If you didn't have to work to enjoy material abundance, would you do it anyway? If an algorithm or a pill could achieve better results, would you bother shopping or going to the gym? These are the kinds of questions we'll need to ask ourselves if AI makes all human labor and other traditional ways of spending time obsolete. Oxford philosopher Nicholas Bostrom, author of Deep Utopia, is downright bullish about our ability, not only to adjust to a life stripped of labor, but to thrive. Listen as Bostrom explains to EconTalk's Russ Roberts what pleasure and leisure might look like in a world without struggle or pain, and why art and religion may come out still standing, or even become more necessary. Finally, they speak about how AI might free us up to be the best people we can be.
Welcome to Econ Talk conversations for the curious part of the Library of economics and Liberty.
I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
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Today is May 1, 2024.
My guest is philosopher and author Nicholas Bostrom of Oxford University.
This is his second appearance on Econ Talk.
He was first here in December of 2014, talking about his book superintelligence, about the dangers of artificial intelligence, of AI, and he was way early and worrying about that.
His new book and our topic for today is deep life and meaning in a solved world.
Nick, welcome back to Econ Talk.
Thanks.
And there it is.
Yes, 2014.
That's.
It's been a while.
Yep.
And I'm a lot smarter since then.
I'm sure you are, too, but neither of us are quite super intelligent.