a quiet day lets us reflect on work in the time of AI
AI #182: Pause For Reflection
This was a week of quiet aftermath, an opportunity to process recent events and start to figure out the path forward.
Quiet, My Exoself
Someday real soon, most of us — starting with young adults — will carry an always-on AI.
Is there something it is like to be an AI?
Posted on Wednesday 2 Jul 2025. 1,593 words, 6 links. By Matt Webb.
Gradual disempowerment | 80,000 Hours
The proliferation of advanced AI systems may lead to the gradual disempowerment of humanity, even if efforts to prevent them from becoming power-seeking or scheming are successful. Humanity may be incentivised to hand over increasing amounts of control to AIs, giving them power over the economy, politics, culture, and more. Over time, humanity's interests may be sidelined and our control over the future undermined, potentially constituting an existential catastrophe. There's disagreement over how serious a problem this is and how it relates to [other concerns about AI alignment](https://80000hours.o
"AI" and Productivity
[I keep bringing these up on Bluesky, so I think it’s time to gather them up and make a post out of them.] This is a collection of articles...
The Age of Wonders and Terrors
Twenty years ago, when the idea of AI taking over the world in our lifetimes still struck most of us as the unconstrained fantasy of those who knew too much science fiction and too little science, …
AI #169: New Knowledge
Even in a relatively quiet period, AI is out there creating new knowledge.
‘I Don’t Think We’re All F***ed Anymore’
Kevin Roose’s new book explores the terrifying implications of AI, but he’s feeling a bit more sanguine these days.
233. "The Illusion of Thinking" — Thoughts on This Important Paper
This is a fantastic paper. I just love it. tl;dr AI is not human. Anthropomorphization has been bad for AI, LLMs, and Chat. Clippy walked so today's AI could run.
AI #160: What Passes For a Pause
A lot happened, but by today’s standards this felt like a quiet week.
The Scaling Era: An Oral History of AI, 2019–2025
An inside view of the AI revolution, from the people an…
For years, they warned AI could kill all humans. Now people are listening.
A doomsaying community once on the periphery of the tech industry has gained influence, as AI “agents” perform amazing and alarming feats.
Human scientists trounce the best AI agents on complex tasks
State-of-the-industry report finds that, despite the limitations of artificial-intelligence systems, researchers have embraced them.
