Skip to content
Sign in
Artwork for 80,000 Hours - Narrations
TechnologySociety & CulturePhilosophy

80,000 Hours - Narrations

80000 Hours

Narrations of articles from 80000hours.org.

Expect evidence-based career advice and research on the world’s most pressing problems. For interviews and discussions, subscribe to The 80,000 Hours Podcast.

Some articles are narrated by the authors, while others are read by AI.

Play
Open in
  • 20 episodes
  • Avg 33 min
  • English

Episodes 20

NewestOldestLongest
All20Unplayed20In progress0Played0
  • August 21 · 30 min

    [Career review] “Grantmaking for AI safety” by Aaron Gertler

    Funding for AI safety is surging, but the field needs dozens of new grantmakers to connect that money with impactful projects. Learn what it takes to make effective grants, which backgrounds are a promising signal for your fit, and how to explore this career path. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:10) Summary (02:48) Recommended (02:57) Review status (04:27) Why work on grantmaking for AI safety? (06:17) There simply aren't enough grantmakers (06:55) Your work can have extremely high leverage (10:49) You can help your grantees do more good (12:52) The job can be highly fulfilling (14:27) What do grantmakers actually do? (17:33) Could you be a good fit? (17:37) Skills that will help you succeed (22:08) Promising background experience (22:54) Downsides to working on grantmaking (25:09) Top organisations (26:30) How to enter the field (28:21) Find jobs in AI safety grantmaking (28:43) Speak with us (29:04) Learn more (29:07) Notes on the philanthropic situation (29:36) Personal reflections from grantmakers (30:02) Other resources (30:27) Acknowledgements The original text contained 12 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: August 21st, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/ai-safety-grantmaking --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • June 19 · 28 min

    [Career review] “AI security” by Aaron Gertler

    Organisations with influence, financial power, and advanced technology are targeted by actors seeking to steal or abuse these assets. A career in information security is a promising avenue to support high-impact organisations by protecting against these attacks, which have the potential to disrupt an organisation's mission or even increase existential risk. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:12) Summary (02:09) Recommended (02:19) Review status (05:26) Why work on AI security? (06:33) Ways to contribute (06:37) Protecting AI from external attackers (08:39) Stopping subversion from misaligned AI ("AI control") (11:28) Verification, compliance, and AI governance (13:39) What's it like to work on AI security? (15:22) Would you be a good fit? (16:58) Useful skills (18:57) Key roles to aim for (21:30) Downsides to working on AI security (22:03) How to enter with a lot of experience (23:15) How to enter early in your career (24:09) Where can this work be done? (24:13) Top organisations to work for (24:45) Smaller organisations (25:07) Grantmakers (25:36) Find jobs in AI cybersecurity (25:46) Speak with us (26:06) Learn more (26:09) External attacks (27:01) AI control (27:31) AI governance (27:47) Acknowledgements The original text contained 5 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: December 19th, 2022 Last updated: June 5th, 2023 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/ai-security --- 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.

  • June 11 · 24 min

    [Career review] “AI policy in the US government” by Avital Morris

    The US federal government has jurisdiction over the most prominent AI companies in the world — and the people working inside it may have more influence over AI's future than almost anyone else. But government AI policy work is hard to break into, politically constrained, and carries a real risk of doing harm. Learn what it actually takes to build a career in US government AI policy: which roles and agencies matter most, what skills you'll need beyond technical expertise, and how to think honestly about whether Washington's political culture is a place where you'll thrive. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:10) Summary (01:50) Recommended (02:00) Review status (02:05) Why work in AI policy within the US government? (04:04) Would you be a good fit? (04:08) What skills are needed to succeed? (06:02) What experience is useful (07:02) What else do you need? (08:12) Downsides to working in US government AI policy roles (08:18) Risk of doing harm (09:50) Risk of burnout (10:07) Top organisations (10:54) Executive branch (10:59) Executive Office of the President (12:04) Departments and agencies (13:44) Congress (16:38) State governments (17:37) Government contractors (18:42) Next steps (18:46) If you're ready to apply for jobs (18:55) If you need to build career capital (21:04) Speak with us (21:25) Learn more (21:28) Top recommendations (22:36) Further recommendations (23:44) Acknowledgements --- First published: June 11th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/ai-policy-us-government --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • May 19 · 28 min

    [Career review] “Pandemic prevention and biosecurity” by Aaron Gertler, Gregory Lewis

    Explore how careers in biosecurity research, policy, and entrepreneurship can help reduce risks like engineered pandemics. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (02:18) Recommended (02:27) Review status (02:32) Why work on pandemic prevention? (02:37) It could save millions of lives (03:32) It isnt very speculative (04:23) There are many tractable approaches (05:27) It doesnt require working on AI (06:28) What does this path involve? (07:39) Technical careers (09:28) Policy careers (11:00) Entrepreneurial and operations careers (13:41) Other careers (14:36) Could you be a good fit? (14:40) The best backgrounds and skill sets (19:24) What do you want from a job? (21:05) Four ways to test your fit (22:51) Guidance for experienced professionals (23:51) Find jobs in pandemic prevention and biosecurity (24:37) Learn more (24:40) Top recommendations (25:20) Other resources (26:17) Further recommendations The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration. --- First published: October 19th, 2021 Last updated: April 11th, 2023 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/pandemic-prevention-biosecurity --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • May 12 · 26 min

    “What to aim for: Part 1 We reviewed over 60 studies about what makes for a dream job. Here’s what we found.” by Benjamin Todd

    We all want to find a dream job that’s enjoyable and meaningful, but what does that actually mean? Some people imagine that the answer will come to them in a flash of insight, while others think what matters is that their dream job is easy and well paid. At 80,000 Hours, we’ve reviewed three decades of research into what makes for a satisfying career, drawing on hundreds of studies, and didn’t find much evidence for either conclusion. Instead, we found five key ingredients of a dream job. They don’t include income, nor are they as simple as “following your passion.” What’s crucial is to get good at something that helps other people. Let’s start with where we go wrong. The bottom line: What makes for a dream job? Decades of psychology research suggests there are five key things to look for in a dream job: Work that’s engaging hour-to-hour Work that helps others Source: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/dream-job/ Narrated by the author. --- Outline: (00:00) What makes for a dream job? (00:35) Where we go wrong (13:59) What you should really aim for in a dream job (21:50) Don't follow your passion — instead, do what matters (24:30) How to put these ideas into practice --- First published: May 12th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-guide/dream-job

  • April 20 · 27 min

    [Career review] “Macrostrategy research” by Zershaaneh Qureshi

    What if your job was to think carefully about the long-term future of humanity? Macrostrategy research is one of the most neglected (and potentially most important) career paths focused on tackling the world's most pressing problems. We break down what macrostrategy researchers actually do, why the rise of advanced AI makes their work more urgent than ever, and what it takes to succeed in a field where the questions are enormous, the feedback loops are slow, and the number of people working on it can be counted in the dozens. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:10) Summary (02:12) Recommended (02:21) Review status (02:26) What is macrostrategy research, and why work on it? (06:08) Why work on macrostrategy research? (08:02) What are the downsides to working on macrostrategy? (08:07) You might struggle to get a job (08:54) It may be difficult to make progress (10:22) It might be hard to influence decision makers (11:31) It might be better to focus on more speculative issues later (13:21) Would you be a good fit for macrostrategy research? (13:26) What skills and traits are needed to succeed? (15:29) What experience is useful? (17:16) Non-research paths (17:52) Example people (17:56) Rose Hadshar (18:53) Top organisations (21:01) Next steps (21:05) If youre ready to apply for jobs (21:27) If you need, test your fit or build career capital first (23:49) If you want to learn more (26:48) Speak with us (26:51) Want one-on-one advice on pursuing this path? The original text contained 4 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: April 16th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/macrostrategy-research --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • April 13 · 28 min

    [Career review] “Building the field of AI safety” by Aaron Gertler

    When most people think about working on AI safety, they picture researchers and policy wonks. But there's a quieter, often overlooked path that may actually have more impact — and it's desperately short of talent. AI safety fieldbuilders are the people who recruit, train, and connect the researchers, policymakers, and communicators who make the whole ecosystem run. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, this might be the highest-impact career move you've never considered. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (01:43) Recommended (01:52) Review status (03:31) What do fieldbuilders work on? (05:18) Why AI safety fieldbuilding can be highly impactful (05:23) Fieldbuilding works (07:02) AI safety needs more skilled people (09:03) The work is highly neglected (10:28) Helping others lets you multiply your impact (12:15) Potential downsides to working on fieldbuilding (12:28) Career capital may be lower (15:37) The 'career path' isn't as clear (16:21) Technical work often pays better (16:53) Direct work can also grow capacity (17:38) How can fieldbuilding backfire? (19:39) Could you be a good fit? (19:50) Skills that will help you succeed (22:05) Promising professional backgrounds (23:11) How to get started (25:39) Find jobs in AI safety fieldbuilding (26:31) Learn more (26:34) Top recommendations (27:15) Further recommendations (28:11) Acknowledgements The original text contained 8 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: April 13th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/ai-safety-fieldbuilding --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • March 20 · 33 min

    [Career review] “US Electoral Politics” by Sam Roth

    Winning elections is one of the most direct levers on the world's biggest problems — and the field is more open to talented newcomers than you'd think. We make the case for why impact-driven people are exactly what politics needs more of. You'll find an honest look at the real downsides, the skills and backgrounds that transfer surprisingly well, and concrete next steps to get started. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:09) Summary (02:13) Two main paths to impact through electoral politics (03:06) Recommended (03:16) Review status (03:21) Why work in US electoral politics? (03:26) Individuals really can make a difference (05:06) Why should you run for office? (07:44) Why should you work for a campaign? (13:26) Elected leadership matters a great deal (17:37) Lower-level offices shape higher-level outcomes. (18:16) Politics is a good option if you expect transformative AI relatively soon. (19:29) Downsides of working in electoral politics (19:34) Downsides to running for office (22:10) Downsides to working on campaigns (24:23) Would you be a good fit for working in electoral politics? (24:28) Skills that will help you succeed (27:07) What experience is useful? (28:43) What else is helpful? (29:10) Top roles and where to work (29:32) Common roles to look for (29:58) Key places to work (31:08) Next steps (32:36) Read next (32:46) Learn more The original text contained 9 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: March 18th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/us-electoral-politics --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • February 26 · 1 hr 29 min

    [Problem profile] “How AI could create the world’s biggest problems” by Zershaaneh Qureshi

    AGI could rapidly transform the world, posing existential risks to humanity. Here’s why working on AI risks could be the most important use of your career. Narrated by the author. --- Outline: (00:00) How artificial intelligence could create the world’s biggest problems (00:19) Introduction (03:41) So how could advanced AI pose the world’s most pressing problems? (08:31) 1. AI could replace human labour in the most economically valuable fields (22:14) 2. Replacing this much human labour could trigger the next radical transformation of society (28:01) 3. This transformation could be extremely rapid and dramatic (36:39) 4. A rapid, AI-driven transformation would raise a range of major challenges, including existential risks (44:47) 5. Work on these problems is tractable but neglected (47:49) Objections and replies (01:27:51) Learn more (01:29:13) Acknowledgements --- First published: February 24th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/artificial-intelligence

  • February 17 · 49 min

    China-related AI safety and governance

    China is a leading country in AI. If you have a background in China you may be able to help ensure its development benefits everyone. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (02:50) Sometimes recommended -- personal fit dependent (03:02) Review status (03:07) Why pursue this path? (03:11) 1. Safely managing the introduction of AI may require unprecedented international coordination. (04:46) 2. Coordination between China and the US on AI safety would require deliberate effort. (05:54) 3. There is growing interest in AI safety and governance in China. (08:20) 4. You could help pioneer the subfield of China-Western coordination on AI safety and governance. (09:45) 5. Gaining and leveraging expertise on China is a promising option in general. (10:49) Arguments against pursuing this path (10:53) 1. It's far from guaranteed you'd have a large impact in this career. (12:53) 2. There is a possibility of doing harm. (14:01) 3. There are potential abuses of AI-enabled technology. (15:10) 4. There are complex international political considerations and uncertainties. (18:09) Do I need to be Chinese to pursue these paths? (20:31) Ideas for where to aim longer term (20:52) AI safety researchers and engineers at top Chinese AI companies (24:01) AI safety researchers and professors at top Chinese AI academic labs (26:26) AI governance researchers at Chinese think tanks and universities (28:43) AI governance researchers at key long-term-focused research groups (30:10) AI safety and interdisciplinary researchers focusing on problems of cooperation (32:46) AI-focused translators and publishing advisors (34:16) AI governance or policy advisors at top Chinese AI companies (37:07) AI governance or policy advisors at top AI companies in the US and UK (39:01) China AI analysts at top think tanks in the US and the UK (40:54) Alternative routes that we haven't investigated (42:20) Personal fit (42:45) Bilingualism and/or cross-cultural communication skills (43:38) Strong networking abilities (especially for policy roles) (44:02) Good judgement and prudence (45:12) Learn more (47:14) Additional resources (47:18) Top recommendations (47:51) Further recommendations The original text contained 23 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: February 10th, 2022 Last updated: February 17th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/china-related-ai-safety-governance --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • February 6 · 25 min

    [Article] “How AI-driven feedback loops could make things very crazy, very fast” by Benjamin Todd

    What if the next decade doesn't gradually ease us into an AI future, but catapults us through a century's worth of change in less than ten years? This article explores three interconnected 'explosions' that could unfold once AI becomes capable enough to improve itself, revealing how feedback loops — where progress in one area accelerates progress everywhere else — could transform the pace of civilisation faster than most people realise. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (02:10) 1. The intelligence explosion (02:14) Algorithmic feedback loops (06:26) Hardware feedback loops (09:19) Where could this end up? (11:07) 2. The technological explosion (13:33) 3. The industrial explosion (13:38) Robotic worker feedback loops (17:36) A few common counterarguments (20:08) Two views of the future of advanced AI The original text contained 28 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: February 4th, 2026 Source: https://80000hours.org/articles/how-ai-driven-feedback-loops-could-make-things-very-crazy-very-fast --- 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.

  • Dec 12, 2025 · 1 hr

    [Problem profile] “Extreme power concentration” by Rose Hadshar

    Power is already concentrated today: over 800 million people live on less than $3 a day, the three richest men in the world are worth over $1 trillion, and almost six billion people live in countries without free and fair elections. This is a problem in its own right. There is still substantial distribution of power though: global income inequality is falling, over two billion people live in electoral democracies, no country earns more than a quarter of GDP, and no company earns as much as 1%. But in the future, advanced AI could enable much more extreme power concentration than we’ve seen so far. Many believe that within the next decade the leading AI projects will be able to run millions of superintelligent AI systems thinking many times faster than humans. These systems could displace human workers, leading to much less economic and political power for the vast majority of people; and unless we take action to prevent it, they may end up being controlled by a tiny number of people, with no effective oversight. Once these systems are deployed across the economy, government, and the military, whatever goals they’re built to have will become the primary force shaping the future. If those goals are chosen by the few, then a small number of people could end up with the power to make all of the important decisions about the future. Narrated by a human. --- Outline: (00:00) Introduction (02:15) Summary (07:02) Section 1: Why might AI-enabled power concentration be a pressing problem? (45:02) Section 2: What are the top arguments against working on this problem? (56:36) Section 3: What can you do to help? --- First published: April 24th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/extreme-power-concentration --- Images from the article: Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.

  • Dec 10, 2025 · 43 min

    The US AI policy landscape: where to work to have the biggest impact

    The US government may be the single most important actor for shaping how AI develops. If you want to improve the trajectory of AI and reduce catastrophic risks, you could have an outsized impact by working on US policy. But the US policy ecosystem is huge and confusing. And policy shaping AI is made by specific people in specific places — so where you work matters enormously. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:09) Part 1: How to find the most impactful places to work on AI policy (01:31) Prioritise building career capital (03:37) Work backwards from the most important issues (05:32) Find levers of influence (07:07) Prepare for 'policy windows' (10:21) Consider personal fit (11:44) Part 2: Our best guess at the most impactful places (right now) (11:58) 1. Executive Office of the President (18:43) 2. Federal departments and agencies (24:25) 3. Congress (32:28) 4. State governments (37:47) 5. Think tanks and advocacy organisations (41:04) Conclusion (41:49) Want one-on-one advice on pursuing this path? (42:10) Learn more about how and why to pursue a career in US AI policy (42:16) Top recommendations (43:11) Further reading The original text contained 45 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: November 17th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/articles/the-us-ai-policy-landscape-where-to-have-the-biggest-impact --- 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.

  • Sep 17, 2025 · 30 min

    [Problem profile] “Using AI to enhance societal decision making” by Zershaaneh Qureshi

    The arrival of AGI could “compress a century of progress in a decade”, forcing humanity to make decisions with higher stakes than we’ve ever seen before — and with less time to get them right. But AI development also presents an opportunity: we could build and deploy AI tools that help us think more clearly, act more wisely, and coordinate more effectively. And if we roll these decision-making tools out quickly enough, humanity could be far better equipped to navigate the critical period ahead. We’d be excited to see some more people trying to speed up the development and adoption of these tools. We think that for the right person, this path could be very impactful. That said, this is not a mature area. There's significant uncertainty about what work will actually be most useful, and getting involved has potential downside risks. So our guess is that, at this stage, it’d be great if something like a few hundred particularly thoughtful and entrepreneurial people worked on using AI to improve societal decision making. If the field proves promising, they could pave the way for more people to get involved later. Narrated by the author. --- Outline: (00:00) Introduction (00:17) Summary (01:48) Section 1: Why advancing AI decision-making tools might matter a lot (04:55) AI tools could help us make much better decisions (10:00) We might be able to differentially speed up the rollout of AI decision-making tools (12:14) Section 2: What are the arguments against working to advance AI decision-making tools? (25:15) Section 3: How to work in this area (28:46) Want one on one advice? (29:43) Thank you for listening --- Source: https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/ai-enhanced-decision-making

  • Aug 19, 2025 · 25 min

    [Career review] “Founding new organisations” by Benjamin Todd

    Become a founder of an organisation tackling one of the world’s most pressing problems. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:32) Recommended (01:41) Review status (01:47) Why might founding a new project be high impact? (04:34) What does it take to succeed? (05:05) A good enough idea (06:10) You need to be able to convince donors (09:20) An idea that really motivates you (10:45) Leadership potential (11:20) Generalist skills (12:06) Enough knowledge of the area (12:41) Good judgement (13:02) The ability, willingness, and resilience to work on something that might not work out (13:48) Examples of people pursuing this path (13:53) Helen Toner (14:31) Holden Karnofsky (15:04) Next steps if you already have an idea (19:14) Next steps if you don't have an idea yet (22:49) Lists of ideas (24:16) Podcast episodes with founders (24:53) Want one-on-one advice on pursuing this path? The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: November 10th, 2021 Last updated: August 11th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/founding-new-organisations --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • Jun 27, 2025 · 13 min

    [Career review] “Early-stage startup employee” by Benjamin Todd

    Being an early employee at a startup is similar to being a startup founder, except (i) the impact and financial return are usually lower (ii) the risk is lower and (iii) the personal demands are lower. It's a promising path if you'd like to found a startup, but don't have a good idea and co-founder, or want a less demanding option. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:13) Summary (00:56) Key facts on fit (01:03) Next steps (01:38) Sometimes recommended -- highly competitive (01:49) Review status (01:54) What is this path? (02:57) Why do this job? (05:47) What are some points against this path? (08:12) How can I find a good startup job? (09:44) How can you find a startup that's focused on doing good? (10:18) What are the key differences compared to founding a startup? (11:54) Who should join a startup rather than found? (12:35) Want one-on-one advice on pursuing this path? (12:56) Further reading --- First published: July 22nd, 2015 Last updated: June 27th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/career-reviews/startup-early-employee --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

  • Jun 24, 2025 · 17 min

    [Problem profile] “Catastrophic AI misuse” by The 80,000 Hours team

    On July 16, 1945, humanity had a disturbing first: scientists tested a technology — nuclear weapons — that could cause the destruction of civilisation. Since the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, humanity hasn’t launched any more nuclear strikes. In part, this is because our institutions developed international norms that, while imperfect, managed to prevent more nuclear attacks. We expect advanced AI will speed up technological advances, with some expecting a century of scientific progress in a decade. Faster scientific progress could have enormous benefits, from cures for deadly diseases to space exploration. Yet this breakneck pace could lower the barriers to creating devastating new weapons while outpacing our ability to build the safeguards needed to control them. Without proper controls, a country, group, or individual could use AI-created weapons of mass destruction to cause a global catastrophe. Advanced AI systems may dramatically accelerate scientific progress, potentially compressing decades of research into just a few years. This rapid advancement could enable the development of devastating new weapons of mass destruction — including enhanced bioweapons and entirely new categories of dangerous technologies — faster than we can build adequate safeguards. Without proper controls, state and non-state actors could use AI-developed [...] Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (01:09) Summary (01:59) Advanced AI could accelerate scientific progress (04:56) What kinds of weapons could advanced AI create? (05:01) Bioweapons (07:27) Cyberweapons (08:22) New dangerous technologies (09:56) These weapons would pose global catastrophic risks (12:33) There are promising approaches to reducing these risks (12:53) Governance and policy approaches (14:36) Technical approaches to reduce misuse risks The original text contained 5 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: June 24th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/catastrophic-ai-misuse --- 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.

  • Jun 17, 2025 · 21 min

    What are the most pressing world problems? Frequently asked questions.

    The recording may not reflect the most recent changes to this article. --- Outline: (00:32) What are these lists based on? (03:11) Why did you make this page? (04:27) Why don't you list more familiar global issues? (06:08) Isn't it inappropriate to rank different issues? (07:25) Should I just take your word for it that these are the most pressing problems in the world? (08:16) How do you think your list is most likely to be wrong? (10:18) Why do you have a list if you don't think it's right? (11:45) Do you think everyone should work on your top list of world problems? (14:10) I want to help tackle one of these global issues. What should I do? (16:11) I'm not motivated to work on any of these issues. What should I do? (17:25) My values are pretty different — how can I figure out my own list of world problems? (19:46) How do I figure out which world problem is the best fit for me to work on? --- First published: August 15th, 2018 Source: https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles

  • Jun 15, 2025 · 51 min

    “How not to lose your job to AI” by Benjamin Todd

    About half of people are worried they'll lose their job to AI. And they're right to be concerned: AI can now complete real-world coding tasks on GitHub, generate photorealistic video, drive a taxi more safely than humans, and do accurate medical diagnosis. And over the next five years, it's set to continue to improve rapidly. Eventually, mass automation and falling wages are a real possibility. Narrated by the author. --- Outline: (00:00) Introduction (04:17) 1: What people misunderstand about automation (08:56) 1.1: What would ‘full automation’ mean for wages? (11:19) 2: Four types of skills most likely to increase in value (12:42) 2.1: Skills AI won’t easily be able to perform (21:41) 2.2: Skills that are needed for AI deployment (24:56) 2.3: Skills where we could use far more of what they produce (26:25) 2.4: Skills that are difficult for others to learn (28:05) 3.1: Skills using AI to solve real problems (29:22) 3.2: Personal effectiveness (31:59) 3.3: Leadership skills (36:25) 3.4: Communications and taste (37:23) 3.5: Getting things done in government (38:24) 3.6: Complex physical skills (38:57) 4: Skills with a more uncertain future (39:18) 4.1: Routine knowledge work: writing, admin, analysis, advice (43:22) 4.2: Coding, maths, data science, and applied STEM (45:31) 4.3: Visual creation (46:05) 4.4: More predictable manual jobs (46:46) 5: Some closing thoughts on career strategy (46:54) 5.1: Look for ways to leapfrog entry-level white collar jobs (48:44) 5.2: Be cautious about starting long training periods, like PhDs and medicine (49:52) 5.3: Make yourself more resilient to change (50:16) 5.4: Ride the wave (50:37) Take action (50:58) Thank you for listening --- First published: June 15th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/ai/guide/skills-ai-makes-valuable

  • Apr 24, 2025 · 6 min

    [Problem profile] “AI-enabled power grabs” by Cody Fenwick

    Advanced AI technology may enable its creators, or others who control it, to attempt and achieve unprecedented societal power grabs. Under certain circumstances, they could use these systems to take control of whole economies, militaries, and governments. This kind of power grab from a single person or small group would pose a major threat to the rest of humanity. Narrated by AI. --- Outline: (00:10) Summary (00:46) Why is this a pressing problem? (03:56) What can be done to mitigate these risks? (05:44) Learn more The original text contained 2 footnotes which were omitted from this narration. --- First published: April 24th, 2025 Source: https://80000hours.org/problem-profiles/ai-enabled-power-grabs --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

Showing 1–20 of 20 episodes