Episode
#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
1:09:41
Published: Wed Jul 08 2020
Description
Peter Singer is a professor of bioethics at Princeton, best known for his 1975 book Animal Liberation, that makes an ethical case against eating meat. He has written brilliantly from an ethical perspective on extreme poverty, euthanasia, human genetic selection, sports doping, the sale of kidneys, and happiness including in his books Ethics in the Real World and The Life You Can Save. He was a key popularizer of the effective altruism movement and is generally considered one of the most influential philosophers in the world. Support this podcast by supporting these sponsors: - MasterClass: https://masterclass.com/lex - Cash App – use code "LexPodcast" and download: - Cash App (App Store): https://apple.co/2sPrUHe - Cash App (Google Play): https://bit.ly/2MlvP5w If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon. Here's the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. OUTLINE: 00:00 - Introduction 05:25 - World War II 09:53 - Suffering 16:06 - Is everyone capable of evil? 21:52 - Can robots suffer? 37:22 - Animal liberation 40:31 - Question for AI about suffering 43:32 - Neuralink 45:11 - Control problem of AI 51:08 - Utilitarianism 59:43 - Helping people in poverty 1:05:15 - Mortality
Chapters
In this episode, Lex Friedman sits down with philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer to discuss the ethics of eating meat, and why despite attempts to reduce his meat intake, he still finds himself performing better with meat in his diet.
00:00 - 05:08 (05:08)
Summary
In this episode, Lex Friedman sits down with philosopher and ethicist Peter Singer to discuss the ethics of eating meat, and why despite attempts to reduce his meat intake, he still finds himself performing better with meat in his diet.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast episode discusses the possibility of eradicating suffering and whether it is a plausible goal, or if minimum threshold would be better.
05:08 - 15:27 (10:18)
Summary
The podcast episode discusses the possibility of eradicating suffering and whether it is a plausible goal, or if minimum threshold would be better. It also touches on how the challenge of suffering and death can bring people closer together, but there are other ways to bond.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The host explores the idea of whether we are unwilling to do what is objectively right because we are afraid of the impact it may have on our lives in the face of great adversity.
15:27 - 22:07 (06:39)
Summary
The host explores the idea of whether we are unwilling to do what is objectively right because we are afraid of the impact it may have on our lives in the face of great adversity. He questions whether we can truly contemplate this objectively in the present day, and explores the difficulty in making the right decision versus succumbing to societal pressures or selfish motives.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast explores the idea of whether or not machines can be considered 'conscious' and whether or not they should be granted greater moral concern.
22:07 - 30:25 (08:18)
Summary
The podcast explores the idea of whether or not machines can be considered 'conscious' and whether or not they should be granted greater moral concern. The speakers discuss the issue of anthropomorphisation of machines and whether it can be considered to be beneficial or harmful.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The approach to determining if a machine like Alexa is self-aware and has emotions relies on learning methods like machine learning.
30:25 - 39:23 (08:58)
Summary
The approach to determining if a machine like Alexa is self-aware and has emotions relies on learning methods like machine learning. However, these methods are not capable of revealing the science of how it works, leading to the question of whether or not machines can be truly conscious.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast discusses the potential of companies like Neuralink, which aims to improve cognitive abilities and expand the bandwidth of the brain.
39:23 - 47:16 (07:52)
Summary
The podcast discusses the potential of companies like Neuralink, which aims to improve cognitive abilities and expand the bandwidth of the brain. The conversation also delves into how this technology can influence our treatment towards animals.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical view that considers the best course of action is the one that produces the maximum expected utility by maximizing happiness and minimizing pain and suffering.
47:16 - 53:58 (06:41)
Summary
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical view that considers the best course of action is the one that produces the maximum expected utility by maximizing happiness and minimizing pain and suffering. It becomes challenging to apply utilitarianism to existential risks where the math equation's infinity value makes it challenging to calculate priorities accurately.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast delves into how we can help people in extreme poverty, the effectiveness of various organizations in helping them, and how individuals can contribute through effective altruism or philanthropy.
53:58 - 1:01:15 (07:17)
Summary
This podcast delves into how we can help people in extreme poverty, the effectiveness of various organizations in helping them, and how individuals can contribute through effective altruism or philanthropy.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Effective altruism offers several ethical career choices to make a difference, including working for nonprofits, politics, or earning huge amounts of money to donate to effective charities.
1:01:15 - 1:08:13 (06:58)
Summary
Effective altruism offers several ethical career choices to make a difference, including working for nonprofits, politics, or earning huge amounts of money to donate to effective charities. It is a way to reduce the gap between people in extreme poverty and people living in affluent lives while forming communities with people who share similar ideas.
Episode#107 – Peter Singer: Suffering in Humans, Animals, and AI
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
In this conversation, Peter Singer discusses his views on effective altruism, the ethics of our treatment of animals, and the concept of rationality in decision-making.
1:08:13 - 1:09:18 (01:05)
Summary
In this conversation, Peter Singer discusses his views on effective altruism, the ethics of our treatment of animals, and the concept of rationality in decision-making.