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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Supremacy summary
Parmy Olson
AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World
26 mins
Brief summary
Supremacy delves into the world of competitive hacker culture, exploring the motivations and skills that drive top-tier hackers. Parmy Olson offers a riveting insight into their intricate operations and the impact on cybersecurity.
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Supremacy
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The origins of Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis
This is the story of two visionaries from opposite sides of the Atlantic – Sam Altman and Demis Hassabis – who’ve profoundly shaped the development of Artificial Intelligence. Both men, though vastly different in their journeys, share a deep curiosity and determination to use AI to help solve the world’s greatest challenges.
Altman’s path was unconventional. A high school math prodigy and water polo captain, he was a vegetarian with a passion for classical music and video games. Coming out as gay at 16, he found solace in online communities and later established his high school’s first LGBTQ support group.
At Stanford, he pursued computer science, mentored by the university’s AI guru Sebastian Thrun, and grappled with ethical questions about future technology. It was a heady combination of his love of philosophy and science fiction.
From Stanford, Altman entered the startup world with Loopt, a mobile app that used GPS to show your friends’ whereabouts. It collapsed under privacy concerns but the experience made him aim higher. He wanted to use AI to save the world, but also be the one who saved the world from the dangers of AI.
Hassabis, like Altman, was driven by a passion for intellectual challenge. Growing up in North London, Hassabis was a chess prodigy and an avid gamer, creating the addictive video game Theme Park at just 17 years old. While many saw games as mere entertainment, Hassabis viewed them as a training ground for the mind. He began to consider a bigger question: What if the collective brainpower of the world’s smartest minds could solve real-world problems?
Inspired by the idea of a “theory of everything,” Hassabis shifted his focus to AI. He saw it as a transformative scientific instrument capable of fixing the world’s flaws and understanding the universe’s deepest questions. At Cambridge, he immersed himself in computer science and neuroscience.
Hassabis’s initial venture, Elixir Studios, wasn’t a runaway success. He aimed to merge gaming and AI – but his games were complex and didn’t resonate with audiences, leading to Elixir folding in 2005. But this failure provided a critical insight: rather than using AI to advance games, he could use games to advance AI. This shift in thinking became the backbone of his next company, DeepMind.
DeepMind’s creation was met with skepticism, but Hassabis’s vision was clear. This was no longer about gaming; it was about developing the world’s most advanced AI systems. His work with DeepMind would eventually propel him into the global spotlight, making him a key player in the race to develop AI that would change the world.
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What is Supremacy about?
Supremacy (2024) takes you inside the high-stakes race to build Artificial General Intelligence. From groundbreaking innovations to the hidden dangers of AI monopolies, you can see how the quest for smarter machines can reshape the world – for better or worse. It raises the important question, are we on the verge of a technological utopia, or heading toward a future full of unforeseen risks?
Who should read Supremacy?
- Tech enthusiasts
- Business leaders and investors
- Anyone curious about the future
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