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Sabine Hossenfelder's video on this: https://youtu.be/mxWJJl44UEQ https://youtu.be/mxWJJl44UEQ

Xmd5a 1y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44442123 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44442123
Ygg2 1y ago
I found https://www.quantamagazine.org/epic-effort-to-ground-physics-in-math-opens-up-the-secrets-of-time-20250611/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/epic-effort-to-ground-physics... much more informative. Sometimes you can't digest everything in 10min.
baxtr 1y ago
In my perception Sabine’s quality degraded over the last year or so. Maybe it’s also the topics she covers. I’m not sure why she is getting into fantasies of AGI for example. I liked the skeptical version of her better.
- jakeinspace 1y ago
  Agreed, she's pumping out too many videos I think. Perhaps she's succumbed a bit to the temptation of cashing in on a reputation, ironically one built on taking down grifters.
- schuyler2d 1y ago
  Agree in general -- I think the tiktok/shorts wave is biasing strongly for shorter video and then the time format kills any followup/2nd iteration-explanation But this one was pretty good.
- naasking 1y ago
  As far as I've seen, her position is only that AGI is pretty much inevitable. What's so fantastical about that?
  - Alive-in-2025 1y ago
    I think plenty of people don't think it's inevitable. I'm no ai researcher, just another software engineer (so no real expertise). I think it will keep getting better but the end point is unclear.
    - naasking 1y ago
      The reason it's inevitable is because because it follows from physics principles. The Bekenstein Bound proves that all physical systems of finite volume contain finite information, humans are a finite volume, ergo a human contains finite information. Finite information can be fully captured by a finite computer, ergo computers can in principle perfectly simulate a human person. This + continued technological development entails that AGI is inevitable.
      - baxtr 1y ago
        Although the reasoning is clear, you (and her) jump from "possible in principle" to "inevitable in practice". Just because something is physically possible doesn't make it "inevitable". That's why it's just a fantasy at this point.
        naasking 1y ago
        As I said above: > This + continued technological development entails that AGI is inevitable. Everyone takes the above as a given in any discussion of future projections.
- _zoltan_ 1y ago
  I don't know if it's just the persona she plays in these videos, but it's so so so creepy and cringe.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44442123 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44442123

Ygg2 1y ago

I found https://www.quantamagazine.org/epic-effort-to-ground-physics-in-math-opens-up-the-secrets-of-time-20250611/ https://www.quantamagazine.org/epic-effort-to-ground-physics... much more informative. Sometimes you can't digest everything in 10min.

baxtr 1y ago

In my perception Sabine’s quality degraded over the last year or so. Maybe it’s also the topics she covers. I’m not sure why she is getting into fantasies of AGI for example. I liked the skeptical version of her better.

jakeinspace 1y ago
Agreed, she's pumping out too many videos I think. Perhaps she's succumbed a bit to the temptation of cashing in on a reputation, ironically one built on taking down grifters.
schuyler2d 1y ago
Agree in general -- I think the tiktok/shorts wave is biasing strongly for shorter video and then the time format kills any followup/2nd iteration-explanation But this one was pretty good.
naasking 1y ago
As far as I've seen, her position is only that AGI is pretty much inevitable. What's so fantastical about that?
- Alive-in-2025 1y ago
  I think plenty of people don't think it's inevitable. I'm no ai researcher, just another software engineer (so no real expertise). I think it will keep getting better but the end point is unclear.
  - naasking 1y ago
    The reason it's inevitable is because because it follows from physics principles. The Bekenstein Bound proves that all physical systems of finite volume contain finite information, humans are a finite volume, ergo a human contains finite information. Finite information can be fully captured by a finite computer, ergo computers can in principle perfectly simulate a human person. This + continued technological development entails that AGI is inevitable.
    - baxtr 1y ago
      Although the reasoning is clear, you (and her) jump from "possible in principle" to "inevitable in practice". Just because something is physically possible doesn't make it "inevitable". That's why it's just a fantasy at this point.
      - naasking 1y ago
        As I said above: > This + continued technological development entails that AGI is inevitable. Everyone takes the above as a given in any discussion of future projections.
_zoltan_ 1y ago
I don't know if it's just the persona she plays in these videos, but it's so so so creepy and cringe.