The First 80 years of AI, and What Comes Next | Michael Wooldridge
Oxford AI Pioneer on the History of AI
Existential risk has crowded out more pressing AI conversations, argues. Michael Wooldridge, veteran AI researcher and pioneer of agent-based AI.
In this interview, Wooldridge will take us through the entire 80-year history of AI development, from Turing to today’s LLMs, to help us anticipate what’s coming next.
Exploring this history uncovers a surprising benefit: forgotten AI techniques with modern potential. Most historical AI “failures” weren’t fundamentally flawed, they were simply ahead of their time. This history is a treasure trove of ideas waiting to inspire today’s innovations.
Topics We Cover:
02:45 The Singularity Is Bullshit
03:51 What the "Existential Risk" Movement Gets Wrong
09:28 The Real AI Threat We Should Worry About
11:18 The Right Way to do AI Regulation
15:45 Studying AI's History Could Hold the Key to Future Breakthroughs
18:58 How Alan Turing Invented the Digital Age
30:39 Why Machines Can’t Be Moral Agents
35:58 The Barrier That Stopped Early AI in Its Tracks
39:29 The First AI Winter Was a Blessing in Disguise
46:52 Cyc: The Most Ambitious AI Failure You’ve Never Heard of
1:02:32 Why Multi-Agent AI Is the Future
1:08:18 Why Foundation Models Won't Lead to AGI
1:12:27 AI Still Struggles with First Principles
01:22:23 The Sobering Reality of AI Progress
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