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Benjamin Yeoh Interviews Me (Podcast)

Covering existential risk, economic growth, declining fertility rates, Germany's "tall poppy syndrome," and more.

Leopold Aschenbrenner
Leopold Aschenbrenner
1 min read

Transcript - Apple Podcasts - Spotify

I recently had the pleasure of having an extended conversation with Benjamin Yeoh. We covered a lot of ground:

  • existential risk and economic growth, and the lifespan of civilization,
  • the precipitous decline in fertility rates, the risk of Dark Ages-style stagnation, and the role of religion (including the Mormons on eternal families),
  • going to college at 15 and why elite universities should be smaller,
  • Germany's "tall poppy syndrome," the lack of competent German elites, and the benefits to American harshness,
  • my experience with Emergent Ventures, the virtue of habits, Effective Altruism as a (defective) religion, what GDP as a measure is good for, why climate change is somewhat overrated, AI might be less transformative than some think, and more.

It was a lot of fun!

Leopold Aschenbrenner on existential risk, German Culture, Valedictorian efficiency | Podcast — Then Do Better
I had an excellent chat with Leopold Aschenbrenner . Leopold is a grant winner from Tyler Cowen’s   Emergent Ventures . He went to Columbia University, aged 15, and graduated in 2021 as valedictorian. He is a researcher  at the Global Priorities Institute , thinking about long-

Leopold Aschenbrenner

Research in Economics @ Forethought Foundation and Global Priorities Institute (University of Oxford). Emergent Ventures grantee for Progress Studies. Columbia valedictorian.

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