Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Robert Wright and Daniel Faggella, host of the podcast The Trajectory, discuss the fate of humankind in a world of increasingly powerful AI—including the “succession” scenario.
Subscribe to The NonZero Newsletter at: nonzero.org/subscribe
Exclusive Overtime discussion: nonzero.org/p/ai-after-us-the-succession-scenario
Join NonZero's newly established Discord server: discord.gg/Zy4jAhTQMF
0:00 Teaser
1:07 Defining AI succession
3:51 How positive psychology led Dan to AI research
11:20 Is Dan a "successionist"?
17:40 Does it matter whether AI is sentient?
25:13 Two traits of a worthy successor
32:03 The varieties of succession scenarios
36:40 Values and interests
41:52 Will AI have any use for us?
44:33 Succession scenarios to avoid
49:42 Heading into Overtime
Discussed in Overtime:
The current pace of AI progress.
Near-term AI-related problems.
What makes values lasting?
Successionism and accelerationism: Compare and contrast.
Will it take a catastrophe to enlighten us?
How AI moguls rationalize their race to AGI.
Dan's cosmic p(doom).
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Dan Faggella (Emerj AI Research, The Trajectory). Recorded January 7, 2026.
Twitter: twitter.com/NonzeroPods
Robert Wright and Daniel Faggella, host of the podcast The Trajectory, discuss the fate of humankind in a world of increasingly powerful AI—including the “succession” scenario.
Subscribe to The NonZero Newsletter at: nonzero.org/subscribe
Exclusive Overtime discussion: nonzero.org/p/ai-after-us-the-succession-scenario
Join NonZero's newly established Discord server: discord.gg/Zy4jAhTQMF
0:00 Teaser
1:07 Defining AI succession
3:51 How positive psychology led Dan to AI research
11:20 Is Dan a "successionist"?
17:40 Does it matter whether AI is sentient?
25:13 Two traits of a worthy successor
32:03 The varieties of succession scenarios
36:40 Values and interests
41:52 Will AI have any use for us?
44:33 Succession scenarios to avoid
49:42 Heading into Overtime
Discussed in Overtime:
The current pace of AI progress.
Near-term AI-related problems.
What makes values lasting?
Successionism and accelerationism: Compare and contrast.
Will it take a catastrophe to enlighten us?
How AI moguls rationalize their race to AGI.
Dan's cosmic p(doom).
Robert Wright (Nonzero, The Evolution of God, Why Buddhism Is True) and Dan Faggella (Emerj AI Research, The Trajectory). Recorded January 7, 2026.
Twitter: twitter.com/NonzeroPods
