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E8: Samo Burja on America's Future, China, AI, and the New Global Order

E8: Samo Burja on America's Future, China, AI, and the New Global Order

From"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg


E8: Samo Burja on America's Future, China, AI, and the New Global Order

From"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

ratings:
Length:
62 minutes
Released:
May 12, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Erik sits down with political scientist Samo Burja ( @SamoBurja  ) who founded Bismarck Analysis, a consulting firm that analyzes institutions (ranging from governments to companies). Samo is one of the most interesting and wide-ranging thinkers today. In this episode, they discuss the current state and future state of America, China, Russia, Ukraine, energy, the US dollar, AI, and more.

RECOMMENDED SHOWS:
Moment of Zen: https://link.chtbl.com/moz
The Cognitive Revolution: https://link.chtbl.com/TheCognitiveRevolution

TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode preview
(02:05)  Who’s right: Balaji, Zeihan, or Olson?
(06:18) Why China’s prospects aren’t as bad as Zeihan thinks
(08:46) What have we learned one year out after Ukraine?
(12:12) Future of The U.S. dollar
(14:19) Sponsors: Mercury | Secureframe | MarketerHire
(16:03) Balaji’s Bet
(16:42) Future of America
(21:06) Why Brazil hasn’t panned out
(25:34) Is AI communist and crypto libertarian
(28:37) Evolution of elites
(32:40) Comparing Elon and SBF
(35:12) Economics of automation and AI
(40:28) How intellectual culture has changed
(42:39) America exporting Western values
(46:42) America and China converging
(49:00) Startup cities vs incumbents
(51:54) Samo’s consultancy
(54:35) Samo’s upcoming research interests

TWITTER:
Erik’s Twitter: @eriktorenberg
Samo's Twitter: @samoburja

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Released:
May 12, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (61)

Upstream is where host Erik Torenberg goes deeper with the world's most interesting thinkers to map the constellation of ideas that matter across tech, culture, and politics. Ask yourself, what’s upstream of what you believe? On this season of Upstream, you'll hear from Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, Balaji Srinivasan, Ezra Klein, Joe Lonsdale, Katherine Boyle, and more.