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Manifold
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Content provided by Steve Hsu. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Steve Hsu or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Join him for wide-ranging conversations with leading writers, scientists, technologists, academics, entrepreneurs, investors, and more.
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183 episodes
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Content provided by Steve Hsu. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Steve Hsu or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Join him for wide-ranging conversations with leading writers, scientists, technologists, academics, entrepreneurs, investors, and more.
…
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183 episodes
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×Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Liu has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his novel translations and original short fiction. Liu's short story "The Paper Menagerie" is the first work of fiction, of any length, to win all of the Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. Besides his original work, Liu's translation of Liu Cixin's Chinese language novel The Three-Body Problem (the first in the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy) won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel, making it the first translated novel to have won the award. He studied English Literature and Computer Science at Harvard College, and graduated from Harvard Law School. https://kenliu.name/ Steve and Ken discuss: 00:00 Meet Ken Liu: Acclaimed Sci-Fi and Fantasy Writer 04:25 The Immigrant Experience and Cultural Perspectives 09:22 Harvard, MSFT, HLS, Litigation 15:01 The Art of Storytelling and Technology 34:03 Controversy in AI Reasoning 34:31 Technology Outstripping Science 35:22 AI and the Arts 38:30 The Future of AI in Art 42:44 AI's Role in Creative Processes 50:04 Art, Automation, and Society 57:31 Favorite Science Fiction and Fantasy 01:03:06 The Genius of Philip K. Dick Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. – Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 US-PRC Tech War: DeepSeek AI and 6th Generation Fighters — #78 2:01:54
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(00:00) - Introduction: AI, Miltech, and Balance of Power (00:32) - DeepSeek AI R1 model (02:36) - DeepSeek: top performance, 30x efficient compute (10:37) - DeepSeek technical innovations (15:38) - The AI Race: U.S. vs. China (34:20) - Fighter Jets and Military Technology (42:54) - Fifth to Sixth Generation Fighter Programs (46:13) - Technology of China's 6th Generation Planes (52:20) - Chinese Sixth Generation Aircraft Capabilities (01:00:50) - Strategic Implications for the U.S. and Future Developments (01:27:48) - Disabling Military Bases (01:31:17) - Implications for the U.S. and China (01:35:26) - Future Defense Strategies and Realities Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Jim Haslam: Covid Origins and Coronavirus Genetic Engineering — #77 1:55:32
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Relevant links: Jim Haslam on X: https://x.com/jhas5 Jim's Substack: https://jimhaslam.substack.com/ Jim's book, "COVID-19: Mystery Solved," on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/COVID-19-Mystery-Solved-leaked-Chinese-ebook/dp/B0DPVT9LWV?ref_=ast_author_cp_dp Chapters: (00:00) - A quick note on my interview with Jim Haslam (03:40) - Introducing Jim Haslam, author of "COVID-19: Mystery Solved" (04:51) - The DARPA DEFUSE Grant Proposal (08:52) - Ralph Baric and Genetic Engineering of Coronaviruses (20:10) - Danielle Anderson and the Wuhan BSL-4 Lab (24:38) - The Role of EcoHealth Alliance and Peter Daszak (29:28) - The Furin Cleavage Site Controversy (36:43) - NIAID Funding and the Wuhan Connection (40:53) - Capabilities and Limitations of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Baric's Lab (44:41) - The DEFUSE Grant and Wuhan Institute of Virology (48:22) - RaTG13 Genome and Its Implications (50:34) - Kristian Anderson's Alarming Discovery (01:00:42) - Feb. 1 Teleconference with Fauci & Baric; Feb. 3 NAS Meeting (01:19:41) - Unintentional vs. Intentional Engineering (01:21:28) - Tracing the Virus to Wuhan, Patient Zero, and the Role of Danielle Anderson (01:29:38) - Rocky Mountain Lab and Virus Processing (01:36:32) - Animal Models, Engineering Aerosol Transmission (01:42:23) - The Smoking Gun Email…
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1 Joscha Bach: Consciousness and AGI — #76 1:21:42
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Joscha Bach is a German cognitive scientist, AI researcher, and philosopher known for his work on cognitive architectures, artificial intelligence, mental representation, emotion, social modeling, multi-agent systems, and the philosophy of mind. Links of interest: http://bach.ai/ https://x.com/Plinz Steve and Joscha discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (01:26) - Growing up in the forest in East Germany (06:23) - Academia: early neural net pioneers, CS and Philosophy (10:17) - The fall of the Berlin Wall (14:57) - Commodore 64 and early programming experiences (15:29) - AGI timeline and predictions (19:35) - Scaling hypothesis, beyond Transformers, universality of information structures and world models (25:29) - Consciousness (41:11) - The ethics of brain interventions, zombies, and the Turing test (43:43) - LLMs and simulated phenomenology (46:34) - The future of consciousness research (48:44) - Cultural perspectives on suffering (52:19) - AGI and humanity's future (58:18) - Simulation hypothesis (01:03:33) - Liquid AI: Innovations and goals (01:16:02) - Philosophy of Identity: the Transporter Problem, Is there anything beyond memory records? Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. – Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Adventures in Physics, Trump, and more, with the Information Theory podcast — #75 1:19:03
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This episode is an interview I did with the new podcast Information Theory. The host of Information Theory is an anonymous technologist trained in physics and machine learning. Information Theory Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@InformationTheoryPod Information Theory Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PbxeOYInRuH4DBXOAOq5u?si=q90fZh8PRUut5c1XG4K7Sw (00:00) - Introduction to Information Theory podcast (01:19) - The education of a physicist (10:53) - Computational genomics (19:40) - Thinking styles and collaboration in theoretical physics (26:08) - Scientific progress and the Great Stagnation (40:39) - University research administration (45:05) - Reproducibility crisis (57:58) - Impact of basic research (01:03:16) - Critique of NIH and biomedical research (01:06:48) - Personal reflections on Trump's re-election and an inside view of the 47 transition (01:12:37) - Silicon Valley and US politics (01:15:30) - Concerns and hope for America's future Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Pascal Lottaz: Neutrality, Geopolitics, and International Conflict — #74 1:37:13
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Pascal Lottaz is Associate Professor at Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law & Hakubi Center. His research area is Neutrality Studies - the study of neutrality as a concept in international relations, sociology, international law, diplomacy, political science, security, and history. Follow Pascal on X @Plottaz Pascal's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@neutralitystudies (00:00) - Professor Pascal Lattaz's background, early life, and experiences in Japan (14:17) - Neutrality in international relations (20:07) - Ukraine's struggle for neutrality (28:44) - Debating the Ukraine conflict (37:50) - Physics, social sciences, and observer-independent reality (46:13) - The importance of dissent in open societies (47:01) - Russian resilience, NATO, escalation strategies, and potential outcomes (51:43) - European realism and U.S. influence (56:16) - Incentive structures and NATO dynamics (01:04:11) - Japan's strategic position and U.S. alliance (01:13:49) - Potential conflicts and proxy wars in East Asia (01:30:35) - Philippines' strategic dilemma (01:36:26) - Concluding thoughts Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve .…
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1 Letter from Shanghai: Reflections on China in 2024 — #73 59:51
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(00:00) - Overview: 3 weeks in China (02:33) - The China knowledge problem: Grappling with Reality (06:54) - Physics seminars in Shanghai and Beijing (15:54) - Chinese academia, challenges in scientific culture (22:43) - Yu Min: Two Bombs, One Satellite (27:02) - He Jiankui and gene editing, plus the future of biotech in China (33:32) - China's AI and chip war strategy. Impact of U.S. policies on semiconductor industry (35:46) - Quiet confidence in China's technological advancements (37:17) - Discovering my father's history in Yunnan, etched in stone (41:04) - Climbing Jade Mountain on election night: Trump Triumph (48:31) - Shanghai modern infrastructure and technology (51:16) - High-speed rail in China (53:12) - Visit China - or at least watch some travel videos on YouTube! Links to X posts made during my trip - check out the whole timeline during this period. PPP and US vs PRC Real GDP https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1851653168158949492 PhD student asks me whether Jews control US politics: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852179736035778768 Note to retards, on "Chicoms": https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852195575434715645 Yu Min and the Chinese H-bomb: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852497112635671016 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852497765353558371 Me and He Jiankui: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852693355601199262 Dali: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1853239642075648356 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1853247317840629820 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1853301562480718195 Lijiang: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1854395254105047484 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1854503079669838057 MAGA on the Mountain: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1854015799901495674 Business-class lie flat seats on HSR: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855042439280791977 Kumming: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855050351755641106 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855409317937098864 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855748351855071433 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856215080637215222 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856239700362834006 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856533059509653578 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856634646160683273 Shanghai: https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857282310099386857 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857391783770276314 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857574060122845381 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857653348557603255 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1858033981276467535 Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Letter from Beijing, with Han Feizi — #72 1:02:09
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Han Feizi is the pseudonym of a columnist for Asia Times, who covers the Chinese economy, technology, and US-China competition. The author lives in Beijing, and has an extensive background in finance and investment banking. Han Feizi's articles for Asia Times: https://asiatimes.com/author/han-feizi/ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to the guest: Han Feizi 01:39 What it's like in Beijing right now 06:38 Modern Conveniences in Beijing 12:11 What the economy feels like for ordinary people 19:09 China's economic structure: consumption, infrastructure investment, Michael Pettis 30:32 Currency Valuation and PPP: real PRC is significantly larger than US economy 31:45 US high living standards and manufacturing competitiveness 34:13 Globalization and its discontents 40:15 Reversing globalization and the myth of American exceptionalism 45:58 China's increasingly high quality standards and quality of life 58:09 Whither China? Xi Jinping Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Seeking Truth From Facts: Israel and Iran, Missile Defense, China Economic Development 1:05:02
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This is a crossover episode with the Seeking Truth From Facts podcast. (00:00) - Iranian missile attack vs Israel and missile defense (13:10) - Is there potential for a 1973-style oil crisis? (21:41) - Is NATO getting tired of the proxy war in Ukraine? (25:43) - Why has Europe declined relatively since 2008 and what are the consequences of said decline? (30:13) - Is procyclical European fiscal policy to blame? (34:51) - Has China's infrastructure boom been a white elephant? (41:37) - China's energy grid and solar energy transision (46:57) - Will India catch up to or overtake China? (57:06) - Is liberal democracy really necessary for long-term economic prosperity? (01:00:14) - How did Lee Kuan Yew transform Singapore? Links: Iran ballistic missiles and missile defense https://stevehsu.substack.com/p/iran-vs-israel-implications-for-missile Pershing 2 Missile https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1843450614552113316 Russia-Ukraine war and Iran blowback https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1844551899103863154 India development https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1814994391502667953 https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1815047688829706279 Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Samo Burja: Intellectuals, Culture. and the Technosphere — #70 1:37:03
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Samo Burja founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that investigates the political and institutional landscape of society. He is a Senior Research Fellow in Political Science at the Foresight Institute where he advises on how institutions can shape the future of technology. Since 2024, he has chaired the editorial board of Palladium Magazine, a non-partisan publication that explores the future of governance and society through international journalism, long-form analysis, and social philosophy. From 2020 to 2023, he was a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation where he studied how institutions can endure for centuries and millennia. Samo writes and speaks on history, institutions, and strategy with a focus on exceptional leaders that create new social and political forms. Image has systematized this approach as “Great Founder Theory.” Steve and Samo discuss: (00:00) - Introduction (01:38) - Meet Samo Burja: Founder of Bismarck Analysis (03:17) - Palladium Magazine: A West Coast Publication (06:37) - The Unique Culture of Silicon Valley (12:53) - Inside Bismarck Analysis: Services and Clients (21:35) - The Role of Technology in Global Innovation (32:13) - The Influence of Rationalists and Effective Altruists (48:07) - European Tech Policies and Global Competition (49:28) - The Role of Taiwan and China in Tech Manufacturing (51:12) - Geopolitical Dynamics and Strategic Alliances (52:49) - China's Provincial Power and Industrial Strategy (56:02) - Urbanization and Demography, Ancient Society (59:41) - Intellectual Pursuits and Cultural Dynamics (01:04:09) - Intellectuals, SF, and Global Influence (01:13:45) - Fertility Rates, Urbanization, and Forgotten Migration (01:22:24) - Interest in Cultural Dynamics and Population Rates (01:26:03) - Daily Life as an Intellectual Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Deus Ex Machina: A Man, Machines, and God 1:30:15
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This is a crossover episode in which https://x.com/loubohan interviews me for his podcast Deus Ex Machina. I was obviously in an exuberant mood for this interview - it's one of my favorites! Deus Ex Machina podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7mXUfNJdNnOjGfu6VGactr?si=Y3j1OZG4QsGdPhXd8dKsrw … Timestamps: (00:00) - Growing up in Iowa. Athletics, Chinese culture. KMT and military family background. (11:48) - Hearing about the Cultural Revolution from my dad: his family experienced it firsthand in Zhejiang. Meanwhile, US experts and academics were entirely deluded about reality in PRC (20:55) - "Experts" are often miscalibrated (35:03) - Physicists and finance. Was Charlie Munger right to say it's a waste of talent to channel top brains into finance? (45:15) - Hedgehogs, Foxes, and Eagles. Polymathy. (48:41) - Development of modern China as the greatest story of the last 50 years. My first visit to China: the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 1992. US-China competition and the future of Asian Americans. (56:52) - Genomic Prediction. Genomics of cognitive ability. Leftists holding back genetic science. PING = NIH-funded Pediatric Imagining, Neurocognition, and Genetics study. Stephen J. Gould was a fraud. Asian culture (pragmatic realism) and resistance to woken... (01:05:20) - Physics and Free Will. Meat machines programmed by evolution to have an illusion of self? (01:10:04) - Copenhagen Interpretation of QM: Is there true randomness in Physics? Many Worlds, Foundations of QM, and groupthink in modern physics. (01:19:09) - Christianity, raised as a Methodist by my mother, whose family has been Christian since the 19th century. Religious Experience vs Physics viewpoint. Meat machines programmed by evolution to have mystical religious feelings? (01:21:28) - Raising children, family, happiness, the meaning of life in view of my father's life (01:24:34) - The meaning of life, "All is Vanity" (Ecclesiastes), Religion Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. – Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Seeking Truth From Facts: Alf & Steve Hsu — #68 55:06
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This is a crossover episode in which Alf of the Seeking Truth from Facts podcast interviews Steve Hsu about the Chinese economy and political system, and US-China competition. Seeking Truth From Facts podcast: https://substack.com/@seekingtruthfromfacts/p-148705853 Steve and Alf discuss: (00:00) - Introduction to the Podcast Collaboration (00:48) - Steve Hsu's Background and Expertise (02:22) - US-China Geopolitical Dynamics (28:44) - China's Political System: Meritocracy vs. Autocracy (32:23) - China's Path to Liberalization: Past, Present, and Future (45:57) - Geopolitical Dynamics: China, Russia, and the West Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. – Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Letter from Reykjavik: Genomics, Chess, Hyperscaling genAI, and Quantum Black Holes — #67 35:30
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This is a short episode recorded at the end of a trip to Caltech (LA), Frankfurt, and Reykjavik. Black hole information and replica wormholes at Caltech (talk slides): https://stevehsu.substack.com/p/black-hole-information-and-replica 00:00 Intro: summer in Iceland 02:04 deCODE genetics 05:52 Chess: Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik 11:56 Hyperscaling genAI 23:11 Synthetic data and Hyperscaling 24:26 Is the Transformer architecture enough for AGI? 29:45 Quantum black holes Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 Robin Hanson: Prediction Markets, the Future of Civilization, and Polymathy — #66 1:20:47
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Robin Hanson is a professor of economics at George Mason University. He has worked in a variety of fields, including Physics, AI, Economics, and Futurism. Follow him at https://x.com/robinhanson "When the typical economist tells me about his latest research, my standard reaction is 'Eh, maybe.' Then I forget about it. When Robin Hanson tells me about his latest research, my standard reaction is 'No way! Impossible!' Then I think about it for years." -- Prof. Bryan Caplan, GMU 0:00 Introduction 00:34 Welcome and Manifest conference introduction 03:12 Robin Hanson: Education and Early Influences 08:38 Transition from Physics+AI to Social Science and Economics 22:02 Prediction Markets: Potential and Challenges 28:37 Cultural Drift and Challenges to Modern Society 40:49 Fertility and Demography 48:37 Life as a Polymath 59:27 Future of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation Question 01:09:29 Audience Q&A Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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1 China Today: Myths and Realities — #65 1:21:47
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Steve discusses China myths and realities with Victor, a tech founder who ran a company in Beijing for 7 years. Among the topics covered: economic growth, real estate bubble, technology innovation, human capital, freedom of expression, Confucianism and Culture. 00:00 Introduction 02:02 Post-COVID economy and bursting of the real estate bubble 08:25 Semiconductor Industry and US-China Tech War 16:57 STEM Education and Workforce: China vs US 20:36 Slides on PRC human capital deepening, STEM and total workforce 39:58 Economic indicators and potential war economy 41:03 Singapore as model for PRC development, leadership exchanges 45:45 Travel plans, changes since pre-COVID era, YouTube travel content 53:00 Freedom of expression 1:02:20 Confucianism, leadership styles 1:17:57 Backyard Addendum: Further thoughts, travel to China Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure. -- Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.…
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