E3 w/ Amjad Masad on AGI as religion for nerds, history as a series of conspiracies, and religion as a foundation for raising your kids

"Moment of Zen" - A podcast by Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, Antonio Garcia Martinez

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Amjad Masad, the founder of Replit, joins Dan, Antonio, and Erik to talk about AGI, religion, and conspiracies. If you’re looking for an ERP platform, check out our sponsor, NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/UPSTREAM We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com. TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) - Antonio’s circumcision (01:20) - The future of Replit (06:30) - The future of coding (09:46) - The Steve Jobs Blackpill (12:00) - Will AGI lead to the death of humans? (18:13) - AGM thinks AGI dystopia is bullshit, religion for nerds (21:12) - Why is there a human need for “end of times” theory? (23:20) - Climate science is unsettled (25:55) - AGM swears he has no idea who Curtis Yarvin is (Who is Curtis Yarvin? - editor) (26:25) - Dan wrestles with the guilt of bringing another human into this cold, ugly world (27:00) - Amjad’s counter-narrative to the AGI dystopia narrative (29:30) - How can AI become consciousness if we don’t know what consciousness is? (32:15) - “AGM do you want to share your story with an AI girlfriend?” (32:58) - Amjad’s Palestinian background and his identity crisis (37:00) - Redpill moments (39:17) - The media never lies (40:35) - Russel Conjugation (41:50) - Comparing Islam and Judaism (43:44) - Judaism isn’t about faith, it’s about practice (51:00) - Transhumanism vs Ludditism (51:50) - Was The Unabomber a left-wing or right-wing nut? (55:15) - Ludditism never works, you can’t roll technology back (57:00) - Antonio’s redpilling (58:30) - Raising a family with or without religion (01:04:40) - Dismissing religion is the classic midwit meme (01:07:20) - History is a series of conspiracies (01:15:00) - Modern day true conspiracies (01:21:05) - “Are the frogs gay?” (01:22:50) - Why does truth matter? (01:30:40) - Prediction Markets (01:36:30) - The only places where truth matters: wars, elections, and markets SPONSORS: Beehiiv | Shopify | NetSuite | Secureframe Head to Beehiiv, the newsletter platform built for growth, to power your own. Connect with premium brands, scale your audience, and deliver a beautiful UX that stands out in an inbox. 🐝 to https://Beehiiv.com and use code “MOZ” for 20% off your first three months -Shopify: https://shopify.com/momentofzen for a $1/month trial period Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the US. And Shopify’s the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy’s, and Brooklinen, and 1,000,000s of other entrepreneurs across 175 countries. From their all-in-one e-commerce platform, to their in-person POS system – wherever and whatever you’re selling, Shopify’s got you covered. With free Shopify Magic, sell more with less effort by whipping up captivating content that converts – from blog posts to product descriptions using AI. Sign up for $1/month trial period: https://shopify.com/momentofzen -NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen  NetSuite provides financial software for all your business needs. More than thirty-six thousand companies have already upgraded to NetSuite, gaining visibility and control over their financials, inventory, HR, eCommerce, and more. If you're looking for an ERP platform ✅ NetSuite: http://netsuite.com/zen and defer payments of a FULL NetSuite implementation for six months. -Secureframe (www.secureframe.com) Secureframe is the leading all-in-one platform for security and privacy compliance. Get SOC-2 audit ready in weeks, not months. I believe in Secureframe so much that I invested in it, and I recommend it to all my portfolio companies. Sign up for a free demo and mention MOMENT OF ZEN during your demo to get 20% off your first year.