On this episode of the Utilitarian Podcast, I talk with Joseph Carlsmith. Joseph is a research analyst at Open Philanthropy and a doctoral student in philosophy at the University of Oxford. His views and opinions in this podcast are his own, and not necessarily those of Open Philanthropy.
Our conversation has three main themes. We talk about the long-term future, including the possibility of actually creating utopia. We talk about Joseph’s work on the computational power of the brain. And we talk about meta-ethics and consciousness, including discussions of illusionism and the effects of meditation.
The Utilitarian Podcast now has a dedicated website, at utilitarianpodcast.com. At the site, you’ll find full transcripts of selected episodes, including this one. These transcripts have been generously funded by James Evans. I’ve also set up an email, which is utilitarianpodcast@gmail.com where you can send criticism, questions, suggestions and so on.
https://www.utilitarianpodcast.com/creating-utopia-joseph-carlsmith/
I did not know Utilitarian Podcast existed until now, and have just subscribed.
Really enjoyed listening to this. I relate a lot with your perspective on grounding value in our experiences and found Joseph's pushbacks really stimulating.