The Philosophical Snake: AI, Robotics, and a Fossilized Surprise

Andrew Mayne, Justin Robert Young, and Brian Brushwood embark on a philosophical journey, starting with a tribute to the late Daniel Dennett, whose work on consciousness and thought experiments left a profound impact on Andrew. The conversation then shifts to AI, with Facebook’s new Llama 3 model stirring the pot in the open-source community, and robotics, where Boston Dynamics’ new Atlas robot demonstrates terrifying agility. The episode wraps up with the discovery of a potentially record-breaking fossilized snake, sparking a mix of awe and existential dread among the hosts.

Picks:

Andrew Mayne: Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett

Brian Brushwood: Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss

Justin Robert Young: House of the Dragon (HBO series)