Sina Habibian Podcast

This is my conversation with Michael Nielsen, scientist, author, and research fellow at the Astera Institute.
Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:06) cultivating optimism amid existential risks
- (00:07:16) asymmetric leverage
- (00:12:09) are "unbiased" models even feasible?
- (00:18:44) AI and the scientific method
- (00:23:23) unlocking AI's full power through better interfaces
- (00:30:33) sponsor: Splits
- (00:31:18) AIs, independent agents or intelligent tools?
- (00:35:47) autonomous military and weapons
- (00:42:14) finding alignment
- (00:48:28) aiming for specific moral outcomes with AI?
- (00:54:42) freedom/progress vs safety
- (00:57:46) provable beneficiary surveillance
- (01:04:16) psychological costs
- (01:12:40) the ingenuity gap
Links:
- Michael Nielsen: https://michaelnielsen.org/
- Michael Nielsen on X: https://x.com/michael_nielsen
- Michael's essay on being a wise optimist about science and technology: https://michaelnotebook.com/optimism/
- Michael's Blog: https://michaelnotebook.com/
- The Ingenuity Gap (Tad Homer-Dixon): https://homerdixon.com/books/the-ingenuity-gap/
Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org
Sina:
- Sina Habibian: https://sinahab.com
- Sina Habibian on X: https://x.com/sinahab
Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

This is my conversation with Jeffrey Quesnelle, cofounder of Nous Research.
Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:08) working with new technologies
- (00:06:15) Nous Research origin story
- (00:14:08) open frontiers in research
- (00:26:07) fourier transforms for gradient compression
- (00:32:58) math behind distributed training
- (00:38:18) sponsor: Splits
- (00:39:02) neural networks history and fundamentals
- (00:51:29) the human mind and AI, hyperdimensional representation
- (01:01:15) intuition and reasoning
- (01:15:00) parallels with reinforcement learning
- (01:19:15) the cat is out of the bag
- (01:47:11) deeper mysteries
Links:
- Jeffrey Quesnelle: https://jeffq.com/
- Jeffrey Quesnelle on X: https://x.com/theemozilla
- Nous Research: https://nousresearch.com/
- Psyche: https://nousresearch.com/nous-psyche/
Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org
Sina:
- Sina Habibian: https://sinahab.com
- Sina Habibian on X: https://x.com/sinahab
Disclaimer:
This podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

This is my conversation with Alexander Long, Founder & CEO of Pluralis Research.
Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:00:55) collaborative training
- (00:09:49) economics of training
- (00:13:10) what is protocol learning?
- (00:20:48) protocol learning design and politics
- (00:33:39) sponsor: Splits
- (00:34:22) hardware requirements
- (00:41:53) adapting to the landscape
- (00:49:53) open and closed models
- (00:52:52) market structure with fully open models
- (00:56:34) research and risks
- (01:02:19) labor and national security
- (01:10:58) looking to the future
- (01:14:20) outro
Links:
- Alexander on X: https://x.com/_alexanderlong
- Alexander on Github: https://github.com/AlexanderJLong
- Article 2: Protocol Learning, Protocol Models and the Great Convergence: https://www.pluralisresearch.com/p/article-2-protocol-learning-protocol
- Decentralized Training Looms: https://www.pluralisresearch.com/p/decentralized-ai-looms
Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org
Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab
Disclaimer: this podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

This is my conversation with Jim Posen, the Cofounder and CTO at Irreducible.
Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:12) getting deeper into cryptography
- (00:07:06) revisiting binary fields
- (00:15:50) building the verifiable internet
- (00:26:14) sponsor: Splits
- (00:26:57) revival of binary fields
- (00:38:55) Binius
- (00:42:46) bringing Binius to production
- (00:48:27) creating new hardware
- (00:53:57) getting to v1
- (01:02:03) Ethereum stateless proofs and zkVMs
- (01:13:21) outro
Links:
- Jim on X: https://x.com/jimpo_potamus
- Jim on Github: https://github.com/jimpo
- Irreducible: https://www.irreducible.com/
- Binius: a Hardware-Optimized SNARK: https://www.irreducible.com/posts/binius-hardware-optimized-snark
- Binary Tower Fields are the Future of Verifiable Computing: https://www.irreducible.com/posts/binary-tower-fields-are-the-future-of-verifiable-computing
Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org
Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab
Disclaimer: this podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

This is my conversation with Michael Bentley, the cofounder and CEO of Euler and previously a dynamical systems postdoctoral research associate at Oxford.
Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:11) early DeFi and experiencing the 2008 crash
- (00:06:52) interest rate design and PIDs
- (00:20:40) risk management
- (00:28:27) sponsor: Splits
- (00:29:10) macro view of the world
- (00:32:27) the fundamental importance of credit
- (00:35:47) Euler protocol design
- (00:39:08) modularity and integration
- (00:54:40) network topology
- (01:10:55) natural selection and dynamical systems
- (01:26:33) outro
Links:
- Michael on X: https://x.com/euler_mab
- Michael on Medium: https://medium.com/@euler-mab
- Michael Bentley on the evolution of lending protocols: https://youtu.be/TW9Tv2Y0fkw
- Euler: https://www.euler.finance
Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org
Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab
Disclaimer: this podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.