BOM - Genesis by Eric Schmidt and Henry Kissinger - The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Welcome to the Real Estate Espresso podcast, your morning
shot of what's new in the world of real estate investing.
I'm your host, Victor Minash. Happy 1st of the month.
On the first day of each month, we review the book of the month.
In order to be considered for book of the month, the book has
to be impactful enough that it will either change your life or
at least your perspective on theworld.
Now. Whether it does or not, of
course, is entirely up to you. Our book this month is

(00:23):
absolutely worthy of Book of theMonth.
The book is called Genesis. It's got 3 authors.
Eric Schmidt, who was the CEO ofGoogle for nearly 20 years, and
then in the last 15 years, Eric Schmidt and Henry Kissinger
developed a deep friendship which turned into several
collaborations. Henry Kissinger was Secretary of
State in the Nixon administration, and he's
continued to be influential and controversial on the world stage

(00:46):
for most of his life. The third author is computer
scientist Craig Mundy, and the book blends historical insight,
technical expertise, and philosophical inquiry.
It offers a potential road map for navigating the era of
artificial intelligence. It argues that AI is not merely
a tool, but it also challenges the foundations of human

(01:06):
knowledge and dignity. This book was extremely
important to Henry Kissinger, who continued to make edits to
the book even up to the last week of his life with Henry's
wife and Eric Schmidt by his bedside.
The book is divided into 5 main sections.
Part 1 talks about the cognitiverevolution, Part 2 is about
human dignity and spirit, Part 3, politics, security in the

(01:27):
global order, Part 4 economics and society, and then Part 5A
road map for the future. So let's start with Part 1.
The book examines how artificialintelligence is altering the way
humans think and understand the world.
Our traditional knowledge systems based on logic,
causality, and experimental validation are being upended by

(01:48):
a is ability to generate insights through other forms of
pattern recognition and even probabilistic reasoning.
AI systems like Alphago and GPT 4 point O don't think like
humans, but they produce resultsthat often surpass human
capabilities. That raises questions about what
counts as knowledge and who or what gets to define truth.

(02:09):
The authors argue that AI generated content like images,
text, videos can often distort or redefine perceptions or
reality. This challenge is the ideal of a
shared or objective truth. Part 2 deals with human dignity
and spirit. At the heart of Genesis is a
philosophical inquiry into humandignity, the idea that humans

(02:29):
are autonomous, moral beings capable of choosing between good
and evil, right and wrong. The authors argued that this
dignity has to be preserved in the face of increasingly
autonomous AI systems. Unlike humans, AI lacks
vulnerability, it lacks mortality, and it lacks moral
intuition that makes it fundamentally different and
potentially dangerous if not aligned with human values.

(02:51):
But even then, human values varywidely, and they're widely
subjective. The authors ask whether AI could
develop its own sense of morality or dignity.
This question underscores the urgency of embedding ethical
frameworks into AI development, and that, so far, hasn't
happened. Part 3 deals with politics,
security, and the global order. It focuses on the geopolitical

(03:12):
implications of AI. As nations race to develop and
deploy technologies, the global balance of power is shifting.
Right now, the US holds the lead, but China is accelerating
its development and in fact, could be on a trajectory to pass
the West. Europe is far too fragmented and
disorganized to even have a hopeof being competitive.
AI is becoming a core component of national power.

(03:34):
It's potentially redefining whatconstitutes geopolitical
strength. It suggests the computational
capital might soon rival or surpass other forms of arms
races, like territory or naturalresources.
Nations that lead in AI development, particularly the US
and China, are gaining disproportionate influence.
It's creating a new kinds of arms race centered on data, on

(03:55):
algorithms and on compute infrastructure.
An important question is whethercorporations are in fact quasi
sovereign powers. Companies like Google, Open AI,
Baidu possess more AI capabilitythan many governments and these
companies operate transnationally, often beyond
the reach of national regulation.
So that raises the question, should these entities be treated

(04:17):
as sovereign actors in global governance?
The book warns of a is potentialto entrench authoritarian
regimes. China's stated as a case study
for mass surveillance, for policing systems and for social
credit systems. Those are all well-being
developed in China right now as we speak.
That kind of authoritarianism could spread globally, and it
could undermine democracy and civil liberties.

(04:39):
The authors call for international agreements, akin
to nuclear treaties to manage a IS risks.
However, they acknowledge the difficulty of consensus in a
fragmented world. Kissinger envisions a rule based
order, but Schmidt and Mundy aremore skeptical, citing the rapid
pace of AI innovation as a barrier to regulation.
Kissinger emphasizes the moral dangers of a IS misuse,

(04:59):
particularly the ability to manipulate perception and to
suppress dissent. The authors argue the foreign
policy has to evolve to include AI as a central concern.
It might require new alliances, new institutions, and ethical
frameworks. Now, personally, I don't hold
much hope for global cooperationon these fronts.
There's many good reasons for global cooperation now

(05:20):
independent of AI, and we don't have it.
So what's going to change to create that imperative in the
future? Part 4 deals with economics and
society. It explores how AI is
transforming the economic landscape and social fabric.
It's offering both economic promise and massive disruption.
AI is expected to automate a wide range of jobs, from

(05:40):
manufacturing to white collar professions like law and
medicine. And while it could increase
productivity, it also risks massunemployment and social unrest.
If not managed, the authors warnthat AI could exacerbate
existing inequalities. It can concentrate wealth and
power into the hands of a very small number of tech elites and
corporations. With that intervention, it could

(06:00):
lead to a winner take all type economy where those who control
AI systems dominate markets and societies.
It's going to force us to rethink education and human
capital. The book suggests that we may
need to move away from traditional capitalism that that
may need reform. It includes ideas like universal
basic income, public investment in AI infrastructure, and

(06:21):
incentives for ethical innovation.
The goal is to ensure AI benefits are broadly distributed
and not just hoarded by a few. Now, despite the risks, the
authors are optimistic about a is potential to solve some major
challenges, specifically in healthcare and scientific
discovery. They argue with the right
governance, it could elevate thehuman condition rather than
diminish it. And the final part is a road map

(06:42):
for the future. In this section, the authors
offer a vision of how humanity could coexist with AI in a way
that enhances rather than diminishes the human spirit.
Now, I struggled with this section of the book and talks
about things that should happen,but between should and reality,
there's often a gap. Now, Genesis is not a technical
manual or a utopian or even dystopian manifesto.

(07:04):
It's a deeply reflective, interdisciplinary meditation on
what it means to be human in theage of intelligent machines.
The authors don't offer easy answers, but they do provide a
framework for thinking about AI not just as a tool, but as a
force that's going to shape the very essence of our
civilization. As Kissinger's final
intellectual legacy, this book is both a warning and a call to

(07:24):
action. As you think about that, go get
a copy of Genesis by Eric Schmidt, Henry Kissinger, and
Craig Mundy. Have an awesome rest of your
day. Go make some great things happen
and we'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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BOM - Genesis by Eric Schmidt and Henry Kissinger

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