Ask A Genius 1297: Comedy, Self-Disclosure, and the Evolution of Porn Culture

 Rick Rosner: So, to some extent, my career—my continued employment at Kimmel—has been shaped by my attempts to write about myself for decades. Eventually, I semi-gave up and started writing about another character with many of my traits. Writing directly about myself would inevitably involve throwing others under the bus. While I am forthcoming about …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1297: Comedy, Self-Disclosure, and the Evolution of Porn Culture

Ask A Genius 1296: Existential Risks, AI Alignment, and Global Stability

Rick Rosner: So, we can think of three major existential threats to humanity: AI run amok Climate change Nuclear war And then there’s the more manageable threat of an asteroid impact. Can you think of any other major risks? Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Supervolcanic eruption. Biological weapons. Solar flares. Gamma-ray bursts, global economic and societal collapse, …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1296: Existential Risks, AI Alignment, and Global Stability

Ask A Genius 1295: Musk’s False Claims, High-IQ Communities, and Mental Decline

 Rick Rosner: Musk is posting bullshit on his personal website, which is X. Today—February 19—the latest bullshit is that his team of investigators supposedly uncovered $1.9 billion of fraudulent money that was funneled through Stacey Abrams, the unsuccessful candidate for Georgia governor. It’s horseshit. They’ve pulled stunts like this before—claiming that millions of dead people …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1295: Musk’s False Claims, High-IQ Communities, and Mental Decline

Ask A Genius 1294: AI, Scaling Laws, and Political Chaos

Rick Rosner: So, AI—when you ask it appropriate questions—makes no bones about eventually supplanting human cognition. What passes for common sense now tells you the same thing: we have figured out how to create "thinky stuff."  Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We've made our own natural predator. Rosner: And we know that "thinky stuff" in biological beings …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1294: AI, Scaling Laws, and Political Chaos

Ask A Genius 1293: AI Cognition, Politics, and the Future of Science

Rick Rosner: So, ChatGPT-3 Mini-High—or is it O3-Mini-High? At what point in the future would you predict, with certainty, that AI cognition—the sheer volume of artificial cognition—will surpass human cognition? It was not a well-formed question. The question itself, combined with the statement, is essentially marketing. The terms are not clearly defined. So, I considered …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1293: AI Cognition, Politics, and the Future of Science

Ask A Genius 1291: Handwashing, NYC Hygiene, and Public Spaces

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Is it necessary to wash your hands after picking up dog poop with toilet paper? I do. Rick Rosner: I’m not sure if it’s strictly necessary, but I’m in the habit of washing my hands frequently. It’s a habit that started during COVID—or maybe even earlier when I was living in New …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1291: Handwashing, NYC Hygiene, and Public Spaces

Ask A Genius 1290: Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life? Exploring Physics, Quantum Events

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Hey, Rick. What about when theologians say the universe is fine-tuned for life? Most sufficiently large universes, with many planets orbiting most stars, likely have conditions that support life. I would assume that it's difficult to create a universe without at least some habitable regions. Certainly, planets can be negentropic—they receive energy …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1290: Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life? Exploring Physics, Quantum Events

Ask A Genius 1289: Does the Universe Exist Without Observers? Quantum Mechanics, Symmetry Breaking, and Information Theory

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, can the universe be meaningfully said to exist if there are no observers? Rick Rosner: You could argue that the universe observes itself. If you accept the premise that the universe is fundamentally made of information and that information requires a supporting structure, then yes, you can say it exists. The …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1289: Does the Universe Exist Without Observers? Quantum Mechanics, Symmetry Breaking, and Information Theory

Ask A Genius 1288: Calculating the Information Content of the Universe: Physics, Cosmology, and Information Theory

 Scott Douglas Jacobsen: So, hey, Rick. How would you calculate the information content of the universe over time in an IC model?  Rick Rosner: Well, I’m sure that if we checked Wikipedia, we would find a roughly agreed-upon estimate of the universe’s information content, likely measured in bits, based on physical principles like the Bekenstein …

Continue reading Ask A Genius 1288: Calculating the Information Content of the Universe: Physics, Cosmology, and Information Theory