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LessWrong posts by zvi

Audio narrations of LessWrong posts by zvi

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Latest Episodes:

“Book Review: Open Socrates (Part 1)” by Zvi Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

These are all important, in their own way, call it a treasure hunt and collect them all…

“Know thyself.” – The Oracle

“Know thine enemy and know thyself; in a hundred battles, you will not be defeated.” – Sun Tzu

“You don’t know me. You don’t know me at all.” – Lisa Loeb, ‘You Don’t Know Me’

“Just one word. Are you listening? Plastics.” – The Graduate

“And Alexander wept, seeing as he had no more worlds to conquer.” – Someone Guessing

“I didn’t know I had permission to murder and to maim.’ – Leonard Cohen

“But that's not important right now.” – Leslie Nielsen

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do, sir?” – John Maynard Keynes

“Now we’re talking price.” – Winston Churchill

“Think for yourself, schmuck.” – Hagbard Celine, Illuminatus!

“Have you forgotten doublethink?” – George Orwell, 1984

“You are trying to solve the wrong problem using the wrong methods based on a wrong model of the [...]

---

Outline:

(05:19) Editors Note

(07:28) A Difference Of Opinion

(10:28) An Overview

(10:45) You Dont Know Me

(11:51) Untimely Questions

(15:41) The Unexamined Life is Worth Living

(20:59) The Quest For The Unexamined Life

(26:19) Not Everyone Wants To or Should Philosophize All Day

(28:49) The Seinfeld Fallacy

(30:44) Socrates was the Lying GOAT of Hypocritical False Humility

(36:30) Hearing Voices

(39:25) Simpsons Ancient Greeks Did It

(42:56) The Proposed Fourth Option: Socratic Inquiry

(47:59) No Really The Position is Nothing Else Matters

(51:52) The War on Wavering and Nebulosity

(59:09) Living Your Best Life

(01:03:17) Introducing the Socratic Method (the real one)

(01:04:44) Prove Me Wrong, Kids

(01:06:35) Socrates Asserts Wrong Conclusions That Are Wrong

(01:11:02) You Can Question Your Beliefs

(01:19:39) True Opinions Do Not Only Do Good

(01:22:29) Meno Plays the Fool

(01:25:48) The Central Magicians Trick

(01:26:57) The Gaslighting of Alcibiades

(01:40:06) The Measure of a Fight

(01:49:27) The Good Fight

(01:54:42) The Curious Case of Euthyphro

(01:59:29) You Should Be Sad About That

(02:05:11) People Respond To Incentives

(02:12:30) Self Versus Other

(02:13:49) Socrates Declares Humans Have Unified Minds Free Of Various Biases

(02:22:27) Revenge

(02:39:11) Legal Systems Very Different From Our Own

(02:44:53) Socrates Claims The Just And The Advantageous Are Identical

(02:56:40) First Up: Utilitarianism

(02:59:28) The Main Rival: Deontology (Kantianism? Stoicism?)

(03:05:28) A Trolly Problem

(03:07:13) The Third and Correct Option: Virtue Ethics

(03:15:14) You Are Not Omniscient

(03:21:42) The Hardest Thing In This World Is To Live In It

(03:27:59) They Call It Utopia For A Reason

(03:29:19) The End... Of Book One

---

First published:
March 24th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/hc2swmyS8mz4jc79J/book-review-open-socrates-part-1

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Zvi Mowshowitz tweets: — “Book Review: Open Socrates (Part 2)” by Zvi Mar 24, 2026
Show notes

Yesterday I posted Part 1. Read that first. This is Part 2 of 2.

Table of Contents

The Socratic Method.

The Paradox Paradox.

Rubber Ducking.

Coherent Extrapolated Volition.

The Cult Leader Breaks You Down.

The Cult Leader Builds You Back Up.

Did You Know There Are Tradeoffs In Epistemics.

You Came Here For An Argument.

You Have Completed Building The Oracle.

How Refutation Works.

The Problem Is Not Having A Problem.

What Is Love Justice?

Things That Are Not Entirely Virtuous.

Does Anyone Know A Good Surgeon?

This Question Is Starting To Be A Real Problem.

Solving An Unproblem.

The Slave Finds The Square Root Of Two.

Arbitrary Facts.

You Are Not Pondering What I Am Pondering.

Questions Before Answers.

Socratic Answers.

Politics.

Politicization.

Fighting Is Not Pretend Arguing.

Freedom After Speech.

The Truth Can Lose An Argument.

Equality.

Inequality.

Persuasion Game.

What Is Love?

Socrates Only Wants One Thing And It's Disgusting Philosophy.

And Finally Death.

Tell Me Lies.

The [...]

---
Outline:
(00:18) The Socratic Method
(01:47) The Paradox Paradox
(09:22) Rubber Ducking
(11:48) Coherent Extrapolated Volition
(13:25) The Cult Leader Breaks You Down
(16:11) The Cult Leader Builds You Back Up
(20:50) Did You Know There Are Tradeoffs In Epistemics
(27:54) You Came Here For An Argument
(34:57) You Have Completed Building The Oracle
(45:03) How Refutation Works
(50:32) The Problem Is Not Having A Problem
(53:44) What Is Love Justice?
(55:03) Things That Are Not Entirely Virtuous
(59:55) Does Anyone Know A Good Surgeon?
(01:01:55) This Question Is Starting To Be A Real Problem
(01:10:21) Solving An Unproblem
(01:13:11) The Slave Finds The Square Root Of Two
(01:15:59) Arbitrary Facts
(01:20:14) You Are Not Pondering What I Am Pondering
(01:28:27) Questions Before Answers
(01:30:58) Socratic Answers
(01:37:34) Politics
(01:40:34) Politicization
(01:44:31) Fighting Is Not Pretend Arguing
(01:49:47) Freedom After Speech
(01:50:49) The Truth Can Lose An Argument
(01:51:50) Equality
(01:56:10) Inequality
(01:59:34) Persuasion Game
(02:01:59) What Is Love?
(02:09:23) Socrates Only Wants One Thing And Its Disgusting Philosophy
(02:16:23) And Finally Death
(02:19:00) Tell Me Lies

---

First published:
March 24th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Ky2DSh4sGYCLWXMmy/book-review-open-socrates-part-2

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
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National Policy Framework cover page with presidential seal and Artificial Intelligence text. — “The Federal AI Policy Framework: An Improvement, But My Offer Is (Still Almost) Nothing” by Zvi Mar 20, 2026
Show notes

The Federal AI Policy Framework has been released. Well, it is a four page outline. Mostly it just reiterates existing such outlines. But that is four more pages than we had previously. It includes the beginnings of actual policy proposals, some of which are highly welcome and actively good. Perhaps most importantly, it affirms that we are a Republic in which the way we Do Policy is we pass a law through Congress specifying what we do, and that we need to actually Do Policy alongside trying to ban others who might attempt to Do Policy. It also acknowledges that, as a practical political matter, ‘attach the moratorium banning all AI state laws’ cannot be simply attached to a few child safety rules. I was especially heartened by the call for protections for free speech that guard in particular against the Federal Government, especially given what else is happening. That doesn’t fill the role of other things but it is most welcome. Alas, I couldn’t support even a strong implementation of this proposal as written, because it overrides state laws in the most important places and replaces them with essentially nothing. As in, this is not, as written, a way [...]
---

First published:
March 20th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tcoNLbvrpv9KcxzvM/the-federal-ai-policy-framework-an-improvement-but-my-offer

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Text excerpt discussing federal government's role in defending free speech and First Amendment protections regarding AI systems. — “The Federal AI Policy Framework: An Improvement, But My Offer Is (Still Almost) Nothing” by Zvi Mar 20, 2026
Show notes

The Federal AI Policy Framework has been released. Well, it is a four page outline. Mostly it just reiterates existing such outlines. But that is four more pages than we had previously. It includes the beginnings of actual policy proposals, some of which are highly welcome and actively good. Perhaps most importantly, it affirms that we are a Republic in which the way we Do Policy is we pass a law through Congress specifying what we do, and that we need to actually Do Policy alongside trying to ban others who might attempt to Do Policy. It also acknowledges that, as a practical political matter, ‘attach the moratorium banning all AI state laws’ cannot be simply attached to a few child safety rules. I was especially heartened by the call for protections for free speech that guard in particular against the Federal Government, especially given what else is happening. That doesn’t fill the role of other things but it is most welcome. Alas, I couldn’t support even a strong implementation of this proposal as written, because it overrides state laws in the most important places and replaces them with essentially nothing. As in, this is not, as written, a way [...]
---

First published:
March 20th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/tcoNLbvrpv9KcxzvM/the-federal-ai-policy-framework-an-improvement-but-my-offer

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Benchmark performance comparison table showing scores for GPT-5.4, mini, nano, and other AI models. — “AI #160: What Passes For a Pause” by Zvi Mar 19, 2026
Show notes

A lot happened, but by today's standards this felt like a quiet week. I was happy for the break, and I hope that we get to continue relatively relaxing. The Anthropic PBC vs. Department of War case is working its way through the system. The government responded on Tuesday, and the preliminary hearing is next week. I covered that here. Once that is out of the way, I plan to cover Anthropic's RSP v3, both the fact that it went back on previous promises and an analysis of its new more flexible contents, including a reading of the full risk report. I’m for now skipping over the latest paper from Owain Evans, as well as the Anthropic interviews with 81,000 people about what they want from AI, which I’ll be covering in the future and could become individual posts.
Table of Contents

Still Only Partial Cure For Cancer. AlphaFold plus GPT-5.4 equals cancer drug.

Language Models Offer Mundane Utility. What do we want? A lot of things.

Language Models Don’t Offer Mundane Utility. A million can be too many tokens.

Huh, Upgrades. GPT-5.4-Mini and Nano, Claude 1M context, it's all online.

Levels of [...]

---
Outline:
(00:59) Still Only Partial Cure For Cancer
(04:16) Language Models Offer Mundane Utility
(05:58) Language Models Dont Offer Mundane Utility
(07:59) Huh, Upgrades
(13:09) Levels of Friction
(14:10) Choose Your Fighter
(15:04) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon
(17:05) Greetings From The Torment Nexus
(20:38) Levels of Friction
(23:34) Fun With Media Generation
(26:20) A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer
(27:22) They Took Our Jobs
(31:01) Get Involved
(36:14) Conditional Support For A Pause
(40:12) In Other AI News
(43:38) Show Me the Money
(44:23) Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
(46:12) This Means Special Military Operation
(46:30) Quiet Speculations
(47:17) Quickly, Theres No Time
(49:24) And Then Theres Emil Michael
(54:00) Good Advice
(54:57) Patriots and Tyrants
(01:00:25) The Quest for Survival
(01:05:27) Nashville Rules
(01:07:10) People Really Hate AI
(01:14:35) The OpenAI-a16z Anti-All-AI-Regulation Super PAC
(01:18:07) Chip City
(01:21:41) The Week in Audio
(01:23:26) Rhetorical Innovation
(01:28:25) Instrumental Convergence
(01:29:49) Aligning a Smarter Than Human Intelligence is Difficult
(01:35:42) People Are Worried About AI Killing Everyone
(01:36:59) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 19th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LXRqeAW6G9tang8vF/ai-160-what-passes-for-a-pause

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Graph showing mean match ratio versus input tokens for long context retrieval across AI models. — “AI #160: What Passes For a Pause” by Zvi Mar 19, 2026
Show notes

A lot happened, but by today's standards this felt like a quiet week. I was happy for the break, and I hope that we get to continue relatively relaxing. The Anthropic PBC vs. Department of War case is working its way through the system. The government responded on Tuesday, and the preliminary hearing is next week. I covered that here. Once that is out of the way, I plan to cover Anthropic's RSP v3, both the fact that it went back on previous promises and an analysis of its new more flexible contents, including a reading of the full risk report. I’m for now skipping over the latest paper from Owain Evans, as well as the Anthropic interviews with 81,000 people about what they want from AI, which I’ll be covering in the future and could become individual posts.
Table of Contents

Still Only Partial Cure For Cancer. AlphaFold plus GPT-5.4 equals cancer drug.

Language Models Offer Mundane Utility. What do we want? A lot of things.

Language Models Don’t Offer Mundane Utility. A million can be too many tokens.

Huh, Upgrades. GPT-5.4-Mini and Nano, Claude 1M context, it's all online.

Levels of [...]

---
Outline:
(00:59) Still Only Partial Cure For Cancer
(04:16) Language Models Offer Mundane Utility
(05:58) Language Models Dont Offer Mundane Utility
(07:59) Huh, Upgrades
(13:09) Levels of Friction
(14:10) Choose Your Fighter
(15:04) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon
(17:05) Greetings From The Torment Nexus
(20:38) Levels of Friction
(23:34) Fun With Media Generation
(26:20) A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer
(27:22) They Took Our Jobs
(31:01) Get Involved
(36:14) Conditional Support For A Pause
(40:12) In Other AI News
(43:38) Show Me the Money
(44:23) Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble
(46:12) This Means Special Military Operation
(46:30) Quiet Speculations
(47:17) Quickly, Theres No Time
(49:24) And Then Theres Emil Michael
(54:00) Good Advice
(54:57) Patriots and Tyrants
(01:00:25) The Quest for Survival
(01:05:27) Nashville Rules
(01:07:10) People Really Hate AI
(01:14:35) The OpenAI-a16z Anti-All-AI-Regulation Super PAC
(01:18:07) Chip City
(01:21:41) The Week in Audio
(01:23:26) Rhetorical Innovation
(01:28:25) Instrumental Convergence
(01:29:49) Aligning a Smarter Than Human Intelligence is Difficult
(01:35:42) People Are Worried About AI Killing Everyone
(01:36:59) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 19th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/LXRqeAW6G9tang8vF/ai-160-what-passes-for-a-pause

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Promotional graphic for Anthropic versus Department of War court hearing scheduled for March 24th. — “Anthropic vs. DoW #5: Motions Filed” by Zvi Mar 18, 2026
Show notes

The news has thankfully quieted down on this front, and is mostly about the lawsuit as we build towards a hearing next week, after which we will find out if a temporary restraining order or an injunction is on the table.

The government arguments were going to be terrible no matter what, given the terrible set of facts and who was directing the argument, and their decision not to narrow their scope or compromise. But Anthropic has an uphill battle to try and get a random court to give them advance relief, so it could go either way.

See You In Court

There are two big questions in the case Anthropic vs. Department of War.

The first is, who eventually wins?

The second is, will Anthropic win a temporary restraining order?

The bar for the second is much higher at the hearing on 3/24. Yes, Anthropic very obviously should get one and it is very scary to think they might not, but as Dean Ball warns the injunction could be a rather tough ask even with this insanely damning set of facts on Anthropic's side many times over, and its crazy list of [...]

---
Outline:
(00:51) See You In Court
(02:25) The Government Responds
(07:50) Retaliation and Jawboning
(09:52) Patriots and Tyrants
(16:00) The Principles, Sadly, Were Always Fake
(17:40) Other Related News

---

First published:
March 18th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/o9M5RGrjM45aNq8jN/anthropic-vs-dow-5-motions-filed

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Terms of service text highlighting prohibited conduct and liability exposure clause. — “Anthropic vs. DoW #5: Motions Filed” by Zvi Mar 18, 2026
Show notes

The news has thankfully quieted down on this front, and is mostly about the lawsuit as we build towards a hearing next week, after which we will find out if a temporary restraining order or an injunction is on the table.

The government arguments were going to be terrible no matter what, given the terrible set of facts and who was directing the argument, and their decision not to narrow their scope or compromise. But Anthropic has an uphill battle to try and get a random court to give them advance relief, so it could go either way.

See You In Court

There are two big questions in the case Anthropic vs. Department of War.

The first is, who eventually wins?

The second is, will Anthropic win a temporary restraining order?

The bar for the second is much higher at the hearing on 3/24. Yes, Anthropic very obviously should get one and it is very scary to think they might not, but as Dean Ball warns the injunction could be a rather tough ask even with this insanely damning set of facts on Anthropic's side many times over, and its crazy list of [...]

---
Outline:
(00:51) See You In Court
(02:25) The Government Responds
(07:50) Retaliation and Jawboning
(09:52) Patriots and Tyrants
(16:00) The Principles, Sadly, Were Always Fake
(17:40) Other Related News

---

First published:
March 18th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/o9M5RGrjM45aNq8jN/anthropic-vs-dow-5-motions-filed

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Meme showing tilted building labeled with — “Medical Roundup #7” by Zvi Mar 17, 2026
Show notes

Things are relatively quiet on the AI front, so I figured it's time to check in on some other things that have been going on, including various developments at the FDA.

Table of Contents

FDA Reformandum Est.

FDA Delenda Est.

IN MICE.

Doctor, Doctor.

Trust The Process.

Cancer Screening.

Autism Everywhere All At Once.

Other Mental Problems Everywhere All At Once.

Source Data Verification.

External Review Board.

Walk It Off.

An Unhealthy Weight Can Be Worse Than You Realize.

Our GLP-1 Price Cheap.

Right To Die Should Include Right To Try.

FDA Reformandum Est

In lieu of plan A, how about plan B?

Senator Bill Cassidy released a new report on modernizing the FDA. Alex Tabarrok approves, which means it's probably good.

The FDA chief has an even better idea.

Matthew Herper: FDA chief Marty Makary says ‘everything should be over the counter’ unless drug is unsafe or addictive [or requires monitoring].

Annika Kim Constantino: Makary said the FDA is looking at “basic, safe” prescription drugs like nausea medications and vaginal estrogen, which is used to [...]

---
Outline:
(00:19) FDA Reformandum Est
(01:17) FDA Delenda Est
(14:11) IN MICE
(15:09) Doctor, Doctor
(15:38) Trust The Process
(16:51) Cancer Screening
(18:18) Autism Everywhere All At Once
(19:25) Other Mental Problems Everywhere All At Once
(21:26) Source Data Verification
(26:18) External Review Board
(26:57) Walk It Off
(28:16) An Unhealthy Weight Can Be Worse Than You Realize
(29:04) Our GLP-1 Price Cheap
(30:55) Right To Die Should Include Right To Try

---

First published:
March 17th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ypnYfPmn6FqAyxCpJ/medical-roundup-7

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Graph showing cumulative incidence rates of influenza-like illness comparing mRNA-1010 versus licensed SD influenza vaccines over the 2024-2025 season. — “Medical Roundup #7” by Zvi Mar 17, 2026
Show notes

Things are relatively quiet on the AI front, so I figured it's time to check in on some other things that have been going on, including various developments at the FDA.

Table of Contents

FDA Reformandum Est.

FDA Delenda Est.

IN MICE.

Doctor, Doctor.

Trust The Process.

Cancer Screening.

Autism Everywhere All At Once.

Other Mental Problems Everywhere All At Once.

Source Data Verification.

External Review Board.

Walk It Off.

An Unhealthy Weight Can Be Worse Than You Realize.

Our GLP-1 Price Cheap.

Right To Die Should Include Right To Try.

FDA Reformandum Est

In lieu of plan A, how about plan B?

Senator Bill Cassidy released a new report on modernizing the FDA. Alex Tabarrok approves, which means it's probably good.

The FDA chief has an even better idea.

Matthew Herper: FDA chief Marty Makary says ‘everything should be over the counter’ unless drug is unsafe or addictive [or requires monitoring].

Annika Kim Constantino: Makary said the FDA is looking at “basic, safe” prescription drugs like nausea medications and vaginal estrogen, which is used to [...]

---
Outline:
(00:19) FDA Reformandum Est
(01:17) FDA Delenda Est
(14:11) IN MICE
(15:09) Doctor, Doctor
(15:38) Trust The Process
(16:51) Cancer Screening
(18:18) Autism Everywhere All At Once
(19:25) Other Mental Problems Everywhere All At Once
(21:26) Source Data Verification
(26:18) External Review Board
(26:57) Walk It Off
(28:16) An Unhealthy Weight Can Be Worse Than You Realize
(29:04) Our GLP-1 Price Cheap
(30:55) Right To Die Should Include Right To Try

---

First published:
March 17th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ypnYfPmn6FqAyxCpJ/medical-roundup-7

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Floor plan showing red dots marking family behavior locations throughout home rooms. — “Monthly Roundup #40: March 2026” by Zvi Mar 16, 2026
Show notes

It is that time again.

After events surrounding Anthropic and the Department of War, I plan on taking full advantage of whatever lulls I can get. Things are only going to move faster over time.

That means a higher bar for coverage, and it means potentially skipping more days, or using those days for short posts that either spin off fun little things or that embody concepts I want to refer back to over time.

In the meantime, here's everything that doesn’t go anywhere else, and that does not want to fully stand on its own.

Table of Contents

Sauce For The Goose.

Age Verification Has Severe Issues.

Bad News.

A Pattern Language.

Good Advice.

While I Cannot Condone This.

Locking In.

Subscription Price Dynamics Are Weird.

Good News, Everyone.

For Your Entertainment.

Slay The Spire II.

Gamers Gonna Game Game Game Game Game.

The Gathering Is Magical.

Sports Go Sports.

Government Working.

Not Great, Britain.

Variously Effective Altruism.

The Road To Hell.

Jones Act Watch.

Patrick McKenzie Periodically.

The Lighter Side.
[...]

---
Outline:
(00:43) Sauce For The Goose
(01:44) Age Verification Has Severe Issues
(02:43) Bad News
(03:24) A Pattern Language
(04:32) Good Advice
(09:40) While I Cannot Condone This
(13:36) Locking In
(15:10) Subscription Price Dynamics Are Weird
(17:34) Good News, Everyone
(20:28) For Your Entertainment
(21:25) Slay The Spire II
(24:36) Gamers Gonna Game Game Game Game Game
(27:35) The Gathering Is Magical
(32:43) Sports Go Sports
(34:38) Government Working
(41:00) Not Great, Britain
(42:46) Variously Effective Altruism
(44:22) The Road To Hell
(45:28) Jones Act Watch
(47:30) Patrick McKenzie Periodically
(57:32) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 16th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Y8c4kh6fjkWu7Auxp/monthly-roundup-40-march-2026

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Line graph titled — “Monthly Roundup #40: March 2026” by Zvi Mar 16, 2026
Show notes

It is that time again.

After events surrounding Anthropic and the Department of War, I plan on taking full advantage of whatever lulls I can get. Things are only going to move faster over time.

That means a higher bar for coverage, and it means potentially skipping more days, or using those days for short posts that either spin off fun little things or that embody concepts I want to refer back to over time.

In the meantime, here's everything that doesn’t go anywhere else, and that does not want to fully stand on its own.

Table of Contents

Sauce For The Goose.

Age Verification Has Severe Issues.

Bad News.

A Pattern Language.

Good Advice.

While I Cannot Condone This.

Locking In.

Subscription Price Dynamics Are Weird.

Good News, Everyone.

For Your Entertainment.

Slay The Spire II.

Gamers Gonna Game Game Game Game Game.

The Gathering Is Magical.

Sports Go Sports.

Government Working.

Not Great, Britain.

Variously Effective Altruism.

The Road To Hell.

Jones Act Watch.

Patrick McKenzie Periodically.

The Lighter Side.
[...]

---
Outline:
(00:43) Sauce For The Goose
(01:44) Age Verification Has Severe Issues
(02:43) Bad News
(03:24) A Pattern Language
(04:32) Good Advice
(09:40) While I Cannot Condone This
(13:36) Locking In
(15:10) Subscription Price Dynamics Are Weird
(17:34) Good News, Everyone
(20:28) For Your Entertainment
(21:25) Slay The Spire II
(24:36) Gamers Gonna Game Game Game Game Game
(27:35) The Gathering Is Magical
(32:43) Sports Go Sports
(34:38) Government Working
(41:00) Not Great, Britain
(42:46) Variously Effective Altruism
(44:22) The Road To Hell
(45:28) Jones Act Watch
(47:30) Patrick McKenzie Periodically
(57:32) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 16th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Y8c4kh6fjkWu7Auxp/monthly-roundup-40-march-2026

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Table titled — “AI #159: See You In Court” by Zvi Mar 12, 2026
Show notes

The conflict between Anthropic and the Department of War has now moved to the courts, where Anthropic has challenged the official supply chain risk designation as well as the order to remove it from systems across the government, claiming retaliation for protected speech. It will take a bit to work its way through the courts.

Anthropic has the principles of law on its side, a maximally strong set of facts and absurdly strong amicus briefs. If Anthropic loses this case, there will be far reaching consequences for our freedoms.

Let us hope this remains in the courts and is allowed to play out there, and then ultimately that negotiations can resume and the parties can at least agree on a smooth transition to alternative service providers. If DoW wants an otherwise full deal more than it wants the right to use Claude to monitor Americans and analyze their data, a full deal is possible as well, but if they demand full ‘all lawful use,’ all trust has been lost or they are or always were out to hurt Anthropic, then there is no deal or ZOPA.

That has overshadowed what would normally be the main event [...]

---
Outline:
(01:48) Language Models Offer Mundane Utility
(03:46) Language Models Dont Offer Mundane Utility
(07:11) Language Models Break Your Vital Internet Infrastructure
(08:02) Huh, Upgrades
(09:29) On Your Marks
(15:13) Choose Your Fighter
(15:40) Get My Agent On The Line
(16:55) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon
(19:08) A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer
(19:27) You Drive Me Crazy
(19:47) They Took Our Jobs
(23:10) Get Involved
(24:58) Introducing
(26:03) The Anthropic Institute
(28:13) In Other AI News
(29:14) The Rise of Claude
(33:31) Trouble At OpenAI
(35:21) Show Me the Money
(36:36) Thanks For The Memos
(37:36) A Contract Is A Contract Is A Contract
(40:09) Level of Friction
(41:10) Quiet Speculations
(41:46) Quickly, Theres No Time
(43:14) Apology Tour
(43:59) Well See You In Court
(50:41) Jawboning
(54:02) Executive Order
(54:53) The Acute Crisis Passes
(56:48) Others Cover This
(57:28) Dwarkesh Patel Gives Mixed Thoughts
(01:02:57) This Means A Special Military Operation
(01:03:25) Bernie Sanders Is Worried and Curious About AI
(01:06:10) The Quest for Survival
(01:09:25) The Quest For No Regulations Whatsoever
(01:10:44) Chip City
(01:11:07) The Week in Audio
(01:12:52) Rhetorical Innovation
(01:23:08) Aligning a Smarter Than Human Intelligence is Difficult
(01:28:57) People Are Worried About AI Killing Everyone
(01:31:03) Other People Are Not As Worried About AI Killing Everyone
(01:32:52) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 12th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DnrjKZTZwHGjdDB4u/ai-159-see-you-in-court

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Table titled — “AI #159: See You In Court” by Zvi Mar 12, 2026
Show notes

The conflict between Anthropic and the Department of War has now moved to the courts, where Anthropic has challenged the official supply chain risk designation as well as the order to remove it from systems across the government, claiming retaliation for protected speech. It will take a bit to work its way through the courts.

Anthropic has the principles of law on its side, a maximally strong set of facts and absurdly strong amicus briefs. If Anthropic loses this case, there will be far reaching consequences for our freedoms.

Let us hope this remains in the courts and is allowed to play out there, and then ultimately that negotiations can resume and the parties can at least agree on a smooth transition to alternative service providers. If DoW wants an otherwise full deal more than it wants the right to use Claude to monitor Americans and analyze their data, a full deal is possible as well, but if they demand full ‘all lawful use,’ all trust has been lost or they are or always were out to hurt Anthropic, then there is no deal or ZOPA.

That has overshadowed what would normally be the main event [...]

---
Outline:
(01:48) Language Models Offer Mundane Utility
(03:46) Language Models Dont Offer Mundane Utility
(07:11) Language Models Break Your Vital Internet Infrastructure
(08:02) Huh, Upgrades
(09:29) On Your Marks
(15:13) Choose Your Fighter
(15:40) Get My Agent On The Line
(16:55) Deepfaketown and Botpocalypse Soon
(19:08) A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer
(19:27) You Drive Me Crazy
(19:47) They Took Our Jobs
(23:10) Get Involved
(24:58) Introducing
(26:03) The Anthropic Institute
(28:13) In Other AI News
(29:14) The Rise of Claude
(33:31) Trouble At OpenAI
(35:21) Show Me the Money
(36:36) Thanks For The Memos
(37:36) A Contract Is A Contract Is A Contract
(40:09) Level of Friction
(41:10) Quiet Speculations
(41:46) Quickly, Theres No Time
(43:14) Apology Tour
(43:59) Well See You In Court
(50:41) Jawboning
(54:02) Executive Order
(54:53) The Acute Crisis Passes
(56:48) Others Cover This
(57:28) Dwarkesh Patel Gives Mixed Thoughts
(01:02:57) This Means A Special Military Operation
(01:03:25) Bernie Sanders Is Worried and Curious About AI
(01:06:10) The Quest for Survival
(01:09:25) The Quest For No Regulations Whatsoever
(01:10:44) Chip City
(01:11:07) The Week in Audio
(01:12:52) Rhetorical Innovation
(01:23:08) Aligning a Smarter Than Human Intelligence is Difficult
(01:28:57) People Are Worried About AI Killing Everyone
(01:31:03) Other People Are Not As Worried About AI Killing Everyone
(01:32:52) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 12th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/DnrjKZTZwHGjdDB4u/ai-159-see-you-in-court

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Animated robot character wearing headphones with — “GPT-5.4 Is A Substantial Upgrade” by Zvi Mar 11, 2026
Show notes

Benchmarks have never been less useful for telling us which models are best.

They are good for giving a general sense of the landscape. They definitely paint a picture. But if you’re comparing top models, like GPT-5.4 against Opus 4.6 against Gemini 3.1 Pro, you have to use the models, talk to the models, get reports from those who have and form a gestalt. The reports will contract each other and you have to work through that. There's no other way.

Thus, I try to gather and sort a reasonably comprehensive set of reactions, so you can browse the sections that make you most curious.

The gestalt is that GPT-5.4 is a very good model, sir. It's a substantial upgrade from GPT-5.2, and also from 5.3-Codex, and it puts OpenAI back in the game, whereas I felt like Opus 4.6 dominated OpenAI's previous offerings for all but narrow uses.

Each lab's models vary and things change over time, but they tend to have consistent strengths, weaknesses and personalities. From what I’ve seen this is very much an OpenAI model. It's highly capable, and it is especially seen as a big improvement by the whisperers and [...]

---
Outline:
(01:42) The Big Take
(04:24) The Official Pitch
(08:43) Other Peoples Benchmarks
(12:44) The System Card
(17:22) Preparedness Framework
(19:15) Fun Experiments
(19:41) Early Poll Results
(21:48) Positive Reactions
(34:47) Vibe Coders Only
(37:26) Fill Out Your Roster
(37:51) Intent Wins
(40:41) Personality Clash
(45:44) Model Relations Department
(49:27) Stylistic Differences
(50:02) Some Will Always Be Unimpressed
(53:57) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 11th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sKCYLEN5EYLuokDft/gpt-5-4-is-a-substantial-upgrade

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Performance comparison table showing AI model benchmark scores across different tasks and providers. — “GPT-5.4 Is A Substantial Upgrade” by Zvi Mar 11, 2026
Show notes

Benchmarks have never been less useful for telling us which models are best.

They are good for giving a general sense of the landscape. They definitely paint a picture. But if you’re comparing top models, like GPT-5.4 against Opus 4.6 against Gemini 3.1 Pro, you have to use the models, talk to the models, get reports from those who have and form a gestalt. The reports will contract each other and you have to work through that. There's no other way.

Thus, I try to gather and sort a reasonably comprehensive set of reactions, so you can browse the sections that make you most curious.

The gestalt is that GPT-5.4 is a very good model, sir. It's a substantial upgrade from GPT-5.2, and also from 5.3-Codex, and it puts OpenAI back in the game, whereas I felt like Opus 4.6 dominated OpenAI's previous offerings for all but narrow uses.

Each lab's models vary and things change over time, but they tend to have consistent strengths, weaknesses and personalities. From what I’ve seen this is very much an OpenAI model. It's highly capable, and it is especially seen as a big improvement by the whisperers and [...]

---
Outline:
(01:42) The Big Take
(04:24) The Official Pitch
(08:43) Other Peoples Benchmarks
(12:44) The System Card
(17:22) Preparedness Framework
(19:15) Fun Experiments
(19:41) Early Poll Results
(21:48) Positive Reactions
(34:47) Vibe Coders Only
(37:26) Fill Out Your Roster
(37:51) Intent Wins
(40:41) Personality Clash
(45:44) Model Relations Department
(49:27) Stylistic Differences
(50:02) Some Will Always Be Unimpressed
(53:57) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 11th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/sKCYLEN5EYLuokDft/gpt-5-4-is-a-substantial-upgrade

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Line graph titled — “Claude Code, Claude Cowork and Codex #5” by Zvi Mar 09, 2026
Show notes

It feels good to get back to some of the fun stuff.

The comments here can double as a place for GPT-5.4 reactions, in addition to my Twitter thread. I hope to get that review out soon.

Almost all of this will be a summary of agentic coding developments, after a note.

Table of Contents

The Virtue of Silence (Unrelated Update).

Agentic Coding Offers Mundane Utility.

Agentic Coding Doesn’t Offer Mundane Utility.

Huh, Upgrades.

Our Price Cheap.

Quickly, There's No Time.

A Particular Set Of Skills.

Next Level Coding.

Dual Wielding.

They Took Our Jobs.

You Need To Relax Sometimes.

Levels of Friction.

Danger, Will Robinson.

Snagged By The Claw.

The Meta Clause.

If They Wanted To.

The Famous Mister Claw.

Claw Your Way To The Top.

Claw Your Way Out.

A Chinese Claw.

Hackathon.

Introducing Agent Teams.

Cowork Is A Gateway Drug.

Dangerously Evade Permissions.

Skilling Up.

Modern Working.

Measuring Autonomy.

I Don’t Even See The Code.

Scratchpads Are Magic.

It's Coming.

[...]

---
Outline:
(00:29) The Virtue of Silence (Unrelated Update)
(02:32) Agentic Coding Offers Mundane Utility
(08:27) Agentic Coding Doesnt Offer Mundane Utility
(09:17) Huh, Upgrades
(11:31) Our Price Cheap
(13:36) Quickly, Theres No Time
(21:08) A Particular Set Of Skills
(21:48) Next Level Coding
(22:54) Dual Wielding
(23:49) They Took Our Jobs
(24:28) You Need To Relax Sometimes
(27:05) Levels of Friction
(28:30) Danger, Will Robinson
(30:22) Snagged By The Claw
(34:20) The Meta Clause
(36:50) If They Wanted To
(37:55) The Famous Mister Claw
(39:14) Claw Your Way To The Top
(40:58) Claw Your Way Out
(44:05) A Chinese Claw
(46:46) Hackathon
(47:15) Introducing Agent Teams
(52:40) Cowork Is A Gateway Drug
(53:34) Dangerously Evade Permissions
(54:32) Skilling Up
(55:53) Modern Working
(56:22) Measuring Autonomy
(58:25) I Dont Even See The Code
(01:01:53) Scratchpads Are Magic
(01:04:11) Its Coming
(01:08:22) The Grep Tax
(01:09:54) Beware Claude Mania
(01:10:36) The Lighter Side
(01:12:05) In Other Agent News
(01:12:13) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 9th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rNes65r9TKegdLowb/claude-code-claude-cowork-and-codex-5

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

Bar graph showing — “Claude Code, Claude Cowork and Codex #5” by Zvi Mar 09, 2026
Show notes

It feels good to get back to some of the fun stuff.

The comments here can double as a place for GPT-5.4 reactions, in addition to my Twitter thread. I hope to get that review out soon.

Almost all of this will be a summary of agentic coding developments, after a note.

Table of Contents

The Virtue of Silence (Unrelated Update).

Agentic Coding Offers Mundane Utility.

Agentic Coding Doesn’t Offer Mundane Utility.

Huh, Upgrades.

Our Price Cheap.

Quickly, There's No Time.

A Particular Set Of Skills.

Next Level Coding.

Dual Wielding.

They Took Our Jobs.

You Need To Relax Sometimes.

Levels of Friction.

Danger, Will Robinson.

Snagged By The Claw.

The Meta Clause.

If They Wanted To.

The Famous Mister Claw.

Claw Your Way To The Top.

Claw Your Way Out.

A Chinese Claw.

Hackathon.

Introducing Agent Teams.

Cowork Is A Gateway Drug.

Dangerously Evade Permissions.

Skilling Up.

Modern Working.

Measuring Autonomy.

I Don’t Even See The Code.

Scratchpads Are Magic.

It's Coming.

[...]

---
Outline:
(00:29) The Virtue of Silence (Unrelated Update)
(02:32) Agentic Coding Offers Mundane Utility
(08:27) Agentic Coding Doesnt Offer Mundane Utility
(09:17) Huh, Upgrades
(11:31) Our Price Cheap
(13:36) Quickly, Theres No Time
(21:08) A Particular Set Of Skills
(21:48) Next Level Coding
(22:54) Dual Wielding
(23:49) They Took Our Jobs
(24:28) You Need To Relax Sometimes
(27:05) Levels of Friction
(28:30) Danger, Will Robinson
(30:22) Snagged By The Claw
(34:20) The Meta Clause
(36:50) If They Wanted To
(37:55) The Famous Mister Claw
(39:14) Claw Your Way To The Top
(40:58) Claw Your Way Out
(44:05) A Chinese Claw
(46:46) Hackathon
(47:15) Introducing Agent Teams
(52:40) Cowork Is A Gateway Drug
(53:34) Dangerously Evade Permissions
(54:32) Skilling Up
(55:53) Modern Working
(56:22) Measuring Autonomy
(58:25) I Dont Even See The Code
(01:01:53) Scratchpads Are Magic
(01:04:11) Its Coming
(01:08:22) The Grep Tax
(01:09:54) Beware Claude Mania
(01:10:36) The Lighter Side
(01:12:05) In Other Agent News
(01:12:13) The Lighter Side

---

First published:
March 9th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rNes65r9TKegdLowb/claude-code-claude-cowork-and-codex-5

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

---
Images from the article:
Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

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