Businesspeople From The United States

"We've endorsed J.P. — right? J.D. Mandel, and he’s doing great."

"He has my support in 2024 because I know he won’t recklessly send Americans to fight overseas."

"It turns out he’s pretty good at parroting racist lies like the spineless dips--t that he is."

"Republicans lose minority voters for simple and obvious reasons: their policy proposals are tired, unoriginal, or openly hostile to non-whites."

"A significant part of Republican immigration policy centers on the possibility of deporting 12 million people (or ‘self-deporting’ them). Think about it: we conservatives (rightly) mistrust the government to efficiently administer business loans and regulate our food supply, yet we allegedly believe that it can deport millions of unregistered aliens. The notion fails to pass the laugh test. The same can be said for too much of the party’s platform."

"So investing is about putting out money today in the hope or promise of getting back more in the future. And so it's about predicting the future."

"Everything from pre-election, the Hunter Biden laptop story in the New York Post that then Twitter made difficult for people to share and to read, COVID, the Jay Bhattacharyas of the world, questioning the government's response, questioning long-term lockdowns, questioning keeping kids out of school, questions about masks, about vaccines, which are still not definitively answered."

"The President had unequivocally said that we would never use atomic weapons except against an aggressor. None of us like the idea of using them -- not least those of us who are engaged in their production -- but these reservations, which are the result of our moral principles, can be used, and are being used, by our enemies to trap and confound us. We must see the problem in its full perspective. We are not making weapons for conquest or aggression, or to impose our system on other peoples. Our sole purpose in having them is that we may not fall easy prey to others who have no such reservations, -- and who lack them because they lack the moral springs from which they might arise. Our reservations and principles do us proud but we cannot allow them to disarm us. For if ever they did, those principles would disappear from the face of the earth."

"The Commission’s [AEC] program is directed toward encouraging development of the uses of atomic energy in the framework of the American free enterprise system."

"Transmutation of the elements, -- unlimited power, ability to investigate the working of living cells by tracer atoms, the secret of photosynthesis about to be uncovered, -- these and a host of other results all in 15 short years. It is not too much to expect that our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter, -- will know of great periodic regional famines in the world only as matters of history, -- will travel effortlessly over the seas and under them and through the air with a minimum of danger and at great speeds, -- and will experience a lifespan far longer than ours, as disease yields and man comes to understand what causes him to age. This is the forecast for an age of peace."

"No matter how voluminous and complete our semi-annual reports may be, we know that the general public does not see them and could not be expected to do so. If they were written for popular consumption, they would be unusable as formal documents. On the other hand, our interim releases to the effect that we have awarded such and such research contracts, released such and such patents, or let a contract for a plant at so and so, -- are, at best, of very local and topical concern. About the best way that the unspecialized public gets any insight into our work is through what you publish and the use made of it by the media of radio and television."

"I am sure we are agreed that the ultimate survival of America is dependent on intellectual vigor and on spiritual deeprooting -- not on specific devices which are always for the moment. It has politics. The future of the scientists' America, and yours and mine, lies fundamentally with education -- that which is taught to the young in our schools -- that which is taught throughout life in the media of general communication by the contemporary writers. Fundamental are respect and zeal for scholarship, a lively regard for moral values, and a love of truth. And of these the last is, of course, the greatest. The atom has no ethics of its own any more than."

"Science-writing is a very old-profession. Science probably separated from witchcraft when science-writing began. Just so long as information was passed along by word of mouth only, it was always susceptible to control by a few for their own benefit and to mystify the many. When it began to be written about, science came up out of the atmosphere of the cauldron and the alembic."

"It has been a privilege to have served our country for so many years. I have done the best I knew how to do – to protect and defend the national security even when that was not the recognized, nor easy, nor popular course of action at the time. I leave with the confidence that history will be just."

"Even "security", that word so fretful to science and to the free exchange of ideas, is no modern innovation. Witness Bacon's elaborate encrypting of his work, Newton's allegedly purposeful distortion of a formula, Da Vinci who kept his long undeciphered notebooks in mirror-writing, and other examples that might be cited where the aim was apparently to prevent harm from ensuing as a result of the unexpert use of knowledge or wrong intent. The Sorcerer's Apprentice, that favorite fable of the laboratory assistant who learns the spell to make the mop carry water but who does not know how to stop the operation once it has begun, suggests the cataclysmic consequence where the sorcerer had not been sufficiently "security-minded" with, his formula. That might be a very, old piece of science-writing."

"Proficiency in the technology of nuclear weapons, and indeed of science and engineering generally, is not so much of an American monopoly as popular misconception once would have had it."

"Thus, the words "nuclear energy" have many interpretations. As they bring to mind the terrifying spectre of a war of exploding A-bombs and H-bombs, they are horrible words. Yet those same words, used to describe the many uses of the atom for man's peaceful progress -- in medicine, agriculture, biology, industry and the production of electric power -- bear no relation of association to the uncontrolled fury of the atom as it might be employed in war. And finally, the words "nuclear energy" as they relate to the controlled testing of nuclear weapons so that we may be assured of the means of defending ourselves, ought not to be confused with the unrestrained use of large numbers of such weapons in actual warfare."

"Nuclear energy -- within the brief span of eleven years, commencing as a secret and remote subject -- has become one of intimate concern to every individual. It has an ever-widening influence on our daily living, our well-being -- perhaps even on our destiny. With each passing day, the energy that is bound up in the invisible nucleus of the atom comes to be a more potent force in our environment. The discovery of nuclear energy, like every invention of man's ingenuity, has brought to us both promises and problems."

"Survival in such an unhappy eventuality would depend largely on what prior precautions had been taken by individuals and families for their own safety, in line with the recommendations of the civil defense authorities. This, I believe, is a point so important that you cannot over-stress it to the American people. I stress "prior precautions" because post=attack measures may be too late."

"Our civil defense efforts, as I mentioned a moment ago, have been faced with many difficult problems. These problems will continue and no doubt increase. As other nations develop and produce nuclear weapons of still greater efficiency and more destructive capabilities, our current planning for civil defense continuously requires revision lest it become outmoded. If we assume that an enemy can deliver an appreciable fraction of the weapons which we believe he can produce, the delivered cost of any one of those weapons may be almost insignificant compared with its potential damage. Also, an enemy is probably in a position to increase his destructive power of attack faster than we can hope to provide new and better civil defense measures to combat that increase. Civil defense, however efficiently organized it may be, simply cannot expect to keep ahead of the enemy's growing stockpile of more destructive, more diversified and presumably more effective nuclear weapons."

"Despite all efforts to the contrary, there is still confusion in the minds of many people as to the differing and even contradictory meanings of the words "nuclear energy". I am sure that all of you have encountered, in your civil defense work, a rather widespread misunderstanding of the significance of such words as "fallout" and "radioactivity." There is a disposition among some persons to think of what might happen in event of a nuclear attack upon us in terms of what does happen when we test nuclear weapons under strictly controlled conditions affording maximum safety. There also is lack of understanding as to the true meaning of such phrases as "permissible dose levels" as applied to peacetime activities in the field of atomic energy. There is a tendency to regard these peacetime safety standards as being the limits for survival in event of actual attack. Sensational and oftentimes irresponsible articles have no doubt contributed to this confusion."

"Exposure to radioactivity, as a vague, unproven danger to generations yet unborn, must be weighed against the more immediate and infinitely greater dangers of defeat and perhaps of obliteration at the hands of an enemy who possesses nuclear weapons of mass destruction and who might have no compunction about using such weapons if he thought we were too weak to defend ourselves and retaliate in kind."

"As a peace-loving people, and as members of the world community of peoples, we recognize clearly that science has raced ahead of man's readiness to deal with all the complexities of what science has created. With the advent of nuclear weapons, war has ceased to offer a solution for disputes among nations. War has become, not only out-of-date, but senseless."

"Until a system of comprehensive disarmament is achieved -- based on something more reliable than dramatic gestures and mere promises made by nations which have repeatedly violated their solemn commitments -- our national survival and the security of our homes requires that we have -- in being .. the means of defending ourselves against sudden nuclear attack. There is no other prudent course. Without the ability to defend ourselves, we could not hope to deter an enemy from making war upon us, or to retaliate effectively and decisively once we were under attack. And without that strength, we would have to speak in a small and deferential voice in our efforts to build the foundations of a durable peace. Only so long as we are strong can we negotiate; the weak can only submit."

"Until others in the world come to their senses, and join with us in banishing the awful spectre of nuclear war, we must be strong; we must have weapons fully as modern and as effective -- if possible more effective -- than the weapons which we know to be in possession of others who would destroy our way of life. At the same time, we must do all in our power to ensure the survival of the largest possible numbers of our population if war should be forced upon us. A major part of this latter effort is, of course, the responsibility of you who are engaged in civil defense."

"The Communists -- in sharp contrast to our policy and our practice -- refuse to divulge any information from their tests which might help other nations in protecting their people against the horrors of nuclear war. If they do this for their satellites, it is a program conducted in secret. Thus, it becomes apparent that the survival of our own people and the civilian populations of the entire free world largely depends, from the civil defense viewpoint, on information which is derived from our own carefully-controlled nuclear tests."

"To remain free, we must have the means of defending ourselves against surprise attack, and we must know how best to protect the lives of our civilians. To do this, we must develop modern weapons which are at least as powerful as those in possession of those who threaten us. Only through our obvious strength can we deter the recklessness of others."

"The survival of our people -- and the work of you who are charged with protecting the lives of our people -- demands such prudence."

"If you’re holding a center puzzle piece in your hand and staring at an empty tabletop, it’s difficult to determine where to place it. If all of the puzzle is complete except for that one piece, then you know exactly where it goes. The same is generally true of art. The more of the work you can see, the easier it becomes to gracefully place the final details clearly where they belong."

"Wrestling's real, and the world is fake."

"If several directions seem captivating, consider crafting more than one experiment at a time. Working on several often brings about a healthy sense of detachment."

"Making art is a mystical process — a lot of people who are artists don't understand it themselves. Especially the young ones. They feel different, but they don't know what it is. They feel more. Everything hurts. Everything. They're supersensitive. They see things that other people don't see."

"The Beatles are proof of the existence of God."

"I guess edgy things tend to get my attention."

"Living life as an artist is a practice. You can engage in the practice or not. It makes no sense to say you're not good at it. It's like saying, "I'm not good at being a monk." You either live as a monk or not. We tend to think of the artist's work as the output. The artist's real work is a way of being in the world."

"There’s great wisdom in transitional realms between wakefulness and sleep. Right before you fall asleep, what thoughts and ideas come to you? How do you feel when you wake from a dream? [...] Keeping a dream journal might be of use. Place a pen and paper next to the bed, and as soon as you wake up, begin writing immediately with as much detail as possible before doing anything else."

"As much as he’s done for freedom of speech or whatever, he really doesn’t like what I’m doing."

"My lawyer in 2008 had been after me for a long time to set up diversionary accounts for estates purposes, the theory being that you don't have all your eggs in one basket. We put the house in it, the cars in it, the jewellery in it... [It was done] in case you fall on hard times, then creditors can't grab everything."

"He was a smart man, but he always wanted to be the big cheese, throwing money around and doing it his way"

"What if I slip him some money, think he’ll go away?"

"It is possible that we will have superintelligence in a few thousand days (!); it may take longer, but I’m confident we’ll get there."

"When bubbles occur, smart people get overly excited about a grain of truth. If you look at most bubbles in history, like the technology bubble, there was something real there. Technology was really important. The internet was really a big thing. People got too excited about it."

"All of these claims are utterly untrue."

"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war."

"We face serious risk. We face existential risk. The challenge that the world has is how we’re going to manage those risks and make sure we still get to enjoy those tremendous benefits. No one wants to destroy the world. Let's make sure we come together as a globe — and I hope this place can play a real role in this. We talk about the IAEA as a model where the world has said 'OK, very dangerous technology, let's all put some guard rails.' And I think we can do both. I think in this case, it's a nuanced message 'cause it's saying it's not that dangerous today but it can get dangerous fast. But we can thread that needle."

"I genuinely hope the best for [Elon Musk], in spite of everything."

"One area that I'm particularly interested personally in open source for is I want an open source model that is as good as it can be, that runs on my phone, and that I think is going to, you know...the world doesn't quite have the technology for a good version of that yet, but that seems like a really important thing to go do at some point."

"The San Francisco-based company said late Tuesday that it “reached an agreement in principle” for co-founder Sam Altman to return as CEO under a different board of directors"

"I aspect AI to be capable of superhuman persuasion before it is superhuman at general intelligence, which may lead to some very strange outcomes."

"I think AGI will be the best tool humanity has yet created. With it, we will be able to solve all sorts of problems. We'll be able to express ourselves in new creative ways. We'll make just incredible things for each other, for ourselves, for the world, for kind of this unfolding human story. And it's new, and anything new comes with change and change is not always all easy. But I think this will be just absolutely tremendous upside. And in nine more years if you're nice enough to invite me back, you'll roll this question and people will say, "How could we have thought we didn't want this?""