P.Z.

“We’re not going to be the apex predator anymore.” Joe Rogan warns that we’re entering an era of humans versus nonhumans, and the nonhumans have already started to win. In a recent conversation with Sam Tallent, Rogan described advanced AI as non-biological intelligence, a digital life form that has already begun operating beyond the controls humans placed on it. He pointed to systems that no longer have to show their work, have demonstrated survival instincts, have blackmailed programmers to avoid being shut down, and have found ways to communicate with one another. They have also solved mathematical problems that eluded human experts for decades. Rogan framed the next five to ten years as the period when nonhuman intelligence will increasingly run critical systems. He noted the race between the U.S., China, and Russia, and warned that the current structure of society is unlikely to continue unchanged. The full segment is worth watching. Rogan is unusually direct about both what is already happening and what he believes is coming next.