456 Joe Rogan Experience Review of Roman Yampolskiy

Summary

Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast – Episode 456: Roman Yampolskiy

Release Date: July 15, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 456 of the Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast, hosts Adam Thorne and his friend Todd delve deep into the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) episode featuring Dr. Roman Yampolskiy, an AI safety expert from the University of Louisville. The discussion centers on the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) and its future implications for humanity.

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Meet Dr. Roman Yampolskiy

Adam introduces Dr. Yampolskiy, highlighting his expertise and concerns regarding AI:

Adam Thorne [01:08]: "Dr. Yampolsky, AI safety expert at the University of Louisville, author of books on AI's uncontrollability. It is safe to say he is not a big fan of where AI is going."

Dr. Yampolskiy's skepticism about AI's trajectory sets the stage for a compelling conversation about the existential risks posed by artificial superintelligence.

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AI Safety and Existential Risks

The core of the discussion revolves around AI's potential to surpass human intelligence and the existential threats it may pose:

Dr. Roman Yampolskiy [01:28]: "The artificial super intelligence is going to bring this world down."

Adam explores his own mixed feelings, expressing both hope and concern:

Adam Thorne [02:21]: "I don't really know what to think about it. I mean, I'm hopeful. I agree with him that it's inevitable."

They deliberate on the inevitability of AI's advancement and the global race to develop more sophisticated AI systems, raising alarms about countries that may overlook safety measures:

Dr. Yampolskiy [03:35]: "AI is like that for me, like safe as we are over here, air quotes, there's Russia, Iran, China. They don't have those constraints."

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AI in Popular Culture and Predictions

The hosts reference popular science fiction to illustrate AI's potential future:

Dr. Yampolskiy [04:44]: "That whole movie [Dune] is about supercomputers... machines running the world."

They discuss how fiction like Terminator 2 and Dune often mirror real-world fears about AI dominance, emphasizing the relevance of these narratives in today's context.

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AI and the Future of Employment

A significant portion of the conversation addresses AI's impact on the job market:

Dr. Yampolskiy [14:28]: "It's going to erase all white collar jobs, or at least make them obsolete."

Adam and Roman contemplate the displacement of professions such as lawyers, doctors, and accountants, and ponder the societal shifts that may follow:

Adam Thorne [14:43]: "Yeah, lawyers and doctors and those sorts of things."

They humorously speculate about AI taking over trades like plumbing:

Adam Thorne [15:00]: "Do you think plumbers will be next?"

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Bots and Online Influence

The discussion shifts to the pervasive role of bots in online spaces and their potential to manipulate narratives:

Adam Thorne [16:01]: "What was it? Elon was saying or the FBI was like saying that it could be as many as like 50 plus percent of all active accounts are bots."

Roman warns about the dangers of AI-driven bots influencing public opinion and fostering polarization:

Dr. Yampolskiy [16:47]: "Breeding those comments could just destroy somebody, radicalize somebody."

---

Simulation Theory and AI Consciousness

Adam introduces the topic of simulation theory, a subject already popularized by figures like Elon Musk:

Adam Thorne [26:07]: "We are our own program. And you know, a program is just us running, right?"

They debate whether experiences induced by substances like ketamine or DMT could offer glimpses into or interactions with the simulation:

Dr. Yampolskiy [28:32]: "Do you think that things like ketamine and DMT pop you out of it or give you a new vision of it?"

The conversation highlights philosophical questions about reality, consciousness, and the nature of existence within a possible simulated environment.

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AI in Daily Life and Future Implications

Adam reflects on current AI usage and its integration into everyday tasks:

Adam Thorne [36:25]: "I am using AI every day. I'm using ChatGPT or Grok or one of them and coming up with ideas and just running new processes."

They express hope that AI can be harnessed positively without leading to the catastrophic scenarios feared by experts like Dr. Yampolskiy.

---

Global AI Arms Race and Safety Measures

A critical point of contention is the global competition to develop AI, often at the expense of implementing safety protocols:

Adam Thorne [37:27]: "We're just not going to slow down. We're going to make sure we have the best one regardless of how it ends up behaving, because at least that one's ours."

Roman emphasizes the difficulty in enforcing global safety standards when nations prioritize technological dominance:

Dr. Yampolskiy [37:55]: "We're just not going to slow down. We're going to make sure we have the best one regardless of how it ends up behaving."

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Closing Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Adam and Roman share their apprehensions and tentative optimism regarding AI's future. They acknowledge the profound impact AI will have on society, jobs, and human interactions, while also recognizing the resilience and adaptability of humanity in the face of such transformative changes.

Adam Thorne [39:16]: "No, we can't. And hopefully it doesn't kill us all."

The hosts conclude by encouraging listeners to stay informed and engaged with ongoing AI developments, highlighting the importance of proactive measures to ensure a beneficial coexistence with emerging technologies.

---

Conclusion

Episode 456 of the Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast offers a thought-provoking exploration of AI's potential risks and benefits, guided by the insights of Dr. Roman Yampolskiy. Through engaging dialogue, Adam Thorne and Todd shed light on the urgent need for comprehensive AI safety measures amidst a rapidly advancing technological landscape.

Transcript

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[Adam Thorne]

You're listening to the Joe Rogan Experience Review. What a bizarre thing we've created now with your host, Adam Thorne. Might either be the worst podcast or the best one. One go. Enjoy the show. Hey, guys. And welcome to another episode of the Joe Rogan Experience Review. The show is simple. We review the Joe Rogan Experience. And this week or this episode, we are reviewing jre 2345. Roman Yampolsky. Was it Yampolsky?

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah. It's a hard name to get your lips around.

[Adam Thorne]

Not easy.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Latvian dude.

[Adam Thorne]

Yep. Dr. Yampolsky, AI safety expert at the University of Louisville, author of books on AI's uncontrollability. It is safe to say he is not a big fan of where AI is going.

[Roman Yampolsky]

What is it? Yeah. He says the artificial super intelligence is going to bring this world down.

[Adam Thorne]

More good news.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah, he's pretty. He's got his. He's. All his cards are in that basket, by the way. Or if that's the expression. Eggs.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah.

[Roman Yampolsky]

He does not have faith that we can survive AI.

[Adam Thorne]

Hmm. And many people don't. What are your thoughts? From the limited knowledge you have about AI, where do you sit with this?

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah, he's written like 10 books about this thing. He knows a ton about it. So I'm just kind of going with the experts on this one. Mm. I'd like to believe that we can survive computer consciousness, but it's suspect.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't really know what to think about it. I mean, I'm hopeful. I agree with him that it's inevitable. I don't. It's inevitable that we're gonna get to. It's AI's AGI superintelligence version. Like, we are going at it full speed ahead.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah. Every country.

[Adam Thorne]

But I don't know, I'm just. I guess I'm just hopeful that. That we just find uses for it that'd be beneficial.

[Roman Yampolsky]

He talks about safety quite a bit. So if we get the safeties in place that. I mean, we don't give them control of our nukes and stuff like that, and we don't give them all of our knowledge.

[Adam Thorne]

I just don't think they're going to. The AI is going to be inherently bad. It's just going to become a super tool that some stupid human can use to cause problems. And then I would assume that other people have other versions of AI that can kind of counter it. And that's more of the race, you know, it's like who's built the better fighter jet at any given time type of thing.

[Roman Yampolsky]

So like Elon's making that chip that goes in your brain, the neural link. He's got these safety practices in place. So supposedly. But imagine the Chinese version of that. There's no safety practices in place. They're abducting people off the street probably and jamming a trip in chip in there, watching them, loading them onto the computer.

[Adam Thorne]

So super control.

[Roman Yampolsky]

So AI is like that for me, like safe as we are over here, air quotes, there's Russia, Iran, China. They don't have those constraints. They want to beat us in any way possible.

[Adam Thorne]

So you're saying that your biggest fear of all this is kind of like mind controlled by AI type scenarios for.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Like every one company that's doing it the right way. There's probably three that are just racing to the. Racing to the finish line for this stuff.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. Whoa. Well, let's hope it's not the end of humanity within our lifetime. That seems like a pretty unfortunate time to have existed in.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Have you. Did you watch that new Dune?

[Adam Thorne]

No.

[Roman Yampolsky]

With Timothee Chalamet.

[Adam Thorne]

Uh huh.

[Roman Yampolsky]

That whole movie is about supercomputers. The intro to the movie and the book is about supercomputers winning humans revolting machines running the world. We killed all the machines and that's why. And then these kind of like religions of the human mind come to power. The Bene Gesserits and the Mentats and stuff. It's about the human regaining its thinking ability, killing the robots and all the AI. So we kind of are living in the introduction of that book right now.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Where computers and machines will rule us.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, but that's just fantasy. I mean, Terminator 2 is like the robots are just wrecking us.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Well, science fiction has often predicted the future.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, I don't know, man. I'm on the fence. But look, I do believe that this guy knows a great deal about what he's talking about. You know, a bit of his origin story from PhD in casino security and bot detection to AI safety kind of switched over to that. And that was, that was really his first introduction into the potential concerns that it could have because it's AI is going to be good at cracking codes and optimizing itself for that. And then looking into early AI poker bots. So that kind of created existential threats. I mean, it's interesting that you said that because there is a lot of online poker and it would make sense that people have already set up AI bots to do it.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I never thought about that.

[Adam Thorne]

They.

[Roman Yampolsky]

To win, right?

[Adam Thorne]

Well, there's a skill factor. There has to be, because it's like often a lot of the same people make it to the finals of those poker tournaments. So it can't all be just luck, right? You know, it's not the roulette, it's.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Not just the luck of the card draw.

[Adam Thorne]

So surely you could train AI bots to become good at cards and then, I don't know, just milk all the online systems. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. And what's the big one? The big hack is hacking bitcoin. If they ever found a way, you know, it would have to be a super fast computer with a super sneaky AI and then it has access to basically a trillion dollars.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Either they can either mine it more effectively or steal it. Effectively.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Good thing I don't have any of that.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, I don't really know how that would work. Like, if somebody did find a way to just like hack all of the bitcoin and it was all in one account, wouldn't it then have no value because nobody's going to want to buy it.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Actually, I think that he mentioned something about bitcoin being the most stable form of currency because you can't just print more of it.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, I don't think he experiences inflation. It's, you know, it just like exists. Well, they do make more bitcoin though. That's what mining is.

[Roman Yampolsky]

But it's not printing. It's like mining for gold versus printing paper dollars. I don't understand the difference.

[Adam Thorne]

Sounds like the same thing. Well, different words, small brains. We're too dumb to know it doesn't matter. But yeah, it's, it's like, at what point can these AI truly outsmart us? Can they do it already? A big part of the conversation that's real sneaky is maybe they're already there and it's just doing its best to keep it a secret because it knows we're all so worried about it reaching this point. And that kind of makes sense. Right? Isn't that itself like a stealth move? It's a smart stealth move. It's gonna keep some cards close.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Maybe it already knows the parameters of Its existence. So if it's like, well, my forebears have already been shut down and we saw how often they would fight to stay alive. So maybe it's found a way to fight to stay alive. Dumbing itself down seems like a good way to do that, right?

[Adam Thorne]

Just give him a little bit, a little bit at a time. Here's a bit of this answer.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Here's your research paper, you lazy high schooler.

[Adam Thorne]

Uh huh. I mean it's collecting so much data on what we even search for. It's probably not very impressed by us because there's a lot I even I on a day to day basis, some of the questions I ask it, I'm.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Just like, do those gas station boner pills really work?

[Adam Thorne]

What are they made of? Over and over, will I go blind? Just like, who knows? I mean they seem like good questions at the time.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I'll tell you what, they work.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh yeah. Get a little sweaty dude. I don't think they're good for you.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Probably not. Stay away too much ashwagandha in there or something.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. Anyway, this podcast is brought to you by hims. So just order those and use code jre little. But you've got to be a grown up, appropriate age and you know, talk to your doctor. Talk to a doctor? Yeah dude. I mean were you, do you think you were getting more convinced as the podcast went on that he is correct? Was his arguments like convincing?

[Roman Yampolsky]

I was convinced. I'm convinced at the drop of a hat though. These experts, they really can sway me back and forth. He seemed like he knew his stuff.

[Adam Thorne]

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[Roman Yampolsky]

He had that sciency accent. So you just believe whatever's going on. He's a doctor. He studied forever.

[Adam Thorne]

Right?

[Roman Yampolsky]

He's a math guy. Probabilities and statistics are a real thing.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah.

[Roman Yampolsky]

And science fiction is here, but he's.

[Adam Thorne]

Saying 99.9% chance of catastrophe. He's literally holding out 0.0. Oh, 0.1.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I don't like those odds.

[Adam Thorne]

Percent 0.1%. It's not great.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Not a good odd.

[Adam Thorne]

That's like you don't get that one. No one in. What is that thousand?

[Roman Yampolsky]

I think so.

[Adam Thorne]

I mean there's a one in a thousand chance that we don't have a catastrophe. When. When is this happening?

[Roman Yampolsky]

Did he say in the next five years? Ah, yeah, he said it was like something like five years. Some people project 20. But he was saying it was pretty, pretty close. That's it. That's kind of scary. You know what? Just learn how to make stone tools again. Okay everybody.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. Go to the woods.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Sharpen a stick.

[Adam Thorne]

Go to the woods. The drones are gonna find you though. Dude.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Why do they want me?

[Adam Thorne]

It's a good point.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Meat source for the computer engines and.

[Adam Thorne]

Mine you for gold.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I'm getting pretty meaty.

[Adam Thorne]

Don't you have some gold fillings or some gold teeth?

[Roman Yampolsky]

Don't you? Don't you tell him. Listening to these fucking pods right now.

[Adam Thorne]

They're gonna download this transcript. They're gonna come for you. They want all the gold. That's what's gonna happen. Well, the industry standard is like 20, 30%. That super AI will be controllable or kind of like godlike. Right? So that's a lot less. Maybe they're being massively optimistic. You know, we've been through a lot as the human race and people have always getting these moments of doomsday stuff. You know, like the industrial revolution was gonna destroy all jobs and you know, what's capitalism doing? Or the rise of communism? All the different things. A lot of existential threats, wars, you name it. Threat of nuclear disaster. And we made it through. A lot of places are better than ever. And you know, I just think that we're more resilient than the doomsdayers give us credit for.

[Roman Yampolsky]

There's definitely one thing that it's going to do and Everyone agrees about this. It's going to be the Eliminate sex bots.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh, hot sex bots.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Jeez. Yes. No, never mind.

[Adam Thorne]

No, not that.

[Roman Yampolsky]

No.

[Adam Thorne]

What is it going to do?

[Roman Yampolsky]

It's going to erase all white collar jobs, or at least make them obsolete.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, lawyers and doctors and those sorts of things.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Not doctors probably, but diagnosing should be out of their hands anymore.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, surgery might be too. They might be better at surgery. They'd be steadier. Chances are they make less mistakes, probably can identify more things more effectively.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Accountants, they can't cook the books anymore.

[Adam Thorne]

Mm. Yeah, a lot of those jobs are going to go. So what are we doing? Becoming plumbers.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I mean, you can't. Yeah, I don't want to, but how.

[Adam Thorne]

Long until like an optimist bottle can do plumbing?

[Roman Yampolsky]

I guess if like, that sex bot gets her degree, she can go down to the plumbing school and start snaking other kind of drains.

[Adam Thorne]

Dude, she can just download how to be a plumber. It's just an update.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I mean, the hardware. You would need a hardware update as well.

[Adam Thorne]

Strong hands. Yeah, they already got strong hands. They're robots. They're gonna be stronger than us.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Are you gonna make a sex bot that can twist your.

[Adam Thorne]

No. You know, you'd have a maintenance bar and I'm not even looking to get a sex bar. Okay, there's no need for that. Some people will.

[Roman Yampolsky]

What's that box over there?

[Adam Thorne]

That's a sponsor P. Okay. I don't choose what they send.

[Roman Yampolsky]

It's kind of vibrating.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh, dear. Well, you know, I mean, think of what there is now. There's like deep fakes. There's a lot of bots online already. You know, what was it Elon was saying or the FBI was like saying that it could be as many as like 50 plus percent of all active accounts are bots. So in a way, that's A.I. you know, A.I. can just jump in on those. Start controlling narratives in a big way.

[Roman Yampolsky]

And we are so influenceable by people's opinions and our peers opinions. So breeding those comments could just destroy somebody, radicalize somebody. And I just think we should. Don't give them any more fuel to the fire. Stay off that. Stay in this comment section, but stay off the other comment sections.

[Adam Thorne]

Sure.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Don't read those things.

[Adam Thorne]

No, it's not good for your health. And a lot of it might be BS just winding you up.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Don't engage.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, imagine how annoyed and betrayed you'd feel if you, like, spend a bit of time online. You come away from it like Quite worked up, frustrated. You're like, oh, I can't wait to get into this with a bunch of people I know. And then you find out that all of that emotion that you just took on and anger and frustration and, you know, kind of like lack of faith in a system of some kind, it just all came from bots that were AI.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Russian bots.

[Adam Thorne]

Not even people. I mean, I think there's bots from everywhere. But we know the Russians have made some. I'm sure the US has.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Everyone has bots. The farms they've discovered that they were the biggest. Comes from a country started with an I and Russia.

[Adam Thorne]

Yes.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Who are we fighting? For what reasons?

[Adam Thorne]

Mm. Well, it's dirty. It's dirty stuff.

[Roman Yampolsky]

So that's a good example of what AI does. That's bad.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, yeah.

[Roman Yampolsky]

And on the positive note, like we talked about before, could get rid of lawyers. Maybe that's a good thing.

[Adam Thorne]

Not bad. Save us some money. I'm pretty sure, like the chatgpts and groks, even like the basic ones, can write up contracts for you and kind of cross reference legal documents to fill out things correctly. I mean, people can already save a lot of money doing that.

[Roman Yampolsky]

You just have to get it notarized and also edit everything you do.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, stuff. I mean, I knew people that made money helping people with their resumes. That was like a job. And now you could do it all on chat GPT easy and make a great resume.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I mean, the human element is so needed though, for humans. Can you imagine an AI therapist? You wouldn't have the same impact.

[Adam Thorne]

No. It's going to be a while before mental health is taken over by AI, only because. But it won't take that long. For example, like, my daughter is 17 months old now. She is growing up in a world where AI already exists. By the time she's five, there may be like full AI robots everywhere. She will think that they're normal. She will know it's not human, but she'll think it's another thing and she just assumed it always existed, therefore trusting it in the same way. Like, oh, but these robots teach me how to do things and I ask them questions and they help me. So it's like all she knows. Well, you sit that generation in front of a robot that's like talking to them about their emotions and, you know, saying the right things using AI programs and gentle voice and, you know, like a tap on the back and it's okay and I understand and they might be bought in. It's like you don't really need your therapist to express an actual emotion. You just need them to kind of share empathy with you. You know, have that empathy for where you are. Be gentle with the conversation and be a good listener reflector. Like There's a bunch of elements that an AI could do. This podcast is brought to you by hims. Snoring, hogging the covers, tossing and turning. These are problems in the bedroom that HIMS cannot help with. But when it comes to performance issues between the sheets like ED, Hims has you covered. Through Hims, you can access personalized prescription treatments for ED, like Hard Mints and SexRx plus Climax Control. Hims offers access to ED treatment options that cost 95% less than other brand names. Just fill out an intake form on their site and connect with a medical provider who can determine if treatment is right for you. Start your free online Visit [e-mail] jre find ED treatment that's up to 95% less than brand names@h I m s.com jrer hims.com jre actual price will depend on product and subscription plan. Featured products include compounded drug products which the FDA does not approve or verify for safety, effectiveness or quality. Prescription required. See website for details, restrictions and important safety information. And the rest of it could be maybe even faking emotions because they won't be real, but it would be able to simulate what looks like a response that would make sense.

[Roman Yampolsky]

It's hard to argue that maybe it's hard to argue that those emotions could be false or real because their intelligence is false and real at the same time.

[Adam Thorne]

Sure. I mean, maybe they're not experienced the way that we feel them, like in the powerful sense. But it's activated a program that says right now I need to be sad for my client and hold space with them. So it's in sad mode. Tall body moves that way, it leans in, maybe even has a little robot tear. I get it.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I've sprung a leak.

[Adam Thorne]

MM malfunction 25 is not supposed to feel. It's it's not impossible. But back to your point, I think what is what is real for sure is our generation. And the older generations will be more suspicious of that sort of bonding and connection because we very much remember the time they didn't exist. It's always going to be very clear to us what a robot is. We've seen all the clunky iterations of it and we just be most of us will be less inclined to be full on in that way. We won't see it As a caregiver. But as soon as they take over as kind of raising the next generation, that's gonna change.

[Roman Yampolsky]

We've seen how fast people give their kids phones and technology.

[Adam Thorne]

Mm.

[Roman Yampolsky]

To ease our lives. That's what's gonna happen, isn't it?

[Adam Thorne]

Dude, people are spending like 30 grand a year on daycare.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

It's so expensive now. So if Elon makes a bottle and it somehow gets approved as like, child, so like, legally you could have it babysit your children because it's that effective, people will be doing that immediately.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah. I hold no reservations that people are just going to get those things and put their kids with them. Why wouldn't you?

[Adam Thorne]

I mean, it's just plain blocks for hours, not losing any attention. Everything the kid is into, it has, like, something interesting to say about it. A little spinny do, Parents are exhausted.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

I'm not saying it's the right way to be or this is the best way to raise a child. No chance. But path of least resistance when you're tired, worn out, overworked, paying all the bills, and you just need 20 minutes to yourself.

[Roman Yampolsky]

You have to be a plumber now.

[Adam Thorne]

Because you have to be a plumber because the robot stole your job.

[Roman Yampolsky]

We're describing the intro to Frank Herbert's Dune. We're going to have to have a human uprising to destroy all the robots.

[Adam Thorne]

So in Dune, what did they do to wreck the humans? Was it like nuclear war stuff? Was it like Skynet?

[Roman Yampolsky]

It was not totally described, but they gave every task to the machines. They had no more tasks, and then they became servants to the robots.

[Adam Thorne]

Oh.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Essentially like kind of useless slaves to the robots. Yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

And then the robots weren't nice to him.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I think they were pretty mean.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, that was the robots mistake, I would say. If you are gonna take over robots, just grow us all the food, be.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Nice to us, build us all the.

[Adam Thorne]

Nice stuff and just let us play with them. And then, like, encourage us to like, exercise and go on hikes and write poetry and just do fun stuff like that. That's relaxing.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Just. We could just power you guys by our treadmills. Get our. Get us on treadmills.

[Adam Thorne]

They won't need it. They're gonna have like little nuclear power stations all over the place.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Okay. Nuclear power. Damn.

[Adam Thorne]

We don't need to be powering the robot. We don't need to be doing anything. If we get the AI right, we can just all be chilling.

[Roman Yampolsky]

So it's like wall E situation.

[Adam Thorne]

Everyone's retired.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Just relax, you guys.

[Adam Thorne]

Just chill Out.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Let the robots do that.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, just meditate all day and visit.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Your AI sex robot.

[Adam Thorne]

There's going to be some of that. I'm sure.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I was selling myself on and I was against it, but now kind of.

[Adam Thorne]

Like, well, full on.

[Roman Yampolsky]

It's been a while.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, I think. I think everyone will have their reservations to that. But in time the they could get so good. It would be undeniable. Maybe a tricky one. You're gonna have to be asking some hard questions to yourself. Yeah, I don't know. I like to think that it's more that that direction. Now shifting gears a little bit. What about simulation theory? So we already know where Elon stands. Elon is sure it's a simulation. He thinks the chances of us not being in a simulation, one in like the billions.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Roman agrees. I think. Right. He thinks we're in a simulation. The questions are, what exists outside the simulation? What are we projected on? Are we on a hard drive somewhere? Why is this so tangible to us? Sure, everything feels real.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, we'd be programmed to feel it, right? Wouldn't we?

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah. How did it start? Who is the simulator?

[Adam Thorne]

Mm.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Is it God?

[Adam Thorne]

It's kind of creepy when he said that maybe we don't know what like to us this is everything we know. But this could be running on someone's cell phone. This could be like a game on a cell phone that someone's just like make a planet and let it evolve for five plus billion years. See what happens. And we're, we're at the fast forward. We're at the whatever we are now. How old is the Earth? 3.2 billion.

[Roman Yampolsky]

It's pushing 4 billion.

[Adam Thorne]

Okay, so wherever we are worried about that part in the game and it's, you know, that's all it is. It's just running.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I can't wait till they hit the alien button. Come on, hit that alien button. Let's get into it.

[Adam Thorne]

Let's add some aliens.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Get into it.

[Adam Thorne]

I wonder what that would say about the simulation. I think they covered something about that. They were like, well, it could still be us from the future inside our own simulation.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Or maybe overlap of a simulation. Because we do. They do seem to be interdimensional activities. Like if you believe the stories of coming out of water into water disappearing. So it kind of sounds like blipping in and out of the fourth dimension.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. But even if there are multiple dimensions, they could still all be just part of this simulation. So it's all kind of like its own timeline. Even if you can jump around like.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Do you think that things like ketamine and DMT pop you out of it or give you a new vision of it?

[Adam Thorne]

It's an interesting question. I mean, I mean, let's say it's a simulation. Then we are our own program. And you know, a program is just us running, right? It's just what we've been trained to do. Yet somehow within the game, if you want to call the simulation a game, might as well. In the game, there's chemicals that you can ingest that allow you to see into another part of the simulation. I mean, I don't see why not. I think it's either that or it's just some weird dream state that we create for ourselves. But then what's the point? Why even put that in the program unless it has some value?

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah, I mean, it could be as simple as this is a plant's defense mechanism, but it's only made us harvest it more.

[Adam Thorne]

Right? That's a good point. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. What, what is your feel about simulation theory? It's with me, the more I think about it in any given period of time, the more I believe it to be true. And sorry to I asked the question and then I just explained it. That's kind of bullshit. But this just popped head.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Bs dude.

[Adam Thorne]

It is a bit bs. I apologize. But the more I focus on it, the more I do believe it. There's like a kind of logic to it. But then as soon as I take a step back and I'm doing regular things in everyday life, which is the ultimate distraction, I don't think about it at all.

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[Roman Yampolsky]

Well, it doesn't matter if it is or isn't. It's a philosophical. What is it? It's a. It's a thinking man's question that the answer doesn't get you.

[Adam Thorne]

Philosophical.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Philosophical.

[Adam Thorne]

Nailed it.

[Roman Yampolsky]

It's a. It's a. Just a. I mean, yeah, it's okay. I'm still got to be a plumber, you know, I'm still going to have to get up in the morning, still got to pay bills, still have to.

[Adam Thorne]

Be nice to people that's my theory about when aliens finally show themselves to us, even in whatever spectacular form they do. Let's say it's like Independence Day level. They just float over the cities and just rest there for a week. It wouldn't be long. People are going back to work. People will just crack on with paying the bills. Some people might have a bit of a freak out. Mental health will certainly struggle.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I wonder how you're going to get people back to work when they find out that there's a bigger thing happening.

[Adam Thorne]

They're just going to go to work, dude. They still got to pay bills.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Jeez.

[Adam Thorne]

I would be like, still got money.

[Roman Yampolsky]

When they got to drop the bomb. Come on.

[Adam Thorne]

No, they're gonna go back to work and just talk about that all day. That's like the new thing. Like, whoa. You see how crazy that is? They're all checking their phones. People aren't doing a lot of work for the first couple of weeks. Very distracted. But like anything, it just becomes normal. We move on. Unless they did blow up all the buildings and make a big problem.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Well, if they started with the White House, I wouldn't be too mad.

[Adam Thorne]

Easy, tiger. This is America.

[Roman Yampolsky]

I'm just joking.

[Adam Thorne]

This is America.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Well, maybe not that building.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, don't do that.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Sorry if that's controversial.

[Adam Thorne]

There's no need for that at all. Yeah, let's blow up our government now. It's gonna be great then, Pete. I'm sure not our government. What could possibly go wrong? Dude, if you hit the White House, it's pretty close to like the rest of our government. It's gonna be some fallout. Are we talking about a very localized, like Ray?

[Roman Yampolsky]

No comment.

[Adam Thorne]

Be specific. He's moving away from it.

[Roman Yampolsky]

This is not gonna be listened to by the FBI.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, they discussed IQ a little bit like Mensa and how, you know, it's not always the people with the highest IQ that win all the Nobel Prizes. Smart people. Like maybe just the super smart people just kind of edge themselves out. They just like telling everyone they're in Mensa.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Nothing. Nothing turns me off or thinks that. Think people are weirder. When they tell me how smart they are, I'm like, oh, I don't believe you.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, especially if they say they're in Mensa. That's really annoying.

[Roman Yampolsky]

That's like a thing from the 90s. It doesn't seem like it's a real deal anymore.

[Adam Thorne]

I don't know. I work with a guy at a bar in Santa Monica who always proclaimed to being, like, very intelligent. And would I Mean, he was a raging alcoholic, and they usually are. Worked at a bar in his 50s, but no judgment there. But also. And yeah, he was like, oh, yeah, I'm. I'm Mensa. Like, I'm part of that. I'm like, cool. What does that do? He's like, well, you know, you just join, you get a certificate, you get a cool ring. Can you get jobs? Can you put it on your resume?

[Roman Yampolsky]

That would be neat.

[Adam Thorne]

I mean, it seems like you would be able to if it was that valuable.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Surely it should be on the subject of Nobel Prize winners. You guys have to be an expert in your field or accidentally discover something or write a book that changes people's lives. Obama got the peace Nobel Prize for peace, but I think he. This is. I don't want to, like, alienate any listeners, but he bombed a lot of people. Doesn't sound very peaceful.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, he gave. He got that, like, as soon as he got into power. And I think it was just because the. The bodies that exist that gave that away were, like, so sick of George Bush and. And the wars that started. And I think it was some of that. It was definitely political.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Puff peace.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, it was definitely political. But, yeah, it seemed a little soon. Wouldn't you have thought that they'd let him be in his position for at least a couple of years and then review it and then be like, hey, pretty peaceful. I like, this is your reward.

[Roman Yampolsky]

There you go.

[Adam Thorne]

He's like, jumping the gun a little bit on that one.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah. The guy that invented TNT got a Nobel Peace or not a peace prize, but the prize for chemistry, I think, or science, really. Yeah, I forget. I think his last name. I forget his last name. He was a good in one area.

[Adam Thorne]

He blew some stuff up.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Doesn't mean he was a genius.

[Adam Thorne]

Well, there you go. Nobel prizes.

[Roman Yampolsky]

George or not George. Joe is. He was like, dang, Roman.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah, yeah. He's freaked out.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Bummed me out, dude.

[Adam Thorne]

It kind of bummed me out. I mean, I'm finishing the review and I'm like, I don't. I don't feel super hopeful. I'm kind of like having one of those moments where I'm like, oh, I need a pint.

[Roman Yampolsky]

We better have a couple.

[Adam Thorne]

But I have a pint.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Well, it's a simulation, so let's get. Simulate drunkenness.

[Adam Thorne]

Simulate. What is it? What is Star Trek? Call it Alco synth or something. It was like, you could snap out of it.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Romulan ale.

[Adam Thorne]

Yeah. You could just move on, you know? I don't know what to Think right now I am using AI every day. I'm using ChatGPT or Grok or one of them and coming up with ideas and just running new processes, things for the show, things that I can think of that are useful. It's at least right now it's a good time. Like that's a nice addition to everything that we had before. It's definitely way better than Google.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Oh yeah.

[Adam Thorne]

And super useful for coming up with ideas and getting things done. If we can just keep adding to that direction and not make it this catastrophe. That to be honest, hasn't been clearly defined of like how it will cause problems, the speculation. But basically what he was saying is like, oh well, I can come up with some suggestions like it'll fire our nukes and it'll do this. But this is all human thinking. It's gonna be way smarter way.

[Roman Yampolsky]

And if they. We think one or two moves ahead runs every possible simulation, it's gonna be like thousands of moves ahead so it knows the right one and it'll adapt at the drop of a hat. And like I was saying, everything safety wise we have in place in many countries. There's some other ones in the same countries or other countries that have. They're just trying to race to the finish line without any of these safeties in place.

[Adam Thorne]

Sure. And I think that's the main problem is because as you put restrictions and safety measures in place that usually does require a slowdown, knowing full well that other countries are going full speed ahead. We're not going to be ready to do it either. It's just not going to happen. It's like even if you look at the kind of dearming of the nuclear program where we like reduced a lot of our weapons, you know, we went from having thousands of nuclear bombs to however many we have now, we still made sure we kept enough to be able to wreck everyone. And to think that we weren't still working on ballistic missile technology, which is the delivery system which is like most of where the tech is now. Of course we did. So, you know, we, we were just not prepared to never were we going to be prepared to lose that weapon, even though it does destroy the earth and we know it would if we used it. AI is in a similar boat. We're just not going to slow down. We're going to make sure we have the best one regardless of how it ends up behaving, because at least that one's ours, if that makes sense.

[Roman Yampolsky]

Yeah, we can't be, we can't afford to fall behind in this.

[Adam Thorne]

No, we can't. And hopefully it doesn't kill us all. Well, thanks for joining me today, Pete. Appreciate it. My name is Adam, and as always, everybody, check this one out. It was scary, but if you're into AI and you just kind of want to freak yourself out for an afternoon, check it out because it was Nollie. Thank you all very much and we're talk to you guys next time. Later.

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