Jordan Dea-Mattson: Sci-Fi Futures, Rogue AI, and Why Meta-Skills Will Decide Who Thrives – E634

"Will AIs go rogue? AIs today have undergone safety experiments where, if threatened with shutdown, they attempt to blackmail, bribe, beg, or steal to survive. If we train an AI to survive and act that way, why wouldn’t it try to do those things?" - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

"In thinking about the singularity, it is helpful to go back to its definition. It’s a concept in mathematics and physics where the existing definitions break down. The term, coined in the late ’80s in The Coming Technological Singularity, describes how, if you chart the rate of technological change using something like Moore’s Law—where computing power doubles every 18 months and costs drop in half—somewhere between 2025 and 2030, it becomes undefined. What happens at that point? What happens to society and technology? Some would say that’s artificial general intelligence, but it’s more than that—it’s about the accelerating rate of change." - Jordan Dea-Mattson, Veteran Tech Leader

Jeremy Au and Jordan Dea-Mattson reconnect to explore how Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End anticipated today’s world of accelerating technology, reskilling challenges, and demographic shifts. They examine which predictions came true, which fell short, and how these lessons apply to AI adoption, fragile digital systems, and the need for lifelong learning. Their conversation highlights why individuals must build meta-skills, why policymakers lack playbooks, and how Southeast Asia can prepare for a future shaped by both singularity and depopulation trends.