2024-06-10: Intelligence Explosion: Part A
Do Not Laugh
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Intelligence Explosion: Part A
Leopold Aschenbrenner, 2x OpenAI researcher fired in April 2024, was on the Dwarkesh podcast this week. Along with a 4-hour pod, he dropped a 160-page treatise on the coming Intelligence Explosion in the decade ahead, to expound on his Situational Awareness.
The backstory is that Leo was on the four-person team running the FTX Future Fund, backed by Sam Bankman-Fried. Dwarkesh receives a small $20k grant from the Future Fund right out of college, which encourages him to take up podcasting full-time. After FTX collapses, Leo joins the OpenAI superalignment effort. Dwarkesh and Leo become friends, and much of Dwarkesh’s “alpha“ on what to ask AI guests comes from this friendship.
The rest of Leo’s story is best summarized:
