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As AI systems have become more powerful, an increasing number of people have been raising the alarm about its potential long-term risks. As we\u2019ve covered on the podcast before, many now argue that those risks could even extend to the annihilation of our species by superhuman AI systems that are slightly misaligned with human values.

There\u2019s no shortage of authors, researchers and technologists who take this risk seriously \u2014 and they include prominent figures like Eliezer Yudkowsky, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Stuart Russell and Nick Bostrom. And while I think the arguments for existential risk from AI are sound, and aren\u2019t widely enough understood, I also think that it\u2019s important to explore more skeptical perspectives.

Melanie Mitchell is a prominent and important voice on the skeptical side of this argument, and she was kind enough to join me for this episode of the podcast. Melanie is the Davis Professor of complexity at the Santa Fe Institute, a Professor of computer science at Portland State University, and the author of Artificial Intelligence: a Guide for Thinking Humans \u2014 a book in which she explores arguments for AI existential risk through a critical lens. She\u2019s an active player in the existential risk conversation, and recently participated in a high-profile debate with Stuart Russell, arguing against his AI risk position.