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

Lex Fridman Podcast

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:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
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Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
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YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
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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