Joe Carlsmith

Joe Carlsmith Audio

Society EN ↓ 71 episodes

Audio versions of essays by Joe Carlsmith. Philosophy, futurism, and other topics. Text versions at joecarlsmith.com.

Author

Joe Carlsmith

Category

Society

Latest episode

Mar 19, 2026

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Episodes

Full audio for "Scheming AIs: Will AIs fake alignment during training in order to get power?" 15.11.2023

This is the full audio for my report "Scheming AIs: Will AIs fake alignment during training in order to get power?" (I’m also posting audio for individual sections of the report on this podcast, but the ordering was getting messed up on various podcast apps, and I think some people might want one big audio file regardless, so here it is. I’m going to be posting the individual sections on...

Introduction and summary of "Scheming AIs: Will AIs fake alignment during training in order to get power?" 14.11.2023

This is a recording of the introductory section of my report "Scheming AIs: Will AIs fake alignment during training in order to get power?".  This section includes a summary of the full report. The summary covers most of the main points and technical terminology, and I'm hoping that it will provide much of the context necessary to understand individual sections of the report on thei...

In memory of Louise Glück 15.10.2023

"It was, she said, a great discovery, albeit my real life."

On the limits of idealized values 12.05.2023

Contra some meta-ethical views, you can't forever aim to approximate the self you would become in idealized conditions. You have to actively create yourself, often in the here and now.  Originally published in 2021. Text version here: https://joecarlsmith.com/2021/06/21/on-the-limits-of-idealized-values

Predictable updating about AI risk 08.05.2023

How worried about AI risk will we feel in the future, when we can see advanced machine intelligence up close? We should worry accordingly now. Text version here: https://joecarlsmith.com/2023/05/08/predictable-updating-about-ai-risk 

Existential Risk from Power-Seeking AI (shorter version) 19.03.2023

A shorter version of my report on existential risk from power-seeking AI. Forthcoming in an essay collection from Oxford University Press. Text version here: https://jc.gatspress.com/pdf/existential_risk_and_powerseeking_ai.pdf

Problems of evil 05.03.2023

Is everything holy? Can reality, in itself, be worthy of reverence? Text version here: https://joecarlsmith.com/2021/04/19/problems-of-evil 

Seeing more whole 17.02.2023

On looking out of your own eyes. Text version at joecarlsmith.com.

Why should ethical anti-realists do ethics? 16.02.2023

Who needs a system if you're free? Text version at https://joecarlsmith.com/2023/02/16/why-should-ethical-anti-realists-do-ethics 

Is Power-Seeking AI an Existential Risk? 25.01.2023

Audio version of my report on existential risk from power-seeking AI. Text here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2206.13353.pdf. Narration by Type III audio. 

On sincerity 23.12.2022

Nearby is the country they call life. Text version at: https://joecarlsmith.com/2022/12/23/on-sincerity

Against meta-ethical hedonism 01.12.2022

Can the epistemology of consciousness save moral realism and redeem experience machines? No.

Against the normative realist's wager 09.10.2022

If your find a button that gives you a hundred dollars if a certain controversial meta-ethical view is true, but you and your family get burned alive if that view is false, should you press the button? No. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

Against neutrality about creating happy lives 05.10.2022

Making happy people is good. Just ask the golden rule. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

Actually possible: thoughts on Utopia 05.10.2022

Life in the future could be profoundly good. I think this is an extremely important fact, and one that often goes under-estimated. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

On infinite ethics 05.10.2022

Infinities puncture the dream of a simple, bullet-biting utilitarianism. But they're everyone's problem. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

Can you control the past? 05.10.2022

Sometimes, you can “control” events you have no causal interaction with (for example, if you're a deterministic software twin). Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

On future people, looking back at 21st century longtermism 05.10.2022

I find imagining future people looking back on present-day longtermism (the view that positively influencing the long-term future should be a key moral priority) a helpful intuition pump, especially re: a certain kind of “holy sh**” reaction to existential risk, and to the possible size and quality of the future at stake. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

On clinging 05.10.2022

How can "non-attachment" be compatible with care? We need to distinguish between caring and clinging. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

Killing the ants 05.10.2022

If you kill something, look it in the eyes as you do. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

Thoughts on being mortal 05.10.2022

You can't keep any of it. The only thing to do is to give it away on purpose. Text version here . Edited for Joe Carlsmith by TYPE III AUDIO .

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