataCenters #AIInfrastructure #AnirudhSuri #StuartRussell #UCBerkeley #AIEthics #TheGreatTechGame #TGTGpodcast #podcast #IndiaAIMission

Let’s face it: in the long run, there’s either going to be safe AI or no AI. There is no future with powerful unsafe AI and human beings. In this episode of For Humanity, John Sherman speaks with Professor Stuart Russell — one of the world’s foremost AI pioneers and co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach — about the terrifying honesty of today’s AI leaders. Russell reveals that the CEO of a major AI company told him his best hope for a good future is a “Chernobyl-scale AI disaster.” Yes — one of the people building advanced AI believes only a catastrophic warning shot could wake up the world in time. John and Stuart dive deep into the psychology, politics, and incentives driving this suicidal race toward AGI. They discuss: * Why even AI insiders are losing faith in control * What a “Chernobyl moment” could actually look like * Why regulation isn’t anti-innovation — it’s survival * The myth that America is “allergic” to AI rules * How liability, accountability, and provable safety could still save us * Whether we can ever truly coexist with a superintelligence This is one of the most urgent conversations ever hosted on For Humanity. If you care about your kids’ future — or humanity’s — don’t miss this one. 🎙️ About For Humanity A podcast from the AI Risk Network, hosted by John Sherman, making AI extinction risk kitchen-table conversation on every street. 📺 Subscribe for weekly conversations with leading scientists, policymakers, and ethicists confronting the AI extinction threat. #AIRisk #ForHumanity #StuartRussell #AIEthics #AIExtinction #AIGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #AIDisaster #GuardRailNow This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theairisknetwork.substack.com/subscribe

Joining us in our ninth episode of our AGI Governance series on The Trajectory is Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley and author of Human Compatible . In this episode, Stuart explores why current AI race dynamics resemble a prisoner’s dilemma, why governments must establish enforceable red lines, and how international coordination might begin with consensus principles before tackling more difficult challenges. This episode referred to the following other resources: -- IDAIS, co-convened by Stuart: https://idais.ai/ Listen to this episode on The Trajectory Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-trajectory/id1739255954 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/w0U5V86TMjo See the full article from this episode: https://danfaggella.com/russell1 ... About The Trajectory: AGI and man-machine merger are going to radically expand the process of life beyond humanity -- so how can we ensure a good trajectory for future life? From Yoshua Bengio to Nick Bostrom, from Michael Levin to Peter Singer, we discuss how to positively influence the trajectory of posthuman life with the greatest minds in AI, biology, philosophy, and policy. Ask questions of our speakers in our live Philosophy Circle calls: https://bit.ly/PhilosophyCircle Stay in touch: -- Newsletter: bit.ly/TrajectoryTw -- X: x.com/danfaggella -- Blog: danfaggella.com/trajectory -- YouTube: youtube.com/@trajectoryai

Just over a decade ago, Berkeley computer science professor Stuart Russell, recently named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, warned a lecture audience that achieving artificial general intelligence “would be the biggest event in human history . . . and perhaps the last event in human history.” Since then, the development of superintelligent AI has only accelerated—infiltrating nearly every part of society. So, what does the future hold? Stuart joins Editor-in-Chief Pat Joseph live onstage to discuss the perils and promise of the AI revolution. Further reading: Watch the full live conversation with Stuart Russell on YouTube This episode was produced by Coby McDonald. Special thanks to Stuart Russell, Pat Joseph, and Nat Alcantara. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions. Support the show

On this episode, I'm delighted to be joined by a leading mind in AI, Stuart Russell , Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley; Former Chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Program at UC Berkeley; Holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering; Director of the Center for Human-Compatible AI; Author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, which is currently part of the curriculum in 1,500 universities in 135 countries and translated into 20 languages. Our conversation ventures into the depths of AI's potential, its impact on society and the critical role of legislation in shaping a safe and prosperous AI-powered future. Key Takeaways: (00:56) Introduction of Professor Stuart Russell and his significant contributions to AI. (02:22) Analysis of the Biden Executive Order on AI and its limitations. (03:49) Evolution and current status of the EU AI Act. (07:31) The paradox of open-source AI in regulatory contexts. (08:31) The challenge of controlling AI systems that are more powerful than humans. (13:08) The necessity of proactive safety measures in AI development. (15:12) The potential risks and concerns around AI agents. (17:02) Balancing innovation and regulation in AI. (19:20) Adapting AI legislation to technological advancements. (21:49) The need for a dedicated regulatory agency for AI. (26:08) Global collaboration on AI safety and national security. (30:33) Public perception and education on AI safety. (34:23) The role of AI in national security and ethical concerns. (37:04) The impact of AI and deepfakes on the 2024 elections. Resources Mentioned: Stuart Russell - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartjonathanrussell/ President Biden’s Executive Order on AI - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/ EU AI Act - https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0206 Thanks for listening to the Re

We are honoured to have as our guest in this episode Professor Stuart Russell. Stuart is professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, and the traditional way to introduce him is to say that he literally wrote the book on AI. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach , which he co-wrote with Peter Norvig, was first published in 1995, and the fourth edition came out in 2020. Stuart has been urging us all to take seriously the dramatic implications of advanced AI for longer than perhaps any other prominent AI researcher. He also proposes practical solutions, as in his 2019 book Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control . In 2021 Stuart gave the Reith Lectures, and was awarded an OBE. But the greatest of his many accolades was surely in 2014 when a character with a background remarkably like his was played in the movie Transcendence by Johnny Depp. The conversation covers a wide range of questions about future scenarios involving AI, and reflects on changes in the public conversation following the FLI's letter calling for a moratorium on more powerful AI systems, and following the global AI Safety Summit held at Bletchley Park in the UK at the beginning of November. Selected follow-ups: Stuart Russell's page at Berkeley Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence (CHAI) The 2021 Reith Lectures: Living With Artificial Intelligence The book Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control Music: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration C-Suite Perspectives Elevate how you lead with insight from today’s most influential executives. Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Professor Stuart Russell shares his concerns about the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence. Listen back to our 5-part series on generative AI: Episode 1: AI: Why everyone's talking about the promise and risks of this 'powerful wild beast' Episode 2: A common good? The companies making the AI products we'll soon all be using Episode 3: Responsible AI: how can philosophy help us make better tech? Episode 4: 'AI will either compete with us or augment us' - so how do we pick the right path? Episode 5: AI: Bringing stakeholders together to make AI work for us all Related episodes: Davos 2023: A conversation with Satya Nadella The rise of AI and the green transition will transform the way we work: Future of Jobs Report 2023 COVID transformed the world of work, but AI's impact will be much bigger The golden age of AI: why ChatGPT is just the start The promises and perils of AI - Stuart Russell on Radio Davos Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts : Radio Davos - subscribe Meet the Leader - subscribe World Economic Forum Book Club Podcast - subscribe Agenda Dialogues - subscribe Join the World Economic Forum Podcast Club

As with any form of technology, artificial intelligence has the potential to greatly benefit humankind, along with the potential to do real harm. Decisions we make today regarding how we implement AI in various aspects of our lives will have consequences far into the noosphere’s future. In this conversation, David Sloan Wilson explores those potential consequences with Stuart Russell and Terrence Deacon, both of whom are professors at Berkeley. Stuart is author of Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control. Terry has written two books that explore some of the underlying ideas, The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain, and Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter. Learn more: https://humanenergy.io/stuart-russell-and-terrence-deacon/

The AI Asia Pacific Institute (AIAPI) has hosted a series of conversations with leading artificial intelligence (AI) experts to study ChatGPT and its risks, looking to arrive at tangible recommendations for regulators and policymakers. These experts include Dr. Toby Walsh, Dr. Stuart Russell, Dr. Pedro Domingos, and Dr. Luciano Floridi, as well as our internal advisory board and research affiliates. The following is a conversation with Dr. Toby Walsh and Dr. Stuart Russell. Dr. Toby Walsh is Chief Scientist at UNSW.ai, UNSW's new AI Institute. He is a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at UNSW Sydney, and he is also an adjunct fellow at CSIRO Data61. He was named by the Australian newspaper as a "rock star" of Australia's digital revolution. He has been elected a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, a fellow of the ACM, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and of the European Association for Artificial Intelligence. He has won the prestigious Humboldt Prize as well as the NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Engineering and ICT, and the ACP Research Excellence award. He has previously held research positions in England, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and Sweden. He has played a leading role at the UN and elsewhere on the campaign to ban lethal autonomous weapons (aka "killer robots"). His advocacy in this area has led to him being "banned indefinitely" from Russia. Dr. Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California at Berkeley, holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering, and Director of the Center for Human-Compatible AI and the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public. He is a recipient of the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award and Research Excellence Award and held the Chaire Blaise Pascal in Paris. In 2021 he received the OBE from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and gave the Reith Lectures. He is an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, an Andrew Carnegie Fellow, and a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His book "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" (with Peter Norvig) is the standard text in AI, used in 1500 universities in 135 countries. His research covers a wide range of topics in artificial intelligence, with a current emphasis on the long-term future of artificial intelligence and its relation to humanity. He has developed a new global seismic monitoring system for the nuclear-test-ban treaty and is currently working to ban lethal autonomous weapons. *** For show notes and past guests, please visit https://aiasiapacific.org/podcast/ For questions, please contact us at contact@aiasiapacific.org or follow us on Twitter or Instagram to stay in touch.

OpenAI’s question-and-answer chatbot ChatGPT has shaken up Silicon Valley and is already disrupting a wide range of fields and industries, including education. But the potential risks of this new era of artificial intelligence go far beyond students cheating on their term papers. Even OpenAI’s founder warns that “the question of whose values we align these systems to will be one of the most important debates society ever has." How will artificial intelligence impact your job and life? And is society ready? We talk with UC Berkeley computer science professor and A.I. expert Stuart Russell about those questions and more. SPEAKERS Stuart Russell Professor of Computer Science, Director of the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public, and Director of the Center for Human-Compatible AI, University of California, Berkeley; Author, Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control Jerry Kaplan Adjunct Lecturer in Computer Science, Stanford University—Moderator In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on April 3rd 2023 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have suggestions for future podcast guests (or other feedback)? Let us know here ! In episode 44 of The Gradient Podcast, Daniel Bashir speaks to Professor Stuart Russell. Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science and the Smith-Zadeh Professor in Engineering at UC Berkeley , as well as an Honorary Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford . Professor Russell is the co-author with Peter Norvig of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach , probably the most popular AI textbook in history. He is the founder and head of Berkeley’s Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence and recently authored the book Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control . He has also served as co-chair on the World Economic Forum ’s Council on AI and Robotics. Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSS Follow The Gradient on Twitter Outline : * (00:00) Intro * (02:45) Stuart’s introduction to AI * (05:50) The two most important questions * (07:25) Historical perspectives during Stuart’s PhD, agents and learning * (14:30) Rationality and Intelligence, Bounded Optimality * (20:30) Stuart’s work on Metareasoning * (29:45) How does Metareasoning fit with Bounded Optimality? * (37:39) “Civilization advances by reducing complex operations to be trivial” * (39:20) Reactions to the rise of Deep Learning, connectionist/symbolic debates, probabilistic modeling * (51:00) The Deep Learning and traditional AI communities will adopt each other’s ideas * (51:55) Why Stuart finds the self-driving car arena interesting, Waymo’s old-fashioned AI approach * (57:30) Effective generalization without the full expressive power of first-order logic—deep learning is a “weird way to go about it” * (1:03:00) A very short shrift of Human Compatible and its ideas * (1:10:42) Outro Links : * Stuart’s webpage * Human Compatible page with reviews and interviews * Papers mentioned * Rationality and Intelligence * Principles of Metareasoning Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Part 2 of our interview with Stuart Russell, OBE, professor of AI at UC Berkeley, author of both the standard textbook on AI and the 2019 book Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control . You may know him as the BBC's 2021 Reith Lecturer on artificial intelligence. Stuart is a prominent voice in the public debate about AI risk and the spokesperson for the viral video Slaughterbots commentary on lethal autonomous weapons. This week we talk about what it means for an AI to understand something – or not; reasoning chains; and exciting new research into artificial general intelligence. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog .

This and all episodes at: https://aiandyou.net/ . Stuart Russell, professor of AI at UC Berkeley, author of both the standard textbook on AI and the 2019 book Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control is my guest this week. You may know him as the BBC's 2021 Reith Lecturer on artificial intelligence. Queen Elizabeth knows him as a 2021 recipient of the Order of the British Empire. Stuart is a prominent voice in the public side of the AI risk conversation. So much to talk about! In part 1 we get into the autonomous lethal weapon debate; you may have seen Stuart in his role as activist and spokesperson for the viral video Slaughterbots . We also talk about the public narrative on AI risk and help you make sense of the apparently contradictory positions there. All this plus our usual look at today's AI headlines. Transcript and URLs referenced at HumanCusp Blog .

It is a matter of time before machines outstrip humans in most capabilities. How can we possibly stop a more intelligent entity from taking control? Stuart Russell joins Vasant Dhar in episode 20 of Brave New World to explain why, despite the dangers, he remains optimistic about artificial intelligence and how to control it. Useful resources : 1. Human Compatible -- Stuart Russell. 2. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach -- Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig. 3. Erewhon, or Over The Range -- Samuel Butler. 4. The Theory of Political Economy -- W Stanley Jevons. 5. Decision and Organization -- Edited by CB McGuire and Roy Radner, with a contribution from Kenneth Arrow. 6. Welfare Economics of Variable Tastes -- John C Harsanyi. 7. Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren -- John Maynard Keynes.

Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California and an author. Programming machines to do what we want them to is a challenge. The consequences of getting this wrong become very grave if that machine is superintelligent with essentially limitless resources and no regard for humanity's wellbeing. Stuart literally wrote the textbook on Artificial Intelligence which is now used in hundreds of countries, so hopefully he's got an answer to perhaps the most important question of this century. Expect to learn how AI systems have already manipulated your preferences to make you more predictable, why social media companies genuinely don't know what their own algorithms are doing, why our reliance on machines can be a weakness, Stuart's better solution for giving machines goals and much more... Sponsors: Get 20% discount on the highest quality CBD Products from Pure Sport at https://puresportcbd.com/modernwisdom (use code: MW20) Get perfect teeth 70% cheaper than other invisible aligners from DW Aligners at http://dwaligners.co.uk/modernwisdom Extra Stuff: Buy Human Compatible - https://amzn.to/3jh2lX5 Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch. Join the discussion with me and other like minded listeners in the episode comments on the MW YouTube Channel or message me... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ModernWisdomPodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Popular culture often portrays artificial intelligence (AI) as a super-powerful, ominous threat to jobs, lives, and ultimately humanity. As AI is moving out of the lab into the real world, how can we harness its potential for good? In this episode, Stuart Russell talks about how to avoid this impending problem, a topic he covers in his book Human Compatible. Listen as he takes us on a deep dive into the history of AI and how a new foundation can be used to develop machines that are sensitive to human preferences. Episode Quotes: Should computer science students be seriously concerned about ethics? Computer science students do need to understand more than their technical discipline. And that's what one would expect for a discipline that starts to impact the real world. I think there's more to it. Because you know, the products of civil engineering, for example, the bridges, don't think and participate and act in our democracy the way some AI systems may be starting to do. So, in the long run, if we are making things that function as if they were minds — I'm not going to say that they are minds, but functioning as if they were minds — then you're going to bring in all the considerations. How long ago was it that experts began seriously thinking about AI's practical applications, from the time the first computer was invented by Charles Babbage? So, the real impetus for AI was the development of the computer in the second world war, which arose from Turing's mathematical work in his 1936 paper. And Turing himself, as soon as he figured out that you could actually start computing, and he understood this idea of universal computation, he wanted to build intelligent machines. Misconceptions about A.I. as a practice AI is a problem, not a technology. So, it can't fail. Right? It can just take longer to solve, you know? And you wouldn't say physics failed because of confusion. So people have always had this strange idea, in the outside world and the media, that AI is a technology. So, nowadays, people often confuse deep learning and AI. What happens every time there’s a new discovery in A.I.? Every time there's a small gain in function in one branch of AI, because of the generality of these techniques, there's a big explosion in economic interest. As long as people see all kinds of things in the real world that they can apply them to, that will continue to happen. Deep learning is just one step. There'll be another half dozen such steps. And each of those will probably increase the scope of applications by a factor of 10. Show Links Guest Profile Bio at University of California Berkeley Profile at International Telecommunication Union Stuart Russell on LinkedIn His Work Stuart Russell on TED Stuart Russell on Google Scholar Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (4th Edition) Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control Do the Right Thing: Studies in Limited Rationality (Artificial Intelligence Series) The use of knowledge in analogy and induction (Research notes in artificial intelligence) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.c

Today’s guest is Stuart Russell , and when it comes to AI you might just say, “he wrote the book.” In fact, Stuart is a co-author of the standard textbook that is used to teach AI at universities across the world. He has also written multiple books for general audiences, testifying to both his range and prolific body of work. Stuart is currently a Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley (where he is also Director of the Center for Human Compatible AI) and has been a renowned voice in the AI field for years. In his latest book — “ Human Compatible: AI and the Problem of Control ,” Stuart asserts that if we continue to design AI based on optimizing for fixed objectives (the standard approach), it will evolve in the context of superhuman AI to create disastrous consequences that unfold outside of our control. Stuart also explains this as "the King Midas Problem” of AI. Thankfully, he proposes a new approach — derived from inverse reinforcement learning and designated “provably beneficial AI”— that just might save us from this fate. In this model, AI is designed to 1) optimize for human preferences yet 2) is inherently uncertain about those preferences and 3) deferential to human behavior in figuring those out over time. So how do we get to a place where this model becomes the industry standard? Stuart walks us through the practical mechanics of standing this up. We’ll discuss the behavioral and collective challenge of identifying human preferences and steps that must first happen through research to change the industry’s foundation for building AI. We also couldn’t end the conversation without briefly touching on the opportunity to promote human thriving in a new paradigm for the future of work. Whether you’re a casual observer or have been working in the field for years, my guess is you will come away from this conversation with a better understanding of how we should — how we must — think about controlling systems with capabilities that exceed our own. Show Notes : 3:15 - the economic potential of general purpose AI 7:50 - explanation of the standard AI model 12:40 - fixed objective failure in social media context 16:45 - introduction to provably beneficial AI 25:10 - understanding human preferences through behavior 37:15 - considering a normative framework for negotiating shared preferences 42:00 - standing up beneficial AI in practice 51:15 - mistakes made by regulators 53:25 - how to consider an “off switch” in the context of integrated systems 56:10 - maximizing human potential in future of work

Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley, and Zachary Kallenborn, WMD and drone swarms expert, join us to discuss the highest risk and most destabilizing aspects of lethal autonomous weapons. Topics discussed in this episode include: -The current state of the deployment and development of lethal autonomous weapons and swarm technologies -Drone swarms as a potential weapon of mass destruction -The risks of escalation, unpredictability, and proliferation with regards to autonomous weapons -The difficulty of attribution, verification, and accountability with autonomous weapons -Autonomous weapons governance as norm setting for global AI issues You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/02/25/stuart-russell-and-zachary-kallenborn-on-drone-swarms-and-the-riskiest-aspects-of-lethal-autonomous-weapons/ You can check out the new lethal autonomous weapons website here: https://autonomousweapons.org/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:23 Emilia Javorsky on lethal autonomous weapons 7:27 What is a lethal autonomous weapon? 11:33 Autonomous weapons that exist today 16:57 The concerns of collateral damage, accidental escalation, scalability, control, and error risk 26:57 The proliferation risk of autonomous weapons 32:30 To what extent are global superpowers pursuing these weapons? What is the state of industry's pursuit of the research and manufacturing of this technology 42:13 A possible proposal for a selective ban on small anti-personnel autonomous weapons 47:20 Lethal autonomous weapons as a potential weapon of mass destruction 53:49 The unpredictability of autonomous weapons, especially when swarms are interacting with other swarms 58:09 The risk of autonomous weapons escalating conflicts 01:10:50 The risk of drone swarms proliferating 01:20:16 The risk of assassination 01:23:25 The difficulty of attribution and accountability 01:26:05 The governance of autonomous weapons being relevant to the global governance of AI 01:30:11 The importance of verification for responsibility, accountability, and regulation 01:35:50 Concerns about the beginning of an arms race and the need for regulation 01:38:46 Wrapping up 01:39:23 Outro This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at UC Berkeley, and Zachary Kallenborn, WMD and drone swarms expert, join us to discuss the highest risk and most destabilizing aspects of lethal autonomous weapons. Topics discussed in this episode include: -The current state of the deployment and development of lethal autonomous weapons and swarm technologies -Drone swarms as a potential weapon of mass destruction -The risks of escalation, unpredictability, and proliferation with regards to autonomous weapons -The difficulty of attribution, verification, and accountability with autonomous weapons -Autonomous weapons governance as norm setting for global AI issues You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/02/25/stuart-russell-and-zachary-kallenborn-on-drone-swarms-and-the-riskiest-aspects-of-lethal-autonomous-weapons/ You can check out the new lethal autonomous weapons website here: https://autonomousweapons.org/ Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:23 Emilia Javorsky on lethal autonomous weapons 7:27 What is a lethal autonomous weapon? 11:33 Autonomous weapons that exist today 16:57 The concerns of collateral damage, accidental escalation, scalability, control, and error risk 26:57 The proliferation risk of autonomous weapons 32:30 To what extent are global superpowers pursuing these weapons? What is the state of industry's pursuit of the research and manufacturing of this technology 42:13 A possible proposal for a selective ban on small anti-personnel autonomous weapons 47:20 Lethal autonomous weapons as a potential weapon of mass destruction 53:49 The unpredictability of autonomous weapons, especially when swarms are interacting with other swarms 58:09 The risk of autonomous weapons escalating conflicts 01:10:50 The risk of drone swarms proliferating 01:20:16 The risk of assassination 01:23:25 The difficulty of attribution and accountability 01:26:05 The governance of autonomous weapons being relevant to the global governance of AI 01:30:11 The importance of verification for responsibility, accountability, and regulation 01:35:50 Concerns about the beginning of an arms race and the need for regulation 01:38:46 Wrapping up 01:39:23 Outro This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Stuart Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of California at Berkeley, holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering, and Director of the Center for Human-Compatible AI. His book "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" (with Peter Norvig) is the standard text in AI, used in 1500 universities in 135 countries. His research covers a wide range of topics in artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on the long-term future of artificial intelligence and its relation to humanity. Professor Stuart Russell speaks briefly on his book "Human Compatible", and then takes questions.

In this first episode in our 12-part Saturday "AI Futures" series, UC Berkeley Professor and renown AI expert Stuart Russell shares his perspectives on the near and long-term considerations of AI governance. https://emerj.com/ai-podcast-interviews/stuart-russell-ai-governance/ Visit the blog post for this article, and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. From June 27th to September 12th, we'll be covering a new "AI Futures" episode about AI governance every Saturday. This is an experimental series designed to extend current AI trends to long-term AI consequences. We hope you'll enjoy.

Stuart Russell, Professor at UC Berkeley and co-author of the most popular AI textbook , thinks the way we approach machine learning today is fundamentally flawed. In his new book, Human Compatible , he outlines the 'standard model' of AI development, in which intelligence is measured as the ability to achieve some definite, completely-known objective that we've stated explicitly. This is so obvious it almost doesn't even seem like a design choice, but it is. Unfortunately there's a big problem with this approach: it's incredibly hard to say exactly what you want. AI today lacks common sense, and simply does whatever we've asked it to. That's true even if the goal isn't what we really want, or the methods it's choosing are ones we would never accept. We already see AIs misbehaving for this reason. Stuart points to the example of YouTube's recommender algorithm, which reportedly nudged users towards extreme political views because that made it easier to keep them on the site. This isn't something we wanted, but it helped achieve the algorithm's objective: maximise viewing time. Like King Midas, who asked to be able to turn everything into gold but ended up unable to eat, we get too much of what we've asked for. Links to learn more, summary and full transcript. This 'alignment' problem will get more and more severe as machine learning is embedded in more and more places: recommending us news, operating power grids, deciding prison sentences, doing surgery, and fighting wars. If we're ever to hand over much of the economy to thinking machines, we can't count on ourselves correctly saying exactly what we want the AI to do every time. Stuart isn't just dissatisfied with the current model though, he has a specific solution. According to him we need to redesign AI around 3 principles: 1. The AI system's objective is to achieve what humans want. 2. But the system isn't sure what we want. 3. And it figures out what we want by observing our behaviour. Stuart thinks this design architecture, if implemented, would be a big step forward towards reliably beneficial AI. For instance, a machine built on these principles would be happy to be turned off if that's what its owner thought was best, while one built on the standard model should resist being turned off because being deactivated prevents it from achieving its goal. As Stuart says, "you can't fetch the coffee if you're dead." These principles lend themselves towards machines that are modest and cautious, and check in when they aren't confident they're truly achieving what we want. We've made progress toward putting these principles into practice, but the remaining engineering problems are substantial. Among other things, the resulting AIs need to be able to interpret what people really mean to say based on the context of a situation. And they need to guess when we've rejected an option because we've considered it and decided it's a bad idea, and when we simply haven't thought about it at all. Stuart thinks all of these problems are surmountable, if we put in the work. The harder problems may end up being social and political. When each of us can have an AI of our own — one smarter than any person — how do we resolve conflicts between people and their AI agents? And if AIs end up doing most work that people do today, how can humans avoid becoming enfeebled, like lazy children tended to by machines, but not intellectually developed enough to know what they really want? Chapters: Rob’s intro (00:00:00) The interview begins (00:19:06) Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control (00:21:27) Principles for Benefici

Over the past several centuries, the human condition has been profoundly changed by the agricultural and industrial revolutions. With the creation and continued development of AI, we stand in the midst of an ongoing intelligence revolution that may prove far more transformative than the previous two. How did we get here, and what were the intellectual foundations necessary for the creation of AI? What benefits might we realize from aligned AI systems, and what are the risks and potential pitfalls along the way? In the longer term, will superintelligent AI systems pose an existential risk to humanity? Steven Pinker, best selling author and Professor of Psychology at Harvard, and Stuart Russell, UC Berkeley Professor of Computer Science, join us on this episode of the AI Alignment Podcast to discuss these questions and more. Topics discussed in this episode include: -The historical and intellectual foundations of AI -How AI systems achieve or do not achieve intelligence in the same way as the human mind -The rise of AI and what it signifies -The benefits and risks of AI in both the short and long term -Whether superintelligent AI will pose an existential risk to humanity You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/06/15/steven-pinker-and-stuart-russell-on-the-foundations-benefits-and-possible-existential-risk-of-ai/ You can take a survey about the podcast here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W8YLYD3 You can submit a nominee for the Future of Life Award here: https://futureoflife.org/future-of-life-award-unsung-hero-search/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:30 The historical and intellectual foundations of AI 11:11 Moving beyond dualism 13:16 Regarding the objectives of an agent as fixed 17:20 The distinction between artificial intelligence and deep learning 22:00 How AI systems achieve or do not achieve intelligence in the same way as the human mind 49:46 What changes to human society does the rise of AI signal? 54:57 What are the benefits and risks of AI? 01:09:38 Do superintelligent AI systems pose an existential threat to humanity? 01:51:30 Where to find and follow Steve and Stuart This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

Over the past several centuries, the human condition has been profoundly changed by the agricultural and industrial revolutions. With the creation and continued development of AI, we stand in the midst of an ongoing intelligence revolution that may prove far more transformative than the previous two. How did we get here, and what were the intellectual foundations necessary for the creation of AI? What benefits might we realize from aligned AI systems, and what are the risks and potential pitfalls along the way? In the longer term, will superintelligent AI systems pose an existential risk to humanity? Steven Pinker, best selling author and Professor of Psychology at Harvard, and Stuart Russell, UC Berkeley Professor of Computer Science, join us on this episode of the AI Alignment Podcast to discuss these questions and more. Topics discussed in this episode include: -The historical and intellectual foundations of AI -How AI systems achieve or do not achieve intelligence in the same way as the human mind -The rise of AI and what it signifies -The benefits and risks of AI in both the short and long term -Whether superintelligent AI will pose an existential risk to humanity You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2020/06/15/steven-pinker-and-stuart-russell-on-the-foundations-benefits-and-possible-existential-risk-of-ai/ You can take a survey about the podcast here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W8YLYD3 You can submit a nominee for the Future of Life Award here: https://futureoflife.org/future-of-life-award-unsung-hero-search/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 4:30 The historical and intellectual foundations of AI 11:11 Moving beyond dualism 13:16 Regarding the objectives of an agent as fixed 17:20 The distinction between artificial intelligence and deep learning 22:00 How AI systems achieve or do not achieve intelligence in the same way as the human mind 49:46 What changes to human society does the rise of AI signal? 54:57 What are the benefits and risks of AI? 01:09:38 Do superintelligent AI systems pose an existential threat to humanity? 01:51:30 Where to find and follow Steve and Stuart This podcast is possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you found this conversation to be meaningful or valuable, consider supporting it directly by donating at futureoflife.org/donate. Contributions like yours make these conversations possible.

In the popular imagination, superhuman artificial intelligence is an approaching tidal wave that threatens not just jobs and human relationships, but civilization itself. Conflict between humans and machines is seen as inevitable and its outcome all too predictable. In this groundbreaking book, distinguished AI researcher Stuart Russell argues that this scenario can be avoided, but only if we rethink AI from the ground up. Russell begins by exploring the idea of intelligence in humans and in machines. He describes the near-term benefits we can expect, from intelligent personal assistants to vastly accelerated scientific research, and outlines the AI breakthroughs that still have to happen before we reach superhuman AI. He also spells out the ways humans are already finding to misuse AI, from lethal autonomous weapons to viral sabotage. If the predicted breakthroughs occur and superhuman AI emerges, we will have created entities far more powerful than ourselves. How can we ensure they never, ever, have power over us? Russell suggests that we can rebuild AI on a new foundation, according to which machines are designed to be inherently uncertain about the human preferences they are required to satisfy. Such machines would be humble, altruistic, and committed to pursue our objectives, not theirs. This new foundation would allow us to create machines that are provably deferential and provably beneficial. Shermer and Russell also discuss: natural intelligence vs. artificial intelligence "g" in human intelligence vs. G in AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) the values alignment problem Hume's "Is-Ought" naturalistic fallacy as it applies to AI values vs. human values regulating AI Russell's response to the arguments of AI apocalypse skeptics Kevin Kelly and Steven Pinker the Chinese social control AI system and what it could lead to autonomous vehicles, weapons, and other systems and how they can be hacked AI and the hacking of elections, and what keeps Stuart up at night. Stuart Russell is a professor of Computer Science and holder of the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He has served as the Vice-Chair of the World Economic Forum's Council on AI and Robotics and as an advisor to the United Nations on arms control. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, the Association for Computing Machinery, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the author (with Peter Norvig) of the definitive and universally acclaimed textbook on AI, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach . Listen to Science Salon via Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Google Play Music , Stitcher , iHeartRadio , and TuneIn .

The AI-podcast proudly hosts Professor Stuart Russell, University of California at Berkeley. Professor Russell is one of the pioneers of AI and his over 1000 pages book "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach", co-authored with Peter Norvig, is a standard reference in the field and you find on the shelf of any serious AI expert or practitioner. Professor Russell recently released his new book "Human Compatible", which discusses the risks of AI and how we should think to build Intelligence that serves humanity. In this episode, we discuss this very interesting topic and other topics. Professor Russell shares his experience and gives great insight into the future of AI and where we will see it happening with great impact in the coming 5-10 years.

Artificial intelligence has made great strides of late, in areas as diverse as playing Go and recognizing pictures of dogs. We still seem to be a ways away from AI that is "intelligent" in the human sense, but it might not be too long before we have to start thinking seriously about the "motivations" and "purposes" of artificial agents. Stuart Russell is a longtime expert in AI, and he takes extremely seriously the worry that these motivations and purposes may be dramatically at odds with our own. In his book Human Compatible , Russell suggests that the secret is to give up on building our own goals into computers, and rather programming them to figure out our goals by actually observing how humans behave. Support Mindscape on Patreon . Stuart Russell received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University. He is currently a Professor of Computer Science and the Smith-Zadeh Professor in Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as an Honorary Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He is a co-founder of the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence at UC Berkeley. He is the author of several books, including (with Peter Norvig) the classic text Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach . Among his numerous awards are the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, the Blaise Pascal Chair in Paris, and the World Technology Award. His new book is Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control . Web page Google Scholar publications Wikipedia Talk on Provably Beneficial Artificial Intelligence Amazon author page

AI is evolving incredibly quickly, and thinking now about where it might go next (and how we as a species and a society should be prepared) is critical. Professor Stuart Russell, an AI expert at UC Berkeley, has a formulation for modifications to AI that we should study and try implementing now to keep it much safer in the long run. Prof. Russell’s new book, “Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control” gives an accessible but deeply thoughtful exploration of why he thinks runaway AI is something we need to be considering seriously now, and what changes in formulation might be a solution. This episodes features Prof. Russell as a special guest, exploring the topics in his book and giving more perspective on the long-term possible futures of AI: both good and bad. Relevant links: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566677/human-compatible-by-stuart-russell/