American Optimist, hosted by Joe Lonsdale: entrepreneur, investor, and founder of four multi-billion dollar companies and other mission-driven organizations. Am...
Ep 105: What Can Aristotle Teach Us About AI? Training "Philosopher Builders" with Brendan McCord of the Cosmos Institute
AI is transforming our world. Yet many people building these technologies have no grounding in the principles of Western Civilization. With the wrong ideas, we could hurtle toward an authoritarian, dystopian future. But with the right values, AI could unleash freedom and prosperity in ways never imagined. What are the philosophical frameworks needed to harness AI for good? And how do we train a new generation of philosopher builders?We explore these timely issues with Brendan McCord, founder and chair of the Cosmos Institute, a new policy group equipping technologists with pro-liberty values. After graduating from MIT and Harvard Business School, Brendan served on Arctic submarine missions for the Department of Defense and later authored its first AI strategy. He went on to build and lead two AI startups that were acquired for $400 million. Now, he's educating our best and brightest minds in the timeless wisdom of Western Civilization and preparing them for the serious ethical questions that AI poses.We begin with the importance of philosophy throughout history in harnessing emerging technologies for freedom or control. Next, Brendan breaks down the four dominant approaches to AI — doomsayers, accelerationists, regulators, and techno-authoritarians — and where each falls short. Alternatively, he offers three principles and their philosophical roots for harnessing AI for human flourishing: reason (John Stuart Mill), decentralization (Alexis de Tocqueville), and human autonomy (Aristotle). We also cover legitimate versus illegitimate concerns with AI and conclude with how the Cosmos Institute is putting these principles into action, from its Fellowship programs to its new AI lab at Oxford University.00:00 Episode intro02:04 Submarines to Building AI Companies06:00 Why Philosopher Builders are needed13:20 Why AI poses unique challenges20:50 Doomsayers vs Accelerationists25:50 Philosophical frameworks for human flourishing30:10 Regulators & Techno-authoritarians37:34 AI running for political office?40:07 LLMs don't know how to reason42:30 Purpose of the Cosmos Institute This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com
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Ep 104: Will AI Replace Coders? Terminal Co-Founder & CEO Dylan Serota
How is AI augmenting software developers? Will it replace or commoditize certain roles? And how should aspiring engineers prepare for the future?This week, we're joined by Dylan Serota, co-founder and CEO of Terminal, to discuss AI's impact on one of the most important aspects of company building: talent. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Dylan headed to Silicon Valley, where he helped build and scale global teams for Eventbrite. After seeing the flaws in traditional outsourcing firms, he set out to build Terminal — a new model for a global talent platform. Behind the scenes, Terminal is enabling some of the fastest-growing tech companies, like Hims&Hers, Chime, and NextDoor, to hire and manage teams around the world.We start our conversation with global hiring trends and how AI is transforming the competition for talent. Specifically, we discuss how new AI tools are augmenting coding and impacting demand for high-skill versus entry-level developers. We also tackle the challenges in building global teams and why some companies are reverting to face-to-face interviews and tests. Next, we explore the misaligned incentives in traditional outsourcing models and how Terminal differentiates itself. Finally, Dylan offers his advice to young engineers on how they should prepare for the AI age.00:00 Episode Intro02:00 The state of global talent05:00 Why is Nike hiring thousands of engineers?9:00 Will AI replace coders?13:30 AI screening vs in-person interviews18:00 Why is traditional outsourcing broken?22:20 How Terminal helps startups scale26:00 Advice for young engineers This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com
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Ep 103: Raj Bhakta Created WhistlePig; Now He's Reinventing the Whiskey Industry (Again)
Raj Bhakta is best known as the founder of Whistlepig Whiskey. But he also served in the Marines, rode an elephant across the Rio Grande while running for Congress, won a spot on The Apprentice with Donald Trump, recently purchased a college, and is reinventing the whiskey game (again). He's a patriot and creator of one-of-a-kind spirits — with a personality to match.The son of immigrants, Raj grew up learning his father's hotel business before setting out on his own. After adventures in investment banking, reality TV, and politics, he saw an opening in high-end American whiskey — and he seized it. WhistlePig quickly became one of the premier craft whiskeys. After exiting in 2019, he secured one of the world's oldest stashes of Armagnac and launched his newest ventures: Hogsworth and Bhakta Spirits.Raj recently acquired the now-defunct Green Mountain College in Vermont, where he plans to build a new university grounded in our Founding values, along with a world-class spirit library. We sample his newest whiskeys, joke about religion and politics, and learn from a great American entrepreneur.00:00 Episode intro01:44 Why Raj bought a college03:32 Riding an elephant across Rio Grande08:49 Origin story of WhistlePig11:32 Growing up in America; joining Marines18:32 Acquiring world's biggest stash of Armagnac23:20 Building Hogsworth / how to blend whiskey24:13 Catholicism vs Judaism29:11 Working with Trump on The Apprentice32:03 Bhakta Spirits & why drink Armagnac39:40 Why Raj is building a new college44:35 Advice for entrepreneurs51:25 Bullying and adversity This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com
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Ep 102: "If You're Not Blowing Stuff Up, You're Not Innovating!" — Stanford Professor Steve Blank
In World War II, the U.S. government embraced a radical idea: putting scientists and technologists in charge of building advanced weapons. The rest, as we say, is history. What are the radical ideas we need today? And what can we learn from the history of Silicon Valley? This week, we talk with Steve Blank — serial entrepreneur, Stanford professor, and influential author who created concepts that define today's innovation ecosystem. After serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, Steve landed his first job at William Perry's now-famous Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory. He went on to launch several companies, from taking on Intel in microprocessor manufacturing to building early versions of CRM. His book, "Four Steps to the Epiphany," is credited as the intellectual backbone of the lean startup movement. He has also studied the Pentagon for decades, served on the Defense Business Board, and co-founded Stanford's Gordian Knot Center. We start with Steve's entrepreneurial journey and the evolution of Silicon Valley over the past 50 years, from helping end the Cold War to pioneering the computer and internet age. We also examine the devolution of government and its decline from the engine of technology and research in the 20th century to today's slow, bloated bureaucracy. Steve outlines his bold ideas for reforming the Pentagon and outpacing China in the technology race; he also breaks down the difference between execution and innovation and how the best organizations, like SpaceX, can manage both simultaneously. Finally, we discuss why Steve had called for a pause in AI research and, given his concerns over China, if we can afford to pause. 00:00 Episode Intro01:40 "Bill Perry was my first boss" 7:43 The Secret History of Silicon Valley12:14 How US govt fell behind SV17:05 SpaceX vs NASA22:00 Radical ideas for Pentagon 26:28 Execution vs Innovation31:13 Lean startup vs fat startup 40:11 Does industrial policy work? 43:40 Why did Steve call for AI pause? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com
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Ep 101: Gov. Kevin Stitt — the Businessman Governor Standing Up to Special Interests
What does political courage look like in action? What does it mean to stand up to special interests? And what are the fights we must take on — and win — to keep America free and prosperous? I recently interviewed Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt at the Cicero Institute's 2024 Courage Awards, where we recognized him and other bold leaders from across the country for taking on cronyism and corruption in the face of great opposition. Stitt considers himself a businessman governor: he started Gateway Mortage with $1,000 and a computer before scaling it into a national company. He never sought public office before running for governor, and since he's taken charge, he's run it like a business: balancing budget shortfalls, streamlining permitting, and slashing regulations. More impressively, he's demonstrated real courage in standing up to powerful special interests, like the homelessness industrial complex, and others you might not expect, like the police union. Learn how he succeeded in getting real help to the homeless and mentally ill, and why he vetoed a pension increase for police officers. Stitt also explains how woke nonsense and cronyism manifest even in a deep red state — and how to fight it; why politics shouldn't be a career profession; and how he succeeded in passing one of the boldest school choice programs in the nation. Oklahoma has become one of the nation's fastest-growing states under his leadership, and you'll see why. 00:00 Episode Intro01:58 Entrepreneur to governor05:29 Passing school choice8:33 Taking on the homeless industrial complex12:20 Vetoing police pension increase15:45 Slashing regulations19:05 Fixing the nursing shortfall / workforce readiness22:13 Limiting the growth of government This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.joelonsdale.com
American Optimist, hosted by Joe Lonsdale: entrepreneur, investor, and founder of four multi-billion dollar companies and other mission-driven organizations. American Optimist is an alternative to the fear, cynicism, and zero-sum thinking in mainstream media. Learn from the innovators and leaders who are solving our nation’s most pressing challenges, and doing it in a way that will lift everyone up. Hope should dominate our discourse, and American Optimist will show you why. blog.joelonsdale.com
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