Linus Lee: At the Boundary of Machine and Mind

Linus Lee: At the Boundary of Machine and Mind

Author: Daniel Bashir January 19, 2023 Duration: 2:28:46

In episode 56 of The Gradient Podcast, Daniel Bashir speaks to Linus Lee.

Linus is an independent researcher interested in the future of knowledge representation and creative work aided by machine understanding of language. He builds interfaces and knowledge tools that expand the domain of thoughts we can think and qualia we can feel. Linus has been writing online since 2014–his blog boasts half a million words–and has built well over 100 side projects. He has also spent time as a software engineer at Replit, Hack Club, and Spensa, and was most recently a Researcher in Residence at Betaworks in New York. 

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Outline:

* (00:00) Intro

* (02:00) Linus’s background and interests, vision-language models

* (07:45) Embodiment and limits for text-image

* (11:35) Ways of experiencing the world

* (16:55) Origins of the handle “thesephist”, languages

* (25:00) Math notation, reading papers

* (29:20) Operations on ideas

* (32:45) Overview of Linus’s research and current work

* (41:30) The Oak and Ink languages, programming languages

* (49:30) Personal search engines: Monocle and Reverie, what you can learn from personal data

* (55:55) Web browsers as mediums for thought

* (1:01:30) This AI Does Not Exist

* (1:03:05) Knowledge representation and notational intelligence

* Notation vs language

* (1:07:00) What notation can/should be

* (1:16:00) Inventing better notations and expanding human intelligence

* (1:23:30) Better interfaces between humans and LMs to provide precise control, inefficiency prompt engineering

* (1:33:00) Inexpressible experiences

* (1:35:42) Linus’s current work using latent space models

* (1:40:00) Ideas as things you can hold

* (1:44:55) Neural nets and cognitive computing

* (1:49:30) Relation to Hardware Lottery and AI accelerators

* (1:53:00) Taylor Swift Appreciation Session, mastery and virtuosity

* (1:59:30) Mastery/virtuosity and interfaces / learning curves

* (2:03:30) Linus’s stories, the work of fiction

* (2:09:00) Linus’s thoughts on writing

* (2:14:20) A piece of writing should be focused

* (2:16:15) On proving yourself

* (2:28:00) Outro

Links:

* Linus’s Twitter and website



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Hosted by Daniel Bashir, The Gradient: Perspectives on AI moves beyond surface-level headlines to explore the intricate machinery and human ideas shaping artificial intelligence. Each episode is built on a foundation of deep research, leading to conversations that are both technically substantive and broadly accessible. You'll hear from researchers, engineers, and philosophers who are actively building and critiquing our technological future, discussing not just how AI systems work, but the larger implications of their integration into society. This isn't about speculative hype; it's a grounded examination of real progress, persistent challenges, and ethical considerations from those on the front lines. The discussions peel back layers on topics like model architecture, policy, and the fundamental science behind the algorithms becoming part of our daily lives. For anyone curious about the substance behind the buzz-whether you have a technical background or are simply keen to understand a defining technology of our age-this podcast offers a crucial and thoughtful resource. Tune in for a consistently detailed and nuanced take that treats artificial intelligence with the complexity it deserves.
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