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Ep 110  |  John Robb

John Robb: “Networked Tribalism, AI, and Asteroids”

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TGS110 John Robb The Great Simplification

Show Summary

On this episode, Nate is joined by author and technology analyst John Robb to discuss how geopolitics, information warfare, and technology are shaping how we understand the world and interact with each other. With the recent rise in global tensions and violence, plus an escalating threat of catastrophic scenarios, more and more people sense that the system is unstable. Coupled with accelerating developments in artificial intelligence, we live in an environment where interpretation and sensemaking – especially at an individual level – are more difficult than ever. What do these trends and challenges mean for governments and corporations trying to control the flow of information and data? How will near-term technological advancements affect the trajectories of politics, science, and journalism – and is it possible for individuals to be aware of and mitigate their influence? During a time where communication and collective problem solving is more important than ever, will it be possible to navigate between tribes and ideological groups amidst increasing polarization and fractured information systems? 

About John Robb

John Robb currently publishes the Global Guerrillas Report, which covers the intersection of War, Politics, and Technology. He served as a tier one special ops, after which he went on to be a popular internet analyst, entrepreneur, the COO of a software company that open sourced the current RSS standard, and much more. He also published the book Brave New War on the subject of the future of warfare.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

00:00 – John Robb Works + Info

01:59 – Brave New War

02:40 – Three Realms of Warfare

02:50 – John Boyd

06:19 – Marshall McLuhan

06:55 – Entropy and Collapse

08:24 – Microaggression

09:10 – Limits to Growth, Update

09:55 – Social Contract

11:15 – Negative effects of too much inward reflection

12:04 – Economic growth over time

12:12 – Meaning Crisis

13:48 – Long Night Scenario

14:14 – Open AI, Sam Altman

15:15 – Chat GPT
16:42 – AI alignment

20:36 – Nate’s Frankly’s

22:26 – Simulation Hypothesis

22:55 – WestWorld

26:55 – Black Mirror

27:03 – Luddite

27:55 – Effects of black hole on human body

29:41 – Data Ownership

30:35 – Synthetic data, issues with bias 

31:02 – Large language models

34:01 – Surveillance State

34:41 – Metcalfe’s Law

35:21 – Europe data protection law

35:35 – Privacy vs data ownership

37:32 – Energy use of AI, Consumption-amplifying effects of AI

38:14 – Smartphone adoption rate

38:20 – Augmented Reality

39:41 – Matrix

41:57 – Art Berman podcast, peak oil

43:11 – Increasing middle class

46:34 – DAI, Disney lost half its value

46:55 – Debt requires growth

49:28 – Musk, Bezos

51:41 – Rates of mental illness

52:13 – Jonathan Haidt + TGS Podcast

52:28 – Schools that don’t allow phones have better mental health outcomes

54:11 – Anti-Israel movement among young people

54:41 – Tribal moral warfare

54:52 – Russian-Ukraine information warfare

56:01 – People under 50 don’t watch TV news

1:01:22 – Fictive Kinship

1:03:08 – George Floyd

1:03:19 – Mirror Neurons

1:13:03 – Archduke Ferdinand

1:22:45 – There were 8 million border encounters over the last 3 years*

*This number is closer to 10 million now. Encounters described any event recorded at the border – which can mean it’s multiple people or the same person multiple times. Total expulsions and repatriations now sit at around 5 million.

1:25:28 – Corporate trust is higher than government trust

1:26:26 – Trends toward Facism

1:26:33 – Networked Facism 

1:30:08 – Tristan Harris + TGS Episode, AI regulation

1:31:24 – Polarization

1:35:36 – Dissipative system

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