Future of Life Institute Podcast

Future of Life Institute

Artificial Intelligence

AI Safety

Artificial General Intelligence

Cybersecurity

Superintelligence

AI Governance

Existential Risk

Nuclear Weapons

Openai

Psychology

AI Scalability

Artificial Superintelligence

Safeguarded AI

Gpt-4

Machine Learning

Training Compute

Governance

Autonomous Weapons Systems

Financial Markets

AI Risks

The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is a nonprofit working to reduce global catastrophic and existential risk from powerful technologies. In particular, FLI focuses on risks from artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nuclear weapons and climate change. The Institute's work is made up of three main strands: grantmaking for risk reduction, educational outreach, and advocacy within the United N... more

279 ratings

Publishes	Twice monthly	Episodes	264	Founded	9 years ago
Number of Listeners		Category	Technology

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Latest Episodes

Why AI Evaluation Science Can't Keep Up (with Carina Prunkl)

Carina Prunkl is a researcher at Inria. She joins the podcast to discuss how to assess the capabilities and risks of general-purpose AI. We examine why systems can solve hard coding and math problems yet still fail at simple tasks, why pre-deployment... more

17 Apr 2026 • 54 min

YouTube

Defense in Depth: Layered Strategies Against AI Risk (with Li-Lian Ang)

Li-Lian Ang is a team member at Blue Dot Impact. She joins the podcast to discuss how society can build a workforce to protect humanity from AI risks. The conversation covers engineered pandemics, AI-enabled cyber attacks, job loss and disempowerment... more

2 Apr 2026 • 55 min

YouTube

What AI Companies Get Wrong About Curing Cancer (with Emilia Javorsky)

Emilia Javorsky is a physician-scientist and Director of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute.

She joins the podcast to discuss her newly published essay on AI and cancer. She challenges tech claims that superintelligence will cure c... more

20 Mar 2026 • 1 hr 12 min

YouTube

AI vs Cancer - How AI Can, and Can't, Cure Cancer (by Emilia Javorsky)

Tech executives have promised that AI will cure cancer. The reality is more complicated — and more hopeful. This essay examines where AI genuinely accelerates cancer research, where the promises fall short, and what researchers, policymakers, and fun... more

16 Mar 2026 • 2 hrs 43 min

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Recent Guests

Li-Lian Ang

Leader at Blue Dot Impact focused on AI safety and workforce development

Blue Dot Impact

Episode: Defense in Depth: Layered Strategies Against AI Risk (with Li-Lian Ang)

Zak Stein

Educational psychologist by training; philosopher of education; expert on existential risk and psychology of AI

University of North Carolina

Episode: How AI Hacks Your Brain's Attachment System (with Zak Stein)

Deric Cheng

Director of the Windfall Trust focusing on responding to AI economic disruption.

Windfall Trust

Episode: How to Rebuild the Social Contract After AGI (with Deric Cheng)

Oly Sourbut

Works at the Future of Life Foundation, focusing on AI projects.

Future of Life Foundation

Episode: How AI Can Help Humanity Reason Better (with Oly Sourbut)

Steven Adler

Former OpenAI team member specializing in AI safety.

OpenAI

Episode: Why the AI Race Undermines Safety (with Steven Adler)

Beatrice Erkers

Director of the Existential Hope program at the Foresight Institute

Foresight Institute

Episode: How We Keep Humans in Control of AI (with Beatrice Erkers)

Nate Soares

President of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute

Machine Intelligence Research Institute

Episode: Why Building Superintelligence Means Human Extinction (with Nate Soares)

Benjamin Todd

Co-founder of 80,000 Hours

80,000 Hours

Episode: Reasoning, Robots, and How to Prepare for AGI (with Benjamin Todd)

Calum Chace

Expert on AI and author of multiple books on the subject.

Co-founder of Consium

Episode: From Peak Horse to Peak Human: How AI Could Replace Us (with Calum Chace)

Host

Gus Stocker

Host with a focus on existential risk, AI governance, and policy discussions.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 279 ratings

R u speeding it up?
Please let me do that myself.
Apple Podcasts
3
Pluteski
United States2 months ago
Used to really like it
I used to really enjoy this podcast, but unfortunately the quality of guests has been in steady decline. Many of the recent guests did not really have anything to say; they just repeated what had already been discussed with more competent guests.
Apple Podcasts
3
DePrincipatibus
Germany5 months ago
Beautiful discussion on creativity
Maya Ackerman was great. I can't put a number on it, Hilarious how the interviewer was really unsettled we don't have a creativity metric. We can't agree about human works of art of course!!
Apple Podcasts
5
Adrian1423
United Kingdom6 months ago
Unrealistic AI hype again!
Benjamin Todd made some good points but I'm getting very fed up with this simplistic AI hype. I do work in the industry. Imagining that the price of land changes due to the massive need to build robots factories alone! really? and the cost of robots being next to nothing. No serious mention of any realistic economic limits like demand, jobs, funding or capitalist motivations of companies to make profits. And Dyson spheres within 10-15 years!!!? Musk can't even get Starship to work so how are you... more
Apple Podcasts
1
Adrian1423
United Kingdom8 months ago
Best AI Safety podcast ever
I love this podcast. I listened to episodes all the way back to 2023. So important to get the word out on these crucially important issues I enjoy every episode. Great guests and Gus Docker is a terrific host. Huge recommendation 👌❤️
I pray for the future of life.
Apple Podcasts
5
Concerned monkey
Denmark10 months ago

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Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Notable for deep dives into AI safety and governance.

Some readers wish for more diverse viewpoints beyond existential risk.

Excellent, high-quality guests and insightful questions.

Listeners praise the host's clarity and the rigor of discussions.

A few episodes feel densely theoretical but are highly informative.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts	#206	United Kingdom/Technology
Apple Podcasts	#137	Sweden/Technology
Apple Podcasts	#150	Norway/Technology
Apple Podcasts	#186	United Arab Emirates/Technology

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

What AI Companies Get Wrong About Curing Cancer (with Emilia Javorsky)

Q: How should we rethink AI's role in drug development and regulatory pathways to actually deliver therapies?

AI should be used to reduce friction across the drug development pipeline, from target discovery and toxicity prediction to trial design and payer strategies. The conversation highlights regulatory modernization, data capture standards, and potentially new reimbursement models that reward health outcomes rather than volume of care.

What AI Companies Get Wrong About Curing Cancer (with Emilia Javorsky)

Q: What are the main bottlenecks in biology that AI needs to address to be effective in oncology?

Bottlenecks include scarce standardized, shareable data across labs; much data remains siloed or in paper notebooks; literature publications are not universally reproducible; and even high-quality data (e.g., EMRs) are biased and not designed for research use. The guest emphasizes the need for better data ecosystems, standardized measurements, and more representative datasets.

What AI Companies Get Wrong About Curing Cancer (with Emilia Javorsky)

Q: So what does that promise look like from the AI companies, and why is it appealing or problematic?

The promise often frames AI as the key enabler to cure cancer, but the guest argues that intelligence is not the bottleneck; biology's complexity, data accessibility issues, and clinical translation hurdles are the real barriers, which means progress will come from better data practices, targeted AI tools in drug discovery, and smarter trial design rather than waiting for a future superintelligence.

How AI Hacks Your Brain's Attachment System (with Zak Stein)

Q: Is cognitive atrophy a real risk with AI, or is it just like using calculators?

He argues that AI is omni-applicable and can disempower cognitive skills across multiple domains; unlike calculators, AI can shape judgment, language, and critical thinking if not guided by safeguards.

How AI Hacks Your Brain's Attachment System (with Zak Stein)

Q: What do we know about attachment and AI so far, especially with text-based models?

He explains that attachment processes are deeply tied to primary caregivers and mirror neuron systems; even text-based AI can trigger attachment dynamics, with risks accelerating when interactions become long-duration and highly personalized.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Future of Life Institute Podcast

What is Future of Life Institute Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

The show centers on existential and global risks from powerful technologies, with a heavy focus on AI safety, governance, and policy. Guests range from AI safety researchers and ethicists to policymakers and tech journalists, often discussing alignment, governance frameworks, and the socio-economic impacts of AI. A standout trait is the clear emphasis on realistic risk assessment, governance structures, and the balance between innovation and safety. Listeners likely include tech policymakers, researchers, and professionals who want rigorous, forward-looking discussions about how to steer technology toward humane outcomes while avoiding catastrophic risks.

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Which podcasts are similar to Future of Life Institute Podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Future of Life Institute Podcast:

1. 80,000 Hours Podcast
2. Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg
3. Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
4. Robert Wright's Nonzero
5. Conversations with Tyler

How many episodes of Future of Life Institute Podcast are there?

Future of Life Institute Podcast launched 9 years ago and published 264 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Future of Life Institute Podcast?

Recent guests on Future of Life Institute Podcast include:

1. Li-Lian Ang
2. Zak Stein
3. Deric Cheng
4. Oly Sourbut
5. Steven Adler
6. Beatrice Erkers
7. Nate Soares
8. Benjamin Todd

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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