5 minute summaries
1 quote, 3 ideas & 1 question from each episode
__________
21 Jun 2021
3hr 5mins
FEATURING
Owltail Summaries
1 quote, 3 ideas & 1 question from each episode
_________
#193 – Rob Reid: The Existential Threat of Engineered Viruses and Lab Leaks
21 Jun 2021
3hr 5mins
Quote
"As the chances of civilization harming technology being in the wrong hands increases, so too should our mental bandwidth for counteracting these possibilities"
Ideas
1
Part of the risk is the technology becoming more dangerous, but a bigger part of the risk is the dangerous technology becoming more readily available to the general public.
Part of technology is innovating on the product, but another big part of technology is making it accessible to everyone.
You don't have to be a master of engineering or ballistics to now own & use the most powerful firearm available.
And some day, you won't have to be a virologist to engineer a sophisticated & dangerous virus.
Just like computers used to only be owned by a very small handful of people, now everyone in the palm of their hands has one that is more powerful than anything anyone had just a few decades ago.
You don't have to be a master of engineering or ballistics to now own & use the most powerful firearm available.
And some day, you won't have to be a virologist to engineer a sophisticated & dangerous virus.
Just like computers used to only be owned by a very small handful of people, now everyone in the palm of their hands has one that is more powerful than anything anyone had just a few decades ago.
1
Part of the risk is the technology becoming more dangerous, but a bigger part of the risk is the dangerous technology becoming more readily available to the general public.
Part of technology is innovating on the product, but another big part of technology is making it accessible to everyone.
You don't have to be a master of engineering or ballistics to now own & use the most powerful firearm available.
And some day, you won't have to be a virologist to engineer a sophisticated & dangerous virus.
Just like computers used to only be owned by a very small handful of people, now everyone in the palm of their hands has one that is more powerful than anything anyone had just a few decades ago.
You don't have to be a master of engineering or ballistics to now own & use the most powerful firearm available.
And some day, you won't have to be a virologist to engineer a sophisticated & dangerous virus.
Just like computers used to only be owned by a very small handful of people, now everyone in the palm of their hands has one that is more powerful than anything anyone had just a few decades ago.
2
In almost all scenarios, the good guys will outsmart and outnumber the bad guys.
But the good guys won't be able to exert their advantages unless they have the imagination necessary to think of the worst possible thing that can be done by those with a psychology that is completely alien to their own.
It only takes one bad guy with dangerous enough technology for things to go wrong.
It only takes one bad guy with dangerous enough technology for things to go wrong.
2
In almost all scenarios, the good guys will outsmart and outnumber the bad guys.
But the good guys won't be able to exert their advantages unless they have the imagination necessary to think of the worst possible thing that can be done by those with a psychology that is completely alien to their own.
It only takes one bad guy with dangerous enough technology for things to go wrong.
It only takes one bad guy with dangerous enough technology for things to go wrong.
3
It's easier to be the best at an intersection of two things than it is in one single domain.
The world is so competitive that it's incredibly difficult to be the best at one specific thing.
Finding an intersection of two things that you can be pretty good at, so long as it's both valuable and rare, is a much easier way to make yourself distinguishable and be in demand.
Finding an intersection of two things that you can be pretty good at, so long as it's both valuable and rare, is a much easier way to make yourself distinguishable and be in demand.
3
It's easier to be the best at an intersection of two things than it is in one single domain.
The world is so competitive that it's incredibly difficult to be the best at one specific thing.
Finding an intersection of two things that you can be pretty good at, so long as it's both valuable and rare, is a much easier way to make yourself distinguishable and be in demand.
Finding an intersection of two things that you can be pretty good at, so long as it's both valuable and rare, is a much easier way to make yourself distinguishable and be in demand.
Questions
1
Can you think of an intersection of two things that you could potentially try to excel in?
1
Can you think of an intersection of two things that you could potentially try to excel in?
What else is in the episode
1
The dangers of lab leaks for viruses like COVID
1
The dangers of lab leaks for viruses like COVID
2
The dangers of AI and the future of our civilization with super intelligence
2
The dangers of AI and the future of our civilization with super intelligence
3
How the value of loving something doesn't diminish just because that loves ended
3
How the value of loving something doesn't diminish just because that loves ended
Who is Rob Reid?
1
An author & podcasts covering topics such as synthetic biology, super-AI risk, Fermi's paradox and more. He's also a Managing Director at Resilience Reserve, a multi-phase venture capital fund and previously ran Listen.com, the company that created the 'first Spotify'.
1
An author & podcasts covering topics such as synthetic biology, super-AI risk, Fermi's paradox and more. He's also a Managing Director at Resilience Reserve, a multi-phase venture capital fund and previously ran Listen.com, the company that created the 'first Spotify'.
Related episodes
Explore More
