How do you escape a world where constant digital distractions and darkness threatens to pull you down? Maybe take a page out of Abraham Lincoln’s life. In this episode, Cal argues that Lincoln faced analog versions of many of the same issues we face in our contemporary digital world, and by studying how he escaped we can learn a method to accomplish something similar. He then answers listener questions on this theme and revisits the comments from a 2008 essay where he first introduced some of these questions.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: The Lincoln Protocol [0:30]

• When do you read long-form articles amongst your book reading? [41:39]
• Will reading improve my focus? [44:03]
• What are the mechanics of keeping a deep reading habit alive? [48:17]
• At what point does it make sense to prioritize autonomy and alignment over prestige and security? [54:48]
• How do you suggest spending the time playing with the toddler, while also balancing reasonable stimuli without a phone? [1:00:01]

CASE STUDY: A military spouse goes back to work after motherhood [1:03:47]

CALL: Cal’s thoughts on Apple Watches [1:07:35]

CAL READS THE COMMENTS: What people thought about digital distraction in 2008 [1:12:06]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
calnewport.com/would-lincoln-have-become-president-if-he-had-e-mail/
calnewport.com/would-lincoln-have-become-president-if-he-had-e-mail/

Thanks to our Sponsors:

drinklmnt.com/deep
miro.com
calderalab.com/deep
1password.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Techno-philosopher Eliezer Yudkowsky recently went on Ezra Klein's podcast to argue that if we continue on our path toward superintelligent AI, these machines will destroy humanity. In this episode, Cal responds to Yudkowsky’s argument point by point, concluding with a more general claim that these general styles of discussions suffer from what he calls “the philosopher’s fallacy,” and are distracting us from real problems with AI that are actually afflicting us right now. He then answers listener questions about AI, responds to listener comments from an earlier AI episode, and ends by discussing Alpha schools, which claim to use AI to 2x the speed of education.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: The Case Against Superintelligence [0.01]

• How should students think about “AI Literacy”? [1:06:35]
• Did AI blackmail an engineer to not turn it off? [1:09:06]
• Can I use AI to mask my laziness? [1:12:31]

COMMENTS: Cal reads LM comments [1:16:58]

CALL: Clarification on Lincoln Protocol [1:21:36]

CAL REACTS: Are AI-Powered Schools the Future? [1:24:46]

Links:

Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
youtube.com/watch?v=2Nn0-kAE5c0
alpha.school/the-program/
astralcodexten.com/i/166959786/part-three-how-alpha-works-part

Thanks to our Sponsors:

byloftie.com (Use code “DEEP20”)
expressvpn.com/deep
shopify.com/deep
vanta.com/deepquestions

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?

OpenAI has been making waves recently with their release of their Sora 2 video generation model, which they have launched alongside a TikTok-style social media sharing app. The internet is usually pretty excited about AI innovations, but this one has people unsettled. In today’s episode, Cal looks at one implication of Sora 2 in particular that is both important but currently overcooked: the impact of AI content generation on the existing social media giants. He then answers listener questions on AI and social media and reacts to a new Sam Altman tweet that signals bad news for OpenAI.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media? [0:02]

• Will Sora 2 kill creativity? [46:12]
• Am I doing myself a disservice by using AI tools to help me code? [51:36]
• Is Substack better than social media? [55:55]
• What are your thoughts on a “family smartphone”? [1:06:35]
• What should I do when others disregard the structures that are meant to reduce the digital back and forth? [1:07:53]

CASE STUDY: A Digital Declutter [1:15:38]

CALL: Children with dumb phones or smartphones [1:19:49]

CAL REACTS: Sam Altman Proposes AI Erotica [1:27:46]

Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
SORA: the all Ai TikTok Clone. will slop end creativity?
youtube.com/watch?v=Vz0oQ0v0W10
newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/tiktok-and-the-fall-of-the-social-media-giants
youtube.com/watch?v=I1dW-nZqhew
x.com/sama/status/1978129344598827128

Thanks to our Sponsors:

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp:
betterhelp.com/deepquestions
expressvpn.com/deep
calderalab.com/deep
shopify.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.