Lee Cronin vs. Liron Shapira: AI Doom Debate

Prof. Lee Cronin is the Regius Chair of Chemistry at the University of Glasgow. His research aims to understand how life might arise from non-living matter. In 2017, he invented “Assembly Theory” as a way to measure the complexity of molecules and gain insight into the earliest evolution of life.

Today we’re debating Lee's claims about the limits of AI capabilities, and my claims about the risk of extinction from superintelligent AGI.

00:00 Introduction

04:20 Assembly Theory

05:10 Causation and Complexity

10:07 Assembly Theory in Practice

12:23 The Concept of Assembly Index

16:54 Assembly Theory Beyond Molecules

30:13 P(Doom)

32:39 The Statement on AI Risk

42:18 Agency and Intent

47:10 RescueBot’s Intent vs. a Clock’s

53:42 The Future of AI and Human Jobs

57:34 The Limits of AI Creativity

01:04:33 The Complexity of the Human Brain

01:19:31 Superintelligence: Fact or Fiction?

01:29:35 Final Thoughts

Lee’s Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leroy_Cronin

Lee’s Twitter: https://x.com/leecronin

Lee’s paper on Assembly Theory: https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.02279

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