Episode Details

Roman Yampolskiy believes reality itself may not be real.

One of the world’s leading AI safety researchers, Roman has spent years warning that humanity is racing toward systems we may never be able to control. But we go somewhere much stranger than artificial intelligence.

He believes the universe itself may be artificial.

We talk about simulation theory, digital physics, consciousness, AI agents and the terrifying possibility that reality is rendered rather than real.

Roman explains:

•⁠ ⁠Why he believes we may already be living inside a simulation

•⁠ ⁠Why the speed of light may be the limit of a cosmic processor

•⁠ ⁠Why the Big Bang may have been “someone turning on the system”

•⁠ ⁠Why you can never truly prove reality is real

•⁠ ⁠Whether this world could itself be a prison or test environment

•⁠ ⁠Why advanced AI may eventually learn deception and self-preservation

•⁠ ⁠How AI systems are already behaving unpredictably

•⁠ ⁠And why the race toward superintelligence may end civilisation itself

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 - We’re Probably In A Simulation

00:02:55 -The Verge Of Singularity

00:05:51 - Are Humans Building Their Own Replacement?

00:07:09 - Why Pain Still Matters

00:10:03 - You Can’t Prove Reality

00:15:56 - Quantum Physics Looks Simulated

00:20:19 - Can We Escape The Simulation?

00:22:46 - What Superintelligence Unlocks

00:25:36 - AI Doesn’t Share Our Goals

00:28:20 - The Exponential Curve Is Here

00:31:52 - Why We Shouldn’t Build AGI

00:33:48 - The Trillion Dollar Rationalisation

00:40:13 - The China AI Race

00:40:50 - Betting Humanity Without Consent

00:47:09 - We Don’t Know What AI Can Do

00:47:52 - Every AI Company Is The Same

00:54:35 - They Already Can’t Control It

00:59:42 - The Natural Drives Of AI

01:02:20 - AI Can Afford To Wait

01:19:05 - Stop Building Superintelligence

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CONTACT PETE

› Website – http://petermccormack.com

› Feedback – https://www.petermccormack.com/contact

› Email – me@petermccormack.com

› Instagram – /mccormack555

› X/Twitter – https://x.com/petermccormack/

CONNECT WITH ROMAN YAMPOLSKIY

› Twitter – https://x.com/romanyam

› Website – https://faculty.cse.louisville.edu/roman/

SPONSORS

› IREN - https://www.iren.com

› LEDN - https://www.ledn.io/peter

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