Interview - Reid Hoffman On AI Panic, Democrats, and Money In Politics

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Mosheh Oinounou (1:08)

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to a special edition of the MoNews podcast. It's Mosheh here. And we've been talking a lot lately about how the conversation about AI very quickly shifted this summer into this fall from AI is going to take our job to AI is going to tell us and basically put human second on this planet behind artificial intelligence. Some of the loudest warnings we've gotten in recent weeks are coming from people who are actually building artificial intelligence at some of these various platforms. So one of the questions that many of you have been asking is, how worried should we be? How do we get the benefits of AI without losing control? And can America afford to slow down without China racing ahead? For the answer to those questions, I'm talking to someone helping to shape that future, Reid Hoffman. He is the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn. He was an early investor in Facebook, an early backer and board member at OpenAI. He's also co-founded his own AI company, Manas AI. It's a company using AI to develop new medicines, including cancer treatments. So we talk about all things AI, why he is less concerned than others about AI effectively making humans extinct.

Some of the doomsday stuff we've been hearing of late. He argues we need a middle path, something in between what we've been doing now with some safeguards in place, but not slowing it down so much that will let China get ahead of us. We also talked about what the risks are of letting China get ahead of us, what the world looks like if China is the global leader in AI. We also, in light of all the data center conversation we've been having lately, discuss where AI leaders have gone wrong. Also, what all these developments mean for you and your career, especially as so many of us have been feeling anxiety. Not just about us, but what our kids will be doing in this new reality. Of course, Reid Hoffman is also a huge democratic mega-donors. We talk about money in politics and the political environment in general right now, the divide within the Democratic Party, of which he has been a huge donor to for a long time. What we've been seeing play out in the midterm elections and what we can look ahead to in 2028 All of that in today's conversation with Reid Hoffman. We had a chance to sit down recently when he was on the East Coast in Brooklyn. This is a conversation about who will control the future, what our future might look like, and how we all have a chance to help shape this, even as at times it feels like things are moving beyond us. Here's my conversation with Reid Hoffman.

Reid, it's great to chat.

Reid Hoffman (3:37)

It's great to see you.

Mosheh Oinounou (3:39)

I want to talk about all things AI and how quickly things have evolved. I was reading your book, Super Agency, which was published last year, which is like the light year. Archaic now. Archaic Roman Empire era.

Reid Hoffman (3:52)

A bronze sword.

Mosheh Oinounou (3:55)

Preview of AI, or assessment of where AI is. And then I was reading your essay recently, and we're all coming off here of the headlines that, I mean, I'm curious where you stand on this, that there's a 10% chance or greater than 10% chance that AI could take us all out.

You had in your book a year and a half ago, a very optimistic take on AI. We are in the doomer, at least month right now of AI. Talk to me about how you've seen things evolve here and where you stand right now.