Shows / The Existential Hope Podcast
The Existential Hope Podcast
The Existential Hope Podcast features in-depth conversations with scientists, technologists, and thinkers about the ideas that could shape a better future.
In contrast to both doom and hype narratives, we focus on what positive futures are possible through scientific and technological progress, and the decisions we make about it.
Existential Hope is an initiative of the Foresight Institute, an independent nonprofit that has been advancing technology for the benefit of life since 1986.
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Episodes
- The Existential Hope Podcast
The boring revolution humanity needs most | Indy Johar
Since 2011, anyone could have downloaded an open-source house design, cut out the parts and assemble it themselves. So why is building a new home still so…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Should we choose politicians by lottery? | Jeremy Lent
We see elections as the foundation of our democracy, but Aristotle thought they create an oligarchy. In ancient Athens, democracy worked by choosing leaders…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
The safest AI might be one that doesn't know what we want | Stuart Russell
For 50,000 of generations, humans have passed civilization down to their children. We could be the first generation to hand its future to AIs instead. Should…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How a board game helps Google DeepMind plan for AI in science
Google DeepMind has a 7-hour-long roleplaying game that helps real scientists and policy makers understand how AI will transform science by 2030. And those who…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Civic tech in action: how 447 random citizens fixed an AI deepfake crisis | Audrey Tang
In 2024, Taiwan was flooded with deepfake scam ads. Instead of a crackdown, the government texted 200,000 random citizens: what should we do? People’s…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
What happens when you let an AI run a science lab
There are AIs running labs with little human intervention right now. And they’re doing experiments that human experts would never try. Is this changing what…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
The only 12 proven self-help tools for a meaningful life and improving the world
There's an overwhelming amount of self-help advice out there, which makes it really hard to know what will work for you. But it turns out that over 450…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How tech can earn public trust and why 21st century science needs 21st century funding | Dorothy Chou
What does it take to fund a Nobel Prize-winning idea? Apparently, not a Nobel Prize. AlphaFold solved the shape of 200 million proteins in one shot, a problem…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
AI learned to be a villain from Hollywood. Here's how we retrain it. | Peter Diamandis
Science fiction has always shaped the technologies we build, from the submarine to the smartphone. But almost every story we've ever told about AI is…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Why people agree on the future more than the present, and what it means for governance
Political polarization might have a surprisingly simple fix: ask people what they want for their communities in 50 years instead of today, and their answers…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
The AI future where humans get paid to be creative
Most AI futures give us two options: mass unemployment, or a government handout to soften the blow. But what if there's a third option, one centered on…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Teaching AI empathy using brain signals
AIs could get much better at understanding what we truly value if we gave them access to our brain signals. And doing that is becoming easier than ever before…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How to build a career that actually changes the world
More and more people want to make a real-world difference with their career. Very few of them do. Why are careers in consultancy or finance still so much more…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How AI could improve the lives of trillions of animals
We think a lot about how AI will affect humanity, and for good reason. But AI could have an enormous impact on the trillions of animals that share our world…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How dating an AI could improve your real love life | David Eagleman
Having an AI boyfriend or girlfriend might seem creepy, but what if it helped you get better at human relationships? In this episode, we talk with David…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How the whole world can exceed Swiss living standards by 2100 (backed by data)
What would the world look like if the poorest country was as rich as Switzerland is today? It turns out we could actually see it happen by 2100, and with an…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How your personal moral compass helps you build a better world | SJ Beard
To make the future go well, we might not need a perfect model for its end state, or an abstract philosophical theory to guide us. Can your own sense of “the…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Raising science ambition: how to identify the highest-impact research for an AI world | Anastasia Gamick
Most scientists do “safe” research to secure their next grant. But what if more of them worked on the most important problems instead? In this episode, we talk…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Jason Crawford on how technology expands human choice and control
Being pessimistic about progress will make you sound smart. You'll look rational by not assuming any breakthroughs, just extrapolating current trends until…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Elle Griffin on researching the ideal society, from utopian books to real-world examples
While dystopian fiction dominates our screens and bookshelves, Elle Griffin is busy researching how things might actually go right. She wanted to write a…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Andrew Critch on what AGI might look like in practice
When people think about AGI, most of them ask “When is it going to arrive?” or “What kind of AGI will we get?”. Andrew Critch, AI safety researcher and…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Anna Gát on creating communities that connect, even when people disagree
Anna Gát, founder of the Interintellect community, joins us to explore the essential role of hopeful action and diverse communities in shaping the future. Anna…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Isabelle Boemeke on what everyone gets wrong about nuclear energy
You’d need 200 Chernobyls a year to kill as many people as fossil fuels. And yet most of us are far more scared of nuclear than of any other energy source…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Sam Bowman on what’s holding back progress (and how to fix it)
Young people across the Western world are struggling to start their lives. In most cases, it's not for lack of ambition, but because they can't find a place to…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Jacques Carolan on the future of brain health
What if we could treat depression, anxiety, or chronic pain by tuning the brain, just as precisely as a pacemaker regulates the heart? Jacques Carolan, Program…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Amy Proal on rethinking chronic disease
What if chronic diseases, from Alzheimer’s to autoimmune conditions, share a hidden cause: lingering infections deep within our tissues? Microbiologist Amy…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Ken Liu on What AI Reveals About Humanity
In this episode, Ken Liu joins the podcast to explore how science fiction serves as our modern mythology. We discuss his new techno-thriller "All That We See…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
David Duvenaud on the Cruxes and Possibilities of Post AGI Futures
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Beatrice Erkers is joined by David Duvenaud, Associate Professor at the University of Toronto and former…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Nathan Labenz on What the Best-Case Scenarios for AI are
What does a genuinely positive future with AI look like? While dystopian visions are common, the most valuable—and scarcest—resource we have is a concrete…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Fin Moorhouse on Why We Need to Aim Higher Than Survival
For years, the conversation about the long-term future has been dominated by a crucial question: how do we avoid extinction? But what if ensuring our survival…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Sam Arbesman on Vibe Coding, AI, and the Magic of Code
Is code just a technical skill for engineers, or is it a deeply humanistic art form capable of expanding our minds? In this episode, host Beatrice Erkers is…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Pablos Holman on Creating Technology That Actually Matters
The tech industry we read about every day accounts for only 2% of the global economy. So what about the other 98%? In this episode, host Beatrice Erkers talks…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Andrew White on Building an AI Scientist to Automate Discovery
What if we could build an AI that doesn't just answer questions, but makes fundamental scientific discoveries on its own? That's the mission of Future House…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Tools or Agents? Choosing Our AI Future | Anthony Aguirre
As AI systems become more capable and autonomous, staying in control of what they do is increasingly difficult. But the AI we need to solve problems like…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Autonomous Vehicles Special: Andrew Miller on Self-Driving Futures
Self-driving cars aren’t science fiction, they’re already here. But what kind of future are they steering us toward? In this episode, Beatrice speaks with…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Jim O'Shaughnessy on Investing in Infinite Human Potential
How do we shape a future worth rooting for? In this episode, Beatrice Erkers talks with Jim O'Shaughnessy, founder of O'Shaughnessy Ventures and author of What…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Michael Nielsen on Hyper-entities, Tools for Thought, and Wise Optimism
If you think people who worry about AI are being pessimistic, you might have it backwards. In this episode, we talk with Michael Nielsen, scientist and writer…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
A Handheld Device to Defeat Cancer | Mary Lou Jepsen
What if the bulky, expensive machines that fill hospital radiology departments could be replaced by a wearable? In this episode, we speak with Mary Lou Jepsen…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How Science Fiction Can Inspire Real-World Innovation with Ed Finn
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Ed Finn, founding director of ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination, explores the impact of…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
How AI Can Accelerate Science & Its Own Adoption with Niklas Lundblad
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Niklas Berild Lundblad, a philosopher, researcher, and former policy lead at Google DeepMind, Google, and…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Nobel Laureate David Baker on Using AI for Science to Solve Humanity's Biggest Problems
We can now design proteins that eat plastic. Twenty years ago, that sounded like science fiction. Today, a Nobel laureate is doing exactly that. His career…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
David Deutsch on Knowledge, Progress, and the Future of Everything
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, physicist and author David Deutsch joins us to explore the deeper principles behind knowledge, progress, and…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
David Pearce on Ending Suffering and Reimagining Humanity
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, philosopher and transhumanist David Pearce joins us to explore a bold vision of the future—one where suffering…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Steven Pinker on Why the Future Looks Better Than You Think
Extreme poverty, violence, and life expectancy are all improving, according to the data. So why does the news so often give us the impression that civilization…
- The Existential Hope Podcast
Introducing the New Existential Hope Podcast
We’re excited to share that the Existential Hope Podcast now has its own dedicated feed—and we’re kicking things off with a wave of new episodes. This podcast…