A seriously funny look at existential risk with actor Jay Baruchel
A seriously funny look at existential risk with actor Jay Baruchel
Season 2 of of the documentary series We're All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel) is now available in the US – and it draws extensively on expertise from Arizona State University
One of the highlights of last year for me was hosting Canadian actor Jay Baruchel (How to Train Your Dragon) in a special session of my Pizza and a Slice of Future class.
Jay was visiting Arizona State University to film myself and others for a second season of the documentary series We’re All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel), and the producers thought it would be cool if we could get some footage of the class discussing tech-related existential risks.
Regular readers will know that this is a class where we have wide ranging discussions around cutting edge science and technology and how they might potentially impact the future — all while relaxing in an informal setting and eating pizza (trust me, it works).
It’s one of those classes where magic happens each week as the conversation goes in unexpected and serendipitous directions — and despite the film crew being there, this one was no exception.
Sadly only a few seconds of the class made the final cut (you can see the class in episode 4 on nanotechnology). Despite this though, three of the six episodes in the series did end up including extensive interviews with experts at ASU.
We’re All Gonna Die (Even Jay Baruchel) Season 2 premiered on Crave in Canada earlier in April, and is now available in the US for free on The CW. It’s a series I’d highly recommend watching. Baruchel successfully blends humor with serious questions to provide an informed yet highly entertaining perspective on technologies, trends and events that, some fear, could spell the end of humanity as we know it.
Season 2 covers everything from AI and nanotechnology to space, insects, simulation theory, and death itself. It’s all great stuff. But I did want to give a particular shout-out to the three episodes that include footage from ASU.
Episode 1: Artificial Intelligence
Having recorded this episode with Jay back in April of 2023, I was worried that it would be hopelessly out of date when it finally aired.
Fortunately it isn’t.
If you’re deeply immersed in grappling with the risks and benefits of AI, there’s not much here that will surprise you. But if you’re looking for an easily digestible overview of AI-related challenges from value alignment and job losses to responsible development and use, Jay and his team do a pretty good job.
Of course there are references to Skynet in The Terminator and HAL in 2001 A Space Odyssey — it would be hard to avoid them in an often tongue-in-cheek program on AI and existential risks. But these are used to good effect to frame more realistic challenges as AI continues to increase in presence and power.
You can watch the full episode here if you’re in the US, or here if you’re in Canada. (If you live outside North America you’ll have to get creative — sorry!).
Episode 4: Nanotechnology
I must confess that I felt a tinge of déjà vu talking with Jay about nanotechnology. I used to do this sort of thing a lot in the distant past, but tend to focus on a broader range of emerging technologies these days. And I’ve always been something of a skeptic when it comes to some of the wilder fears around nanotech and existential risk — including worries about “gray goo.”
As a result, finding myself talking with Jay about the potential risks of nanobots was a little weird.
As it turns out, we had a great conversation. In the episode we talk about early concerns around gray goo, but move quickly on from nanotech risk fantasies to more grounded concerns. I even managed to slip in references to the movie Transcendence — which I use in class to talk about what nanotechnology is not — and some of the early concerns that materials like carbon nanotubes raised.
What I really like about this episode though is Jay’s conversation with my colleague Professor Paul Westerhoff.
Paul is an expert on engineered nanomaterials in consumer products and the environment — both as a possible pollutant and as a potentially beneficial technology. And in the segment with Jay he beautifully takes the conversation from nano-fantasy to nano-reality.
This episode also has a great scene of Jay in the shower using and consuming a whole array of nanomaterial-containing consumer products as Paul lists them off.
Definitely an episode to watch if you’re interested in what could possibly go wrong with nanotech — or you teach nanotechnology and want a good intro to nano-risks.
Catch the full episode here if you’re in the US, or here if you’re in Canada.
Episode 5: Simulation Theory
The third ASU-heavy episode in the series draws extensively on entrepreneur, author and leading expert on simulation theory Rizwan Virk.
Riz also happens to be studying for his PhD in ASU’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society.
Whether you’re a proponent or a skeptic of the idea that we’re all living in a stupendously complex computer simulation, this episode is a great exploration of the topic. And Riz carries most of it.
It’s well worth watching if you can — again, the full episode can be seen here if you’re in the US, or here if you’re in Canada.
Putting Existential Risk in Context
Talking about existential risks often has a tendency to lead to a surfeit of eye-rolling. To many people it’s a topic that’s too rooted in fantasy, feels like scare mongering, or is a distraction from more pressing concerns.
All of these are true at times. And yet simply ignoring the possibility of potentially catastrophic events — especially if they are linked to powerful technologies — is in itself a risky strategy.
Rather, we need ways of grappling with low probability but high impact risks that put them in context without brushing them under the carpet — and open up conversations rather than closing them down.
We’re All Gonna Die … does a good job of doing this. It’s not perfect, and it’s not deeply academic (thank goodness). But the combination of humor and intelligence creates a space where it’s possible to explore what could happen — and what probably won’t — without being overwhelmed by long tail speculation.
I was impressed with Jay and the crew while they were visiting ASU. For all the humor and existential angst on screen, Jay was thoughtful, smart, and very ready to listen in the conversations I and others had with him. And I loved being able to have him join my students — even though most of the footage did end up on the cutting room floor.
The series is also a great testament to the stuff we’re doing at ASU around tech and the future — cutting edge enough for a Canadian TV series to travel down to Arizona and include ASU talent in half of it’s shows.
Clearly a place to be if you’re concerned about how we could mess the future up, and want to do something about it!