Sina Habibian Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Michael Nielsen on being a wise optimist about science and technology Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

This is my conversation with Michael Nielsen, scientist, author, and research fellow at the Astera Institute.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:06) cultivating optimism amid existential risks
- (00:07:16) asymmetric leverage
- (00:12:09) are "unbiased" models even feasible?
- (00:18:44) AI and the scientific method
- (00:23:23) unlocking AI's full power through better interfaces
- (00:30:33) sponsor: Splits
- (00:31:18) AIs, independent agents or intelligent tools?
- (00:35:47) autonomous military and weapons
- (00:42:14) finding alignment
- (00:48:28) aiming for specific moral outcomes with AI?
- (00:54:42) freedom/progress vs safety
- (00:57:46) provable beneficiary surveillance
- (01:04:16) psychological costs
- (01:12:40) the ingenuity gap

Links:
- Michael Nielsen: https://michaelnielsen.org/
- Michael Nielsen on X: https://x.com/michael_nielsen
- Michael's essay on being a wise optimist about science and technology: https://michaelnotebook.com/optimism/
- Michael's Blog: https://michaelnotebook.com/
- The Ingenuity Gap (Tad Homer-Dixon): https://homerdixon.com/books/the-ingenuity-gap/

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
- Sina Habibian: https://sinahab.com
- Sina Habibian on X: https://x.com/sinahab

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

Jeffrey Quesnelle on Nous Research, large language models, and the human mind Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

This is my conversation with Jeffrey Quesnelle, cofounder of Nous Research.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:08) working with new technologies
- (00:06:15) Nous Research origin story
- (00:14:08) open frontiers in research
- (00:26:07) fourier transforms for gradient compression
- (00:32:58) math behind distributed training
- (00:38:18) sponsor: Splits
- (00:39:02) neural networks history and fundamentals
- (00:51:29) the human mind and AI, hyperdimensional representation
- (01:01:15) intuition and reasoning
- (01:15:00) parallels with reinforcement learning
- (01:19:15) the cat is out of the bag
- (01:47:11) deeper mysteries

Links:
- Jeffrey Quesnelle: https://jeffq.com/
- Jeffrey Quesnelle on X: https://x.com/theemozilla
- Nous Research: https://nousresearch.com/
- Psyche: https://nousresearch.com/nous-psyche/

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
- Sina Habibian: https://sinahab.com
- Sina Habibian on X: https://x.com/sinahab

Disclaimer:
This podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

Alexander Long on Pluralis Research and protocol learning for frontier models Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

This is my conversation with Alexander Long, Founder & CEO of Pluralis Research.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:00:55) collaborative training
- (00:09:49) economics of training
- (00:13:10) what is protocol learning?
- (00:20:48) protocol learning design and politics
- (00:33:39) sponsor: Splits
- (00:34:22) hardware requirements
- (00:41:53) adapting to the landscape
- (00:49:53) open and closed models
- (00:52:52) market structure with fully open models
- (00:56:34) research and risks
- (01:02:19) labor and national security
- (01:10:58) looking to the future
- (01:14:20) outro

Links:
- Alexander on X: https://x.com/_alexanderlong
- Alexander on Github: https://github.com/AlexanderJLong
- Article 2: Protocol Learning, Protocol Models and the Great Convergence: https://www.pluralisresearch.com/p/article-2-protocol-learning-protocol
- Decentralized Training Looms: https://www.pluralisresearch.com/p/decentralized-ai-looms

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Disclaimer: this podcast is for informational purposes only. It is not financial advice nor a recommendation to buy or sell securities. The host and guests may hold positions in the projects discussed.

Jim Posen on cryptographic acceleration with Binius Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

This is my conversation with Jim Posen, the Cofounder and CTO at Irreducible.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:12) getting deeper into cryptography
- (00:07:06) revisiting binary fields
- (00:15:50) building the verifiable internet
- (00:26:14) sponsor: Splits
- (00:26:57) revival of binary fields
- (00:38:55) Binius
- (00:42:46) bringing Binius to production
- (00:48:27) creating new hardware
- (00:53:57) getting to v1
- (01:02:03) Ethereum stateless proofs and zkVMs
- (01:13:21) outro

Links:
- Jim on X: https://x.com/jimpo_potamus
- Jim on Github: https://github.com/jimpo
- Irreducible: https://www.irreducible.com/
- Binius: a Hardware-Optimized SNARK: https://www.irreducible.com/posts/binius-hardware-optimized-snark
- Binary Tower Fields are the Future of Verifiable Computing: https://www.irreducible.com/posts/binary-tower-fields-are-the-future-of-verifiable-computing

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Michael Bentley on Euler, credit, and natural selection Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

This is my conversation with Michael Bentley, the cofounder and CEO of Euler and previously a dynamical systems postdoctoral research associate at Oxford.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:11) early DeFi and experiencing the 2008 crash
- (00:06:52) interest rate design and PIDs
- (00:20:40) risk management
- (00:28:27) sponsor: Splits
- (00:29:10) macro view of the world
- (00:32:27) the fundamental importance of credit
- (00:35:47) Euler protocol design
- (00:39:08) modularity and integration
- (00:54:40) network topology
- (01:10:55) natural selection and dynamical systems
- (01:26:33) outro

Links:
- Michael on X: https://x.com/euler_mab
- Michael on Medium: https://medium.com/@euler-mab
- Michael Bentley on the evolution of lending protocols: https://youtu.be/TW9Tv2Y0fkw
- Euler: https://www.euler.finance

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Jake Chervinsky on regulations from first principles Dec 23, 2024

Show notes

This is my conversation with Jake Chervinsky, Chief Legal Officer at Variant, and previously the Chief Policy Officer at Blockchain Association and General Counsel at Compound Labs.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:01:15) ELI5: how the US government works
- (00:10:44) DOGE and the powers of the executive
- (00:19:27) DUNAs, DAOs, and decentralized governance
- (00:27:55) how the law reacts to new technology
- (00:40:19) sponsor: Splits
- (00:41:02) incentives and philosophies of regulators
- (00:48:10) lobbying and goals for the next administration
- (01:01:58) advice for crypto founders
- (01:13:39) personal motivations
- (01:19:30) outro

Links:
- Jake on X: https://x.com/jchervinsky
- Variant Fund: https://variant.fund/
- DeFi Education Fund: https://www.defieducationfund.org/
- Fairshake PAC: https://www.fairshakepac.com/
- Blockchain Association: https://theblockchainassociation.org/

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Andrew Miller on TEEs, account delegation, research, and the early days in Bitcoin Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

This is my conversation with Andrew Miller who is working on product at Teleport, and is also Associate Director at IC3 and Board Member at the Zcash Foundation.

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) intro
- (00:00:59) from bitcoin research to privacy, ZKPs, and MPC
- (00:13:23) trust models and threat vectors to TEEs
- (00:21:16) what is possible with trustless TEEs?
- (00:38:37) TEEs-based internet agents
- (00:45:41) Dstack, a p2p architecture for TEEs
- (00:52:50) learnings as a researcher
- (00:58:42) sponsor: Splits
- (00:59:25) pathfinding in research
- (01:06:11) 2011 bitcoin unboxing and the early bitcoin ecosystem
- (01:17:54) vision for the future
- (01:21:22) outro

Links:
- Andrew on X: https://x.com/socrates1024
- Andrew on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Socrates1024
- Andrew's research: https://soc1024.ece.illinois.edu
- Personal site: https://soc1024.com
- Zero Trust Execution Environments paper: https://writings.flashbots.net/ZTEE
- Zcash Foundation: https://zfnd.org
- IC3: https://www.ic3.gov

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Quintus Kilbourn on TEEs and Secure Hardware Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

This is my conversation with Quintus Kilbourn, researcher at Flashbots and currently working on Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).

Timestamps:
- (00:00:00) - intro
- (00:01:06) - what is a TEE
- (00:12:23) - TEE use cases: one-shot transactions, autonomous AI agents
- (00:25:27) - unbreakable hardware enclaves
- (00:41:14) - physical hardware access as a threat vector
- (00:47:20) - sponsor: Splits
- (00:48:04) - defending against physical attacks
- (00:55:57) - resources focused on TEEs
- (01:10:25) - defending against supply chain attacks
- (01:19:34) - hardware imaging
- (01:28:48) - the roadmap
- (01:32:53) - outro

Links:
- Quintus on X: https://x.com/0xQuintus
- Flashbots: https://www.flashbots.net/
- ZTEE: https://writings.flashbots.net/ZTEE

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Markus Haas on ethOS and building a crypto-native device Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

This is my conversation with Markus Haas, the CEO of Freedom Factory and cocreator of the dGEN1.

Timestamps:
(00:00:00) - intro
(00:00:28) - ethOS origin story
(00:07:54) - the vision and values
(00:09:56) - the need for an alternative to iOS and Android
(00:15:30) - sponsor: Splits
(00:16:14) - building on GrapheneOS
(00:28:32) - dGEN1, an everyday carry device
(00:37:05) - what's next for ethOS?
(00:43:02) - the company, funding, profitability
(00:49:00) - outro

Links:
- Markus on X: https://x.com/mhaas_eth
- ethOS on X: https://x.com/EthereumPhone
- GrapheneOS: https://grapheneos.org/
- Freedom Factory website: https://www.freedomfactory.io/

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

Uma Roy on Succinct, STARKs, and zkVM architecture Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

This is my conversation with Uma Roy, cofounder and CEO of Succinct.

Timestamps:
(00:00:00) - intro
(00:00:57) - origin story
(00:02:19) - SP1 architecture
(00:09:43) - STARKs, FRI, and hash-based cryptography
(00:15:09) - recursion
(00:21:12) - upgrading the proof system
(00:33:11) - sponsor: Splits
(00:33:54) - security in ZK systems
(00:37:46) - converting optimistic rollups into zk rollups
(00:43:39) - zkVM vs custom circuits
(00:48:48) - ZK for scaling and interoperability
(01:00:24) - the lifecycle of a proof
(01:06:26) - hardware
(01:10:57) - outro

Links
- Uma on X: https://x.com/pumatheuma
- Succinct on X: https://x.com/succinctlabs

Thank you to our sponsor for making this podcast possible:
- Splits: https://splits.org

Sina:
Sina Habibian - https://sinahab.com
Sina Habibian on X - https://x.com/sinahab

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