#218 – Jaron Lanier: Virtual Reality, Social Media & the Future of Humans and AI

Jaron Lanier is a computer scientist, composer, artist, author, and founder of the field of virtual reality. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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EPISODE LINKS:
Jaron’s Website: http://www.jaronlanier.com/
Jaron’s Books: https://amzn.to/3tlhl9T

PODCAST INFO:
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SUPPORT & CONNECT:
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– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00)– Introduction
(08:04)– What is reality?
(12:17)– Turing machines
(13:35)– Simulating our universe
(19:49)– Video games and other immersive experiences
(23:37)– Death and consciousness
(32:08)– Designing human-centric AI
(33:42)– Empathy with robots
(37:33)– Social media incentives
(49:53)– Data dignity
(57:26)– Jack Dorsey and Twitter
(1:09:10)– Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
(1:13:51)– Government overreach and freedom
(1:24:06)– GitHub and TikTok
(1:26:16)– The Autodidactic Universe
(1:31:07)– Humans and the mystery of music
(1:37:17)– Defining moments
(1:48:03)– Mortality
(1:49:56)– The meaning of life