Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Technology

We're Moving Too Slow on AI

Technologist Pablos Holman warns that slowing AI progress cedes the future to gatekeepers and explains how open competition can unlock breakthroughs in energy, health, and innovation on a massive scale.

Nick Gillespie | 9.3.2025 11:00 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/d2h6a3ly6ooodw.cloudfront.net/reasontv_audio_8346041.mp3
:15 :15
Download

We're Moving Too Slow on AI

HD Video Download

The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie goes deep with the artists, entrepreneurs, and oddballs who are making the 21st century more libertarian—or at least more interesting—by challenging old, worn-out ideas and orthodoxies.

Today's guest is Pablos Holman, a legendary hacker and cypherpunk who holds over 100 patents and has worked with Bill Gates to cure malaria and with Jeff Bezos to get Blue Origin off the ground.

Pablos also runs a venture fund called Deep Future, which is committed to "creating technology that matters." In his new book—also called Deep Future—he exhorts the reader to "boycott dystopia" and describes companies that are saving bee colonies by using mushroom spores to inoculate bees against pests; recovering ancient Roman secrets to make concrete that lasts for thousands of years; and launching solar panels into space to deliver a constant, uninterruptible supply of clean energy.

He and Nick Gillespie talk about the need to move faster with AI, why hardware ultimately matters more than software, and why decentralization will eventually triumph over the Facebooks, Apples, and Googles of the world.

How can we make The Reason Interview better? Take our listener survey for a chance to win a $300 gift card: http://reason.com/podsurvey

 

0:00–Intro

1:53–Evaluating our technology

3:55–Deep tech and Holman's innovation investments

7:36–Energy demand, consumption, and production

15:09–Nuclear energy adoption

20:05–AI and creating better hardware

27:31–Holman's introduction to computers and hacking

33:06–Who were the cypherpunks?

37:30–BitTorrent, Bitcoin, and decentralization

43:41–Can RSS feeds solve tech pessimism?

49:28–The origin of Holman's eyewear

  • Producer: Paul Alexander
  • Audio Mixer: Ian Keyser

NEXT: RFK Jr.'s Wild Week

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

TechnologyArtificial IntelligenceNuclear PowerClean EnergyHackersBitcoinDisruptive TechnologiesThe Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (16)

Listen & Subscribe

Podcast:
The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie

  • Apple Podcasts
  • Spotify
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300