Doom Debates!
It's time to talk about the end of the world. With your host, Liron Shapira. lironshapira.substack.com
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Destiny's Fans Challenged Me to an AI Doom Debate
<p>Fresh off my debate with Destiny, his Discord community invited me into their voice chat to talk about AI doom. Just like the man himself, his fans are sharp.</p><p>Let's find out where they get off The Doom Train™.</p><p>My recent debate with Destiny — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNgffLZTeWw</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00:00 — Cold Open</p><p>00:00:54 — Liron Joins Destiny’s Discord</p><p>00:02:21 — The AI Doom Premise</p><p>00:03:27 — Defining Intelligence and Is An LLM Really AI?</p><p>00:07:12 — Will AI Become Uncontrollable?</p><p>00:12:44 — The AI Alignment Problem</p><p>00:24:11 — The Difficulty of Pa...
Doomsday Clock Physicist Warns AI Is Major Threat to Humanity!
<p>Renowned scientists just set The Doomsday Clock closer than ever to midnight.</p><p>I agree our collective doom seems imminent, but why do the clocksetters point to climate change—not rogue AI—as an existential threat?</p><p>UChicago Professor Daniel Holz, a top physicist who sets the Doomsday Clock, joins me to debate society’s top existential risks.</p><p>00:00:00 — Cold Open </p><p>00:00:51 — Introducing Professor Holz</p><p>00:02:08 — The Doomsday Clock is at 85 Seconds to Midnight! </p><p>00:04:37 — What's Your P(Doom)?™ </p><p>00:08:09 — Making A Probability of Doomsday, or P(Doom), Equation </p><p>00:12:07 — How We All Die: Nuclear vs C...
Why I Started Doom Debates & How to Succeed in AI Risk Communications
<p>Liron was invited to give a presentation to some of the most promising creators in AI safety communications.</p><p>Get a behind-the-scenes look at Doom Debates and how the channel has grown so quickly. </p><p>Learn more about the Frame Fellowship: https://framefellowship.com/</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00:00 — Liron tees up the presentation</p><p>00:02:28 — Liron’s Frame Fellowhip Presentation</p><p>00:06:03 — Introducing Doom Debates</p><p>00:07:44 — Meeting the Frame Fellows</p><p>00:19:38 — Why I Started Doom Debates</p><p>00:30:20 — Handling Hate and Criticism</p><p>00:31:56 — The Talent Stack</p><p>00:39:34 — Finding Your Unique Niche</p><p>00:40:58 — Q&A<...
Destiny Raises His P(Doom) At The End
<p>Destiny has racked up millions of views for his sharp takes on political and cultural news. Now, I finally get to ask him about a topic he’s been agnostic on: Will AI end humanity?</p><p>Come ride with us on the Doom Train™ 🚂</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00:00 — Teaser</p><p>00:01:16 — Welcoming Destiny</p><p>00:02:54 — What’s Your P(Doom)?™</p><p>00:04:46 — 2017 vs 2026: Destiny’s views on AI</p><p>00:11:04 — AI could vastly surpass human intelligence</p><p>00:16:02 — Can AI doom us?</p><p>00:18:42 — Intelligence doesn’t guarantee morality</p><p>00:22:18 — The vibes-based case against doom</p><p>00:29:58 — The human brain is...
The Facade of AI Safety Will Crumble (Video)
<p>On the eve of superintelligence, real AI safety is a nonexistent field. I break down why in my latest essay, The Facade of AI Safety Will Crumble.</p><p>This is a podcast reading of a recent Substack post: https://lironshapira.substack.com/p/the-facade-of-ai-safety-will-crumble</p><p>Doom Debates’ Mission is to raise mainstream awareness of imminent extinction from AGI and build the social infrastructure for high-quality debate.</p><p>Support the mission by subscribing to my Substack at DoomDebates.com and to youtube.com/@DoomDebates, or to really take things to the next level: Donate 🙏</p> <br/><br/>Get f...
Elon Musk's Insane Plan for Surviving AI Takeover
<p>Elon Musk just made a stunning admission about the insane future he’s steering us toward.</p><p>In a new interview with Dwarkesh Patel and John Collison on the Cheeky Pint podcast, Elon said that humanity can’t expect to be “in charge” of AI for long, because humans will soon only have 1% of the combined total human+AI intelligence.</p><p>Then, he claimed to have a plan to build AI overlords that will naturally support humanity's flourishing.</p><p>In this mini episode, I react to Elon's remarks and expose why his plan for humanity's survival in the a...
The Only Politician Thinking Clearly About Superintelligence — California Governor Candidate Zoltan Istvan
<p>California gubernatorial candidate Zoltan Istvan reveals his P(Doom) and makes the case for universal basic income and radical life extension.</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00:00 — Teaser</p><p>00:00:50 — Meet Zoltan, Democratic Candidate for California Governor</p><p>00:08:30 — The 2026 California Governor's Race</p><p>00:12:50 — Zoltan's Platform Is Automated Abundance</p><p>00:19:45 — What's Your P(Doom)™</p><p>00:28:26 — Campaigning on Existential Risk</p><p>00:32:36 — Does Zoltan Support a Global AI Pause?</p><p>00:48:39 — Exploring His Platform: Education, Crime, and Affordability</p><p>01:08:55 — Exploring His Platform:: Super Cities, Space, and Longevity</p><p>01:13:00 — Closing Thoughts</p><p>Links</p><p>Zoltan Istvan’s Campaign for...
His P(Doom) Is Only 2.6% — AI Doom Debate with Bentham's Bulldog, a.k.a. Matthew Adelstein
<p>Get ready for a rematch with the one & only Bentham’s Bulldog, a.k.a. Matthew Adelstein! Our first debate covered a wide range of philosophical topics.</p><p>Today’s Debate #2 is all about Matthew’s new argument against the inevitability of AI doom. He comes out swinging with a calculated P(Doom) of just 2.6% , based on a multi-step probability chain that I challenge as potentially falling into a “Type 2 Conjunction Fallacy” (a.k.a. Multiple Stage Fallacy).</p><p>We clash on whether to expect “alignment by default” and the nature of future AI architectures. While Matthew sees current R...
What Dario Amodei Misses In "The Adolescence of Technology" — Reaction With MIRI's Harlan Stewart
<p>Harlan Stewart works in communications for the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI). </p><p>In this episode, Harlan and I give our honest opinions on Dario Amodei's new essay "The Adolescence of Technology".</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>0:00:00 — Cold Open</p><p>0:00:47 — How Harlan Stewart Got Into AI Safety</p><p>0:02:30 — What’s Your P(Doom)?™</p><p>0:04:09 — The “Doomer” Label</p><p>0:06:13 — Overall Reaction to Dario’s Essay: The Missing Mood</p><p>0:09:15 — The Rosy Take on Dario’s Essay</p><p>0:10:42 — Character Assassination & Low Blows</p><p>0:13:39 — Dario Amodei is Shifting the Overton Window in The Wrong Direction</p><p>0:15:04 — Ob...
Q&A: Is Liron too DISMISSIVE of AI Harms? + New Studio, Demis Would #PauseAI, AI Water Use Debate
<p>Check out the new Doom Debates studio in this Q&A with special guest Producer Ori! Liron gets into a heated discussion about whether doomers must validate short-term risks, like data center water usage, in order to build a successful political coalition.</p><p>Originally streamed on Saturday, January 24.</p><p>Timestamps</p><p>00:00:00 — Cold Open</p><p>00:00:26 — Introduction and Studio Tour</p><p>00:08:17 — Q&A: Alignment, Accelerationism, and Short-Term Risks</p><p>00:18:15 — Dario Amodei, Davos, and AI Pause</p><p>00:27:42 — Producer Ori Joins: Locations and Vibes</p><p>00:35:31 — Legislative Strategy vs. Social Movements (The Tobacco Playbook)</p><p>00:45:01 — Ethics of Inve...
