OpenAI burned $15 million in three days to beat Anthropic to a Millennium Prize problem. Nobody’s quite sure whose work they trained on to do it. This week the cousins bring in their science cousin – physicist Dan Green, Marko’s college roommate – to explain what AI is actually doing to math, and why the whole thing smells less like a real breakthrough and more like an elaborate flex.

And… when a company tells you that their product might end humanity, is that a warning or a pitch deck? Marko has thoughts. Plus: why the dangerous scenario isn’t the robot, it’s the idiot who trusts it.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) – Welcome Back and Guest Intro

(00:48) – Meet Dan the Science Cousin

(04:24) – AI Solves Big Math Problems

(09:22) – Backlash and Research Ethics

(16:03) – What AI Means for Science

(21:47) – Who Pays for Discovery

(34:23) – Terminator Talk and Real Risks

(45:18) – Corporations vs Paperclip AI

(46:58) – Chatbot Intel Near Miss

(49:10) – Anti Expert Government Risk

(51:59) – Future Robots and Human Agency

(58:59) – AI as Godlike Branding

(01:03:03) – Nuclear Energy Lessons

(01:11:06) – Why AI Writing Feels Wrong

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Referenced in the Show:

Dan Green – https://drgreen.physics.ucsd.edu/

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Geopolitical Cousins is produced and edited by Audiographies LLC. More information at audiographies.com

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Jacob Shapiro is a speaker, consultant, author, and researcher covering global politics and affairs, economics, markets, technology, history, and culture. He speaks to audiences of all sizes around the world, helps global multinationals make strategic decisions about political risks and opportunities, and works directly with investors to grow and protect their assets in today’s volatile global environment. His insights help audiences across industries like finance, agriculture, and energy make sense of the world.

Jacob Shapiro Site:jacobshapiro.com

Jacob Shapiro LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jacob-l-s-a9337416

Jacob Twitter:x.com/JacobShap

Jacob Shapiro Substack: jashap.substack.com/subscribe

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Marko Papic is a macro and geopolitical expert at BCA Research, a global investment research firm. He provides in-depth analysis that combines geopolitics and markets in a framework called GeoMacro. He is also the author of Geopolitical Alpha: An Investment Framework for Predicting the Future.

Marko’s Book & Newsletter:www.geopoliticalalpha.com/marko-papic

Marko’s Linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marko-papic-geopolitics/

Marko’s Twitter:https://x.com/Geo_papic

Marko’s Macro & Geopolitical Research at BCA:https://www.bcaresearch.com/marketing/geomacro