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Foresight Institute Radio

194 episodes — Page 2 of 4

Christian Schroeder de Witt | Secret Collusion Among Generative AI Agents: Toward Multi-Agent Security

Christian is a researcher in foundational AI, information security, and AI safety, with a current focus on the limits of undetectability. He is a pioneer in the field of Multi-Agent Security (masec.ai), which aims to overcome the safety and security issues inherent in contemporary approaches to multi-agent AI. His recent works include a breakthrough result on the 25+ year old problem of perfectly secure steganography (jointly with Sam Sokota), which was featured by Scientific American, Quanta Magazine, and Bruce Schneier’s Security Blog. Key Highlights How do we design autonomous systems and environments in which undetectable actions cannot cause unacceptable damages? He argues that the ability of advanced AI agents to use perfect stealth will soon be AI Safety’s biggest concern. In this talk, he focuses on the matter of steganographic collusion among generative AI agents.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 21, 202449 min

Existential Hope Worldbuilding: 2nd Place | Rising Choir

This episode features an interview with the 2nd place winners of our 2045 Worldbuilding challenge! Why Worldbuilding?We consider worldbuilding an essential tool for creating inspiring visions of the future that can help drive real-world change. Worldbuilding helps us explore crucial 'what if' questions for the future, by constructing detailed scenarios that prompt us to ask: What actionable steps can we take now to realize these desirable outcomes?Rising Choir – our 2nd place winnersRising Choir envisions a 2045 where advanced AI and robotics are seamlessly integrated into everyday life, enhancing productivity and personal care. The V.O.I.C.E. system revolutionizes communication and democratic participation, developing a sense of inclusion across all levels of society. Energy abundance, driven by solar and battery advancements, addresses climate change challenges, while the presence of humanoid robots in every household marks a new era of economic output and personal convenience. Read more about the 2045 world of Rising Choir: https://www.existentialhope.com/worlds/rising-choir-a-symphony-of-clashing-voicesAccess the Worldbuilding Course: https://www.existentialhope.com/existential-hope-worldbuildingExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 14, 202451 min

Evelyn Yehudit Bischof | Healthy Longevity Medicine in the Clinical Practice

Evelyne Yehudit Bischof, MD, MPH, FEFIM, FMH is Associate Professor at the Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Chief Associate Physician of Internal Medicine and Oncology at the University Hospital Renji of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Emergency Medicine Physician at the Shanghai East International Medical Center. She is a specialist in Internal Medicine with a research focus on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health. Key HighlightsLongevity medicine is an AI and data-driven field evolving from precision medicine, lifestyle medicine, and geroscience that aims to elongate patients' healthy lifespan. Using biomarkers of aging, aging clocks, and continuous data monitoring, longevity physicians can bring the patient's health from "within norms" to "optimal" or even best performance.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 14, 202453 min

Existential Hope Worldbuilding: 3rd Place | FloraTech

This episode features an interview with the 3rd place winners of our 2045 Worldbuilding challenge! Why Worldbuilding?We consider worldbuilding an essential tool for creating inspiring visions of the future that can help drive real-world change. Worldbuilding helps us explore crucial 'what if' questions for the future, by constructing detailed scenarios that prompt us to ask: What actionable steps can we take now to realize these desirable outcomes?FloraTech – our 3rd place winnersIn the world of 2045, a network of bounded AI agents, imbued with robust ethical constraints and specialized capabilities, has become the backbone of a thriving, harmonious global society. These AI collaborators have unlocked unprecedented possibilities for localized, sustainable production of goods and services, empowering communities to meet their needs through advanced manufacturing technologies and smart resource allocation. Read more about the 2045 world of FloraTech: https://www.existentialhope.com/worlds/floratech-2045-co-evolving-with-technology-for-collective-flourishingAccess the Worldbuilding Course: https://www.existentialhope.com/existential-hope-worldbuildingExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 7, 202454 min

S2 Ep 26Existential Hope Podcast: Stuart Buck | What is Good and Bad Science

SpeakerStuart Buck is the Executive Director of the Good Science Project, and a Senior Advisor at the Social Science Research Council. Formerly, he was the Vice President of Research at Arnold Ventures. His efforts to improve research transparency and reproducibility have been featured in Wired, New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate, The Economist, and more. He has given advice to DARPA, IARPA (the CIA’s research arm), the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team on rigorous research processes, as well as publishing in top journals (such as Science and BMJ) on how to make research more accurate.Session SummaryWorking in the field of meta-science, Stuart cares deeply about who gets funding and how, the engulfment of bureaucracy for researchers, everywhere, how we can fund more innovative science, ensuring results are reproducible and true, and much more. Among many things, he has funded renowned work showing that scientific research is often irreproducible, including the Reproducibility Projects in Psychology and Cancer Biology.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 30, 202448 min

Tom Burns, Cornell University | At the Interface of AI Safety and Neuroscience

SpeakerTom Burns graduated with First Class Honours in his Bachelor of Science from Monash University in 2013, exploring the mathematical features of human perception of non-linguistic sounds. Shifting to philosophy, he completed a Master of Bioethics in 2014, analyzing the ethics of euthanasia legislation in Australia, followed by a World Health Organization Bioethics Fellowship in 2015, contributing to the Ebola epidemic response. In 2023, as a Fall Semester Postdoc at Brown University's ICERM, he contributed to the 'Math + Neuroscience' program. Recently affiliated with Timaeus, an AI safety organization, Tom is continuing his research at Cornell University's new SciAI Center from March 2024.Session Summary Neuroscience is a burgeoning field with many opportunities for novel research directions. Due to experimental and physical limitations, however, theoretical progress relies on imperfect and incomplete information about the system. Artificial neural networks, for which perfect and complete information is possible, therefore offer those trained in the neurosciences an opportunity to study intelligence to a level of granularity which is beyond comparison to biological systems, while still relevant to them. Additionally, applying neuroscience methods, concepts, and theory to AI systems offers a relatively under-explored avenue to make headwind in the daunting challenges posed by AI safety — both for present-day risks, such as enshrining biases and spreading misinformation, and for future risks, including on existential scales. In this talk, Tom presents two emerging examples of interactions between neuroscience and AI safety. In the direction of ideas from neuroscience being useful for AI safety, he demonstrates how associative memory has become a tool for interpretability of Transformer-based models. In the opposite direction, he discusses how statistical learning theory and the developmental interpretability research program have applicability in understanding neuroscience phenomena, such as perceptual invariance and representational drift. Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 24, 202451 min

Jason Crawford, Roots of Progress | Sustainable Technological Futures | Xhope Worldbuilding Course

Jason Crawford is the founder of The Roots of Progress, where he writes and speaks about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. Previously, he spent 18 years as a software engineer, engineering manager, and startup founder.Worldbuilding CourseThis session is a part of THE WORLDBUILDING CHALLENGE: CO-CREATING THE WORLD OF 2045. In this virtual and interactive course, we engage with the most pressing global challenges of our age—climate change, the risks of AI, and the complex ethical questions arising in the wake of new technologies. Our aim is to sharpen participants’ awareness and equip them to apply their skills to these significant and urgent issues.Existential HopeExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 17, 202419 min

Robert Lempert, RAND | On the How & Why of Worldbuilding | Xhope Worldbuilding Course

Robert Lempert (Ph.D., Applied Physics, Harvard University) is a senior physical scientist at RAND. He is the director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition, a principal researcher at RAND, and a professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses on risk management and decision-making under conditions of deep uncertainty. Lempert's work aims to advance the state of art for organizations managing risk in today's conditions of fast-paced, transformative, and surprising change and help organizations adopt these approaches to help make proper stewardship of the future more commonly practised.Worldbuilding CourseThis session is a part of THE WORLDBUILDING CHALLENGE: CO-CREATING THE WORLD OF 2045. In this virtual and interactive course, we engage with the most pressing global challenges of our age—climate change, the risks of AI, and the complex ethical questions arising in the wake of new technologies. Our aim is to sharpen participants’ awareness and equip them to apply their skills to these significant and urgent issues.Existential HopeExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 10, 202426 min

Anthony Aguirre, FLI | Why Worldbuilding? | Xhope Worldbuilding Course

SpeakerAnthony is the Executive Director & Secretary of the Board at the Future of Life Institute, and the Faggin Presidential Professor for the Physics of Information at UC Santa Cruz. He has done research in an array of topics in theoretical cosmology, gravitation, statistical mechanics, and other fields of physics. He also has strong interest in science outreach, and has appeared in numerous science documentaries. He is a creator of the science and technology prediction platform Metaculus.com, and is founder (with Max Tegmark) of the Foundational Questions Institute.Worldbuilding CourseThis session is a part of THE WORLDBUILDING CHALLENGE: CO-CREATING THE WORLD OF 2045. In this virtual and interactive course, we engage with the most pressing global challenges of our age—climate change, the risks of AI, and the complex ethical questions arising in the wake of new technologies. Our aim is to sharpen participants’ awareness and equip them to apply their skills to these significant and urgent issues.Existential HopeExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 3, 202410 min

S2 Ep 25Existential Hope Podcast: Hannu Rajaniemi | On Being a Sci-Fi Author and Biotech Entrepreneur

SpeakerHannu Rajaniemi is a Finnish American author of science fiction and fantasy, who writes in both English and Finnish. He lives in Oakland, California, and was a founding director of a commercial research organisation ThinkTank Maths.EpisodePerhaps most famously known for his 2010 release, The Quantum Thief, Rajaniemi is settled firmly in both the science-fiction and the biotech startup worlds. Away from writing, Rajaniemi is the co-founder of Helix Nanotechnologies, a startup building the world's most advanced mRNA platform to create a unified interface to the immune system. We’ll discuss his ideas on the impact of sci-fi on the real world and explore his views on the upcoming biotechnology wave, including gene editing and biohacking. We then address how these new technologies could be implemented and governed, before finally focusing on an idea that is, at present, only in sci-fi: the immune-computer interface.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 30, 202452 min

Allison Duettmann | On Existential Hope & Existential Risk | Xhope Worldbuilding Course

SpeakerAllison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. She advises companies and projects, such as Cosmica, and The Roots of Progress Fellowship, and is on the Executive Committee of the Biomarker Consortium. She holds an MS in Philosophy & Public Policy from the London School of Economics, focusing on AI Safety.Worldbuilding CourseThis session is a part of THE WORLDBUILDING CHALLENGE: CO-CREATING THE WORLD OF 2045. In this virtual and interactive course, we engage with the most pressing global challenges of our age—climate change, the risks of AI, and the complex ethical questions arising in the wake of new technologies. Our aim is to sharpen participants’ awareness and equip them to apply their skills to these significant and urgent issues.Existential HopeExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 19, 20249 min

Jeff Sebo | Investigating Digital Minds

Jeff Sebo is an American philosopher. He is a clinical associate professor of environmental studies, director of the animal studies MA program, and affiliated professor of bioethics, medical ethics, and philosophy at New York University.SummaryIn this episode, Jeff discusses the consciousness, sentience, agency, and moral and legal status of non-humans – particularly invertebrates and AI systems. He acknowledges the controversy surrounding AI systems' future consciousness and rights, and emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the difficulty of the problem.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 12, 202455 min

Jules Hedges | Compositional Game Theory – Towards Incentives Modelling at Scale

Jules Hedges is a mathematician and computer scientist who was a pioneer of the recently developed field of applied category theory. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Categorical Cybernetics (https://cybercat.institute), a nonprofit organization for research and open-source software development, and 20squares (https://20squares.xyz/), a startup specializing in applied mechanism design and economic modelling in the blockchain space. By day he is a lecturer in computer science at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.Key HighlightsCompositional game theory is an approach to modelling interactions of strategic agents which is designed to be inherently scalable, in contrast to traditional normal-form and extensive-form games that are unsuitable for anything larger than toy problems. It supports a model-is-code paradigm and reuse of model components, inspired by software engineering. This will be a taster of what it looks like and what it can do, ie in applied mechanism design, smart contract analysis and the theory of institution design.Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 5, 202451 min

S2 Ep 24Existential Hope Podcast: David Pearce | A Future without Suffering

This month, we talk to David Pearce, a thought leader who is always pushing the boundaries of human potential. Pearce, a philosopher and bioethicist, is best known for his advocacy of transhumanism – the movement that seeks to enhance human capabilities through technology.We'll explore his ideas on overcoming aging, achieving radical life extension, embracing cognitive enhancement, adn ending all suffering. Join us as we unpack the ethics and possibilities of the future, and discover Pearce's vision for a world where humanity transcends its biological limitationsFull transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 29, 20241h 2m

Sumner Norman | Neurotech for Mental Health

Sumner Norman is a pioneering figure at the nexus of neuroscience, engineering, and impact-driven entrepreneurship. His research in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) is forging new paths in neurotechnology to transform the lives of those with neurological injuries or diseases. Sumner is the co-founder and CEO of Forest Neurotech, a non-profit “focused research organization” that was founded on ultrasound-based BCIs – a high-performance technique that offers a less invasive approach to sensing and modulating brain function.Key HighlightsNorman would like to see the barriers of entry to our field significantly lowered to empower researchers and clinicians to contribute new and impactful methods for diagnostics, monitoring, and ultimately better therapies for people living with brain-related disorders. Forest Neurotech is developing an ultrasound-based interface to sense and stimulate function throughout much of the human brain, bringing hope to the study and treatment of mental health disorders and beyond. To maximize impact, Forest was created as a focused research organization, a novel form of nonprofit startup for science.Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 22, 202452 min

Trent McConaghy | A Solarpunk Vision from AI, Web3 & BCI

Trent McConaghy is the Founder and CTO of Ocean Protocol and BigchainDB, specializing in AI and blockchain technology to democratize data and AI. His work includes advancing decentralized data solutions and ensuring equitable access to AI technologies. McConaghy also contributes to the IPDB Foundation and advises the Estonian E-residency programKey HighlightsMcConaghy presented a solarpunk future, envisioning an optimistic trajectory for humanity. He covered three topics: web3 to sovereign agents, AI to human superintelligence, and defining human goals.He covered topics including AI superintelligence, humanity's goals, and the transition from web3 to sovereign agents.McConaghy emphasized the importance of aiming for an optimistic future beyond mere survival – proposing reshaping the cosmos at a macro scale as a potential human endeavour. However, he highlighted the challenge of interstellar travel, noting the time it takes to reach the nearest star beyond our sun.Discussed established technologies like Bitcoin, decentralized data storage, and decentralized compute platforms like Ethereum; and explored the concept of sovereign agents through smart contracts on Ethereum, emphasizing their autonomous and ungoverned nature.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 15, 202428 min

Vision Weekend France: Biotech Panel

tPanellists: Alex Fedintsev, Leon Peshkin, Yuri Deigin, and Aleksandra Singer.Recorded at Vision Weekend France 2023.Key HighlightsThey discussed the field's growth in public acceptance and funding over the past five years – they noted that, whilst reprogramming and longevity research are advancing, overall outcomes in the field haven't been as fruitful as hoped. For example, no groundbreaking concepts have emerged since reprogramming. However, they expressed optimism about the field's future, expecting gradual progress.The panellists identified organ replacement, including preemptive strategies, as a key research area, as well as the potential for growth in artificially creating organs.The potential integration of AI and machine learning in longevity biotech, particularly in projects like Alto Labs, was discussed.They raised questions about the timeline and impact of ageing on future generations.The discussion ended with an acknowledgement that, despite the optimism, much work remains in longevity biotech research.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 8, 202437 min

Vision Weekend France: Energy and Space Panel

Panellists: Andre Losekrug, Michael Gibson, Anders Sandberg, and Robin Hanson.Recorded at Vision Weekend France 2023.Energy Key Highlights:Excitement about energy advancements, specifically in the field of fusion. This could lead to an increased focus on policy changes to address climate change and the building of reactors.The growing entrepreneurial revolution in fusion, with various start-ups and innovative reactor designs emerging. China's recent approval of a molten salt thorium breeder reactor was highlighted as a further acceptance of nuclear power.Space Key Highlights:Advancements in satellite technology and constellations are anticipated, along with the need to explore intermediate solutions between current space exploration and future ambitious projects. It is noted that space exploration offers opportunities for freedom and innovation, with new approaches to manufacturing and remote sensing potentially leading to breakthroughs in various industries.Other Topics:Offshore water restoration, international disputes, prioritizing space development, launch services, space tourism, addressing space debris, and the prediction of detecting extraterrestrial intelligent life within the next century.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 1, 202439 min

S2 Ep 23Existential Hope: Danielle Strachman | Education, Agency, and the Ability to Experiment

Danielle Strachman is a cofounder and general partner of 1517. She has worked with young entrepreneurs for about a decade. In 2010, during the founding of the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle joined to lead the design and operations. She's worked with some of the most prestigious founders, such as Vitalik Buterin and Ritesh Agarwal. Previous to her work with Peter Thiel, Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 400 students, with a focus on student-led project-based learning and other alternative programs.Session SummaryDanielle envisions a world where fostering personal agency and curiosity is the key to progress. She imagines a future where technology, particularly AI, catalyzes human potential and societal transformation, emphasizing the importance of environments that champion experimentation and a fail-forward mentality.Specifically, she advocates for special economic zones as laboratories for innovation, suggesting governance that adapts to technological advancements. She dreams of a solarpunk future, where sustainability is achieved through technological and natural harmony. Acknowledging the complexities ahead, she views the journey to this future as requiring a balance between innovation and ethics. Her vision is grounded in the belief in human capacity to navigate the unknown and transform existential risks into opportunities for growth.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 23, 202449 min

Vision Weekend France: Intelligent Cooperation Panel

Panellists: Divya Siddarth, Jonathan Prasserat-Palmbach, Lewis Hammond, Primavera De Filippi, Stuart Armstrong, and Trent Mcconaghy. Recorded at Vision Weekend France 2023. Key HighlightsPanellists discussed the potential development of intelligent cooperation between humans and AI, focusing on secure collaboration and cryptography methods. Concerns about AI's impact on society and the economy also arose, and an acknowledgement of the importance of designing AI systems for collaboration with humans and nature was made.Open source versus closed AI was debated – the risks of opening powerful technologies to a large number of developers vs. the potential for public collaboration and counteracting evil AI models. Other topics included concerns about governmental control of AI and data, potential risks of AI accidents, abuse, and misalignment, and the intersection of blockchain and AI to create decentralized and sovereign AI systems.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 16, 202439 min

Vision Weekend France: Neuotech Panel

Panellists: Anders Sandberg, Bradley Love, Robin Hanson, Brett KaganRecorded at Vision Weekend France 2023. Key HighlightsThe panel explored how brain emulation is increasingly becoming a viable possibility with technological advancements.They discussed the availability of tools that help understand the neurochemistry and biology of cells, which is crucial for brain emulation. For example, the use of expansion microscopy for imaging neurons on a larger scale was highlighted, showcasing its importance in brain emulation research.However, they also note that the mapping efforts required for brain emulation are proving to be more complex than initially anticipated.It was emphasized that there is a critical need for collaboration between biologists and computer scientists in advancing brain emulation research.They explored the potential of using neurons as an engineering resource to create intelligent devices.The panel concluded that achieving smaller milestones is crucial before envisioning the broader potential of brain emulation technology.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 9, 202440 min

Vision Weekend France: Molecular Machines Panel

Panellists: Alexis Courbet, Erik Benson, Stephane Redon, Dean Thomas. Recorded at Vision Weekend France. Key HighlightsThe panel discusses molecular nanotechnology and the potential for compact machines to replace industrial facilities.They discuss advances in the field, which include protein design, protein folding, and dynamic structures that respond to stimuli.It is noted how molecular machines can automate the synthesis of other machines, similar to biology – computational protein design allows for the creation of new machines from scratch.The panel concluded by highlighting the potential for molecular nanotechnology to bridge the gap between organic chemistry and automation.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 2, 202435 min

S2 Ep 22Existential Hope Podcast: Gus Docker | Beyond Survival

Gus Docker hosts The Future of Life Institute podcast, which features conversations with prominent researchers, policy experts, philosophers, and influential thinkers of all kinds. Gus studied philosophy and computer science at the University of Copenhagen and is active in Effective Altruism Denmark.Despite the ongoing threat of existential risks from AI, Gus discusses his excitement about the future's potential. He acknowledges the difficulty in envisioning the far future's technological changes, comparing the gap to that between the Stone Age and today – however, he remains excited about technologies enabling diverse experiences and consciousness exploration. Optimistic, Gus foresees a major positive shift in mental health, where individuals easily manage and enhance their mental well-being, harmonizing happiness and productivity, thus contributing to societal welfare.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 26, 202447 min

Dr. Scott Hubbard | Exploring Mars: Following the Water

Dr. Scott Hubbard has been a leader in space exploration for almost 50 years. His career includes a National Lab, a start-up venture, NASA, and Stanford. At NASA, Dr. Hubbard is best known as Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center, the first Mars Program Director (aka the "Mars Czar"), and the founder of NASA's Astrobiology Institute.Key HighlightsHubbard shared his deep passion for Mars and recounted his role in restructuring the Mars program.He described Mars as the most Earthlike planet, highlighting its potential for past or present life evidence.The exploration of Mars, as explained by Hubbard, focuses on life, climate, solid rock geology, and human exploration.Emphasizing the mantra "follow the water," Hubbard underscored water's essential role in supporting all known life forms.He pointed out the challenges posed by Mars' launch window, occurring every 26 months, which significantly impacts the mission's rocket science and budget.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 12, 20241h 0m

Mark Hamalainen | A Coherent, Executable Plan to Achieve Unlimited Healthy Lifespan

Mark Hamalainen is cofounder of the Longevity Biotech Fellowship. His career has progressed from manual bench work in academia, to lab automation at Synthego, to longevity movement building - always seeking better methods and higher leverage ways to accelerate progress.He shares an actionable roadmap for an unlimited healthy lifespan, divided into four promising areas for progress. He shares updates and information regarding The Longevity Biotech Fellowship, whose mission is to enable a future where everyone can access a healthy, unlimited lifespan. Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 5, 202451 min

S2 Ep 21Existential Hope Podcast: Jason Crawford | Progress: An Ever-Evolving Journey

Jason Crawford is the founder of The Roots of Progress, where he writes and speaks about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. Previously, he spent 18 years as a software engineer, engineering manager, and startup founder.Session Summary: Jason envisages a future marked by dynamic, continuous progress, encapsulated in the concept of protopia. This vision diverges from a traditional notion of a utopia, and instead embraces a reality of constant, incremental improvement. In Jason's view, progress is an ever-evolving journey, not a destination. It's a series of small, significant steps that, over time, lead to profound transformations in our world.Central to Jason's perspective is the transformative potential of AI, paralleling historical technological leaps like the steam engine and personal computing. He views AI as a catalyst for a new era in human history, one that could redefine societal structures by making high-quality services accessible to a broader demographic. This democratization of resources, akin to services becoming as affordable as a Netflix subscription, could bridge societal gaps. However, Jason emphasizes that this protopian future requires collective agency, responsibility, and a balanced understanding of our role in shaping it. He believes that progress accelerates over time, with each innovation building upon the last, thus speeding up future advancements.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 29, 202349 min

Casey Handmer | Why Mars is Hard

Casey Handmer is the founder of Terraform Industries, a company dedicated to gigascale atmospheric hydrocarbon synthesis. His method of creating hydrocarbons promises to be a cheaper and cleaner alternative to traditional oil wells.Known for his work as an astrophysicist, innovator, and Mars aficionado, Casey is eager to guide us through the intricate landscape of Martian exploration. This presentation explores the scientific, technological, and logistical hurdles that make Mars such a challenging destination. Casey offers an insider’s perspective on our journey towards making human life sustainable on Mars.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 22, 202349 min

Matjaz Leonardis | Interpretability and Security of AI Models

Matjaž Leonardis, in collaboration with David Deutsch at the University of Oxford, is advancing the understanding of a theorem by Popper and Miller from 1983, offering new insights into Bayesian updating and its standard interpretations. His research interests span learning and creativity in both humans and machines. Beyond his academic pursuits, Matjaž engages with a wider audience through social media on topics ranging from education to computation.Key HighlightsThe use of ML models for critical decisions and the inherent risks of undetectable back doors influencing results.Matjaz's paper on the practicality of inserting concealed back doors during ML training and their impact on model integrity.Challenges to model interpretability and robustness posed by these back doors, alongside their relevance to AI safety.The call for deeper research into complex ML model vulnerabilities, integrating cryptography to enhance computational clarity.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 15, 20239 min

Dr. Anders Sandberg | WBE History and Overview

Dr. Anders Sandberg is a Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, where he specializes in the management of low-probability, high-impact risks and future technology capabilities. With a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, his expertise spans computer science, neuroscience, and medical engineering. A cofounder of the think tank Eudoxa and former chairman of the Swedish Transhumanist Association, Sandberg is recognized for his contributions to neuroethics, cognitive enhancement, and global catastrophic risk.Key HighlightsThe impact and growth of the mind uploading research field since its foundational workshop.The influence of the workshop's roadmap, evidenced by citations across disciplines from humanities to AI safety.The astounding advancements in biotech, signaling qualitative leaps beyond traditional tech scaling.Neurotech achievements in setting clear goals, enhancing data interoperability, and developing detailed brain structure simulations.About Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 8, 202325 min

Kipply Chen | Fireside Chat on AI Alignment

Kipply Chen is part of the data team at Anthropic.Key HighlightsThe swift pace of alignment potentially outpacing AI advancements.Challenges of coordinating predictive and base model alignment across labs.Security and policy's critical role in AI safety.A likely surge in legal issues concerning training data misuse.The push for an open-source, community-drive alignment community.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dec 1, 202312 min

S2 Ep 20Existential Hope Podcast: Trent McConaghy | From Starships to Tokens: Pioneering Futures

Trent McConaghy is the founder of Ocean Protocol, a decentralized platform aimed at democratizing AI data sharing while maintaining privacy. With a career starting in AI research for national defence, McConaghy transitioned to entrepreneurship, where his first startup, ADA, was acquired by Synopsys in 2004. His work continued with Solido, an AI venture aiding Moore's Law, culminating in an acquisition by Siemens in 2017. His current venture, Ocean Protocol, follows earlier initiatives like the ascribe NFT platform and BigchainDB. McConaghy's enduring mission is to equalize AI opportunities and ensure humanity's significance in a future of autonomous technology.Session SummaryThis podcast episode delves into Trent McConaghy's integration of AI with global challenges, highlighting his innovative strategies in technology and environmentalism.The Map: Trent discusses the need for a resource like Wikipedia to show potential technological outcomes – his "Starships and Tokens" outlines pathways to major goals of humanity, from superhuman intelligence to reshaping the cosmos.AI Evolution and Impact: He highlights AI's growth, especially in creative fields and CAD. Discusses AI-induced job displacement, with UBI as a potential solution. He mentions projects like Nature 2.0 for surplus wealth generation.AI Superintelligence Challenge: Focuses on keeping humans competitive with AI through high-bandwidth BCIs and addressing regulatory challenges.Climate Change Strategy: He emphasizes addressing climate change impacts on society, exploring special zones for BCI research and governance adaptations, and stresses the need for aggressive BCI development and jurisdictional arbitrage for research and climate adaptation. He also proposes a climate-focused DAO for legal actions and addressing investment risks in flood-prone areas like Miami.Vision of Eucatastrophe: Trent's long-term goals for humanity include developing Dyson spheres and achieving human superintelligence. Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 24, 202351 min

David Dalrymple | Rethinking Uploading Given 10-Year AI Timelines

David Dalrymple, with a background from MIT and Harvard, is known for his study on Caenorhabditis elegans' nervous system, featured in Nature Methods. At Oxford University, his work spans neuroinformatics, machine learning, and software engineering. He is also a co-inventor of Filecoin.Key HighlightsA 10-year plan for brain uploading, dismissing certain techniques like neural dust, while highlighting expansion microscopy and immunofluorescence as promising.The use of AI for parameter estimation from destructive imaging, with a focus on automation for scalability.Validation techniques involving human brain slices and the application of advanced imaging and experimental methods.The challenges of dense brain data transfer and the potential solutions through mapping algorithms and axon tracing.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 17, 20238 min

S2 Ep 19Existential Hope Special: Six Hopeful Visions of the Future

SpeakerBeatrice Erkers reads six Existential Hope Scenarios. Beatrice is the program manager of the Existential Hope program, and Chief of Operations at Foresight Institute. The positive scenarios were a collaborative output from our 2023 Existential Hope Day attendees.Session SummaryThis podcast has been created from our 2023 Existential Hope Day, held earlier this year. This workshop aimed to provide a forum for enhancing our conceptual clarity of what positive futures might look like. This includes understanding the what, how, and why of various ideas to determine their relevance and potential impact. The discussions aimed to deepen our understanding of the term ‘Existential Hope’ and similar concepts, probe why these concepts might have been sidelined, and delve into specific future visions.The Scenarios AI-Enabled Personal FlourishingMultigenerational Habitat in SpaceEpistemic RevolutionGood SingularityFlying CowsHuman-AI Partnership / ParetopiaDive into our 2023 Existential Hope Day: ReportExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that more people can commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 10, 202310 min

Jan Leike | Superintelligent Alignment

Jan Leike is a Research Scientist at Google DeepMind and a leading voice in AI Alignment, with affiliations at the Future of Humanity Institute and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute. At OpenAI, he co-leads the Superalignment Team, contributing to AI advancements such as InstructGPT and ChatGPT. Holding a PhD from the Australian National University, Jan's work focuses on ensuring AI Alignment.Key HighlightsThe launch of OpenAI's Superalignment team, targeting the alignment of superintelligence in four years.The aim to automate of alignment research, currently leveraging 20% of OpenAI's computational power.How traditional reinforcement learning from human feedback may fall short in scaling language model alignment.Why there is a focus on scalable oversight, generalization, automation interpretability, and adversarial testing to ensure alignment reliability.Experimentation with intentionally misaligned models to evaluate alignment strategies.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 3, 20239 min

S2 Ep 18Existential Hope Podcast: Emilia Javorsky | The Future of AI, Bioengineering, and Human Empathy

Emilia Javorsky, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Futures Program at the Future of Life Institute. A physician-scientist and entrepreneur, she specializes in the development of medical technologies and is a mentor at Harvard's Wyss Institute. Recognized as a Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum, Javorsky is committed to guiding emerging technologies towards ethical, safe, and beneficial applications. With a strong foundation in AI, biotech, and nuclear risk management, she champions the responsible evolution of transformative tech for humanity's advancement.Session SummaryEmilia envisions a future where our innate talents join forces with artificial intelligence to tackle global challenges. This isn't merely about the speed of AI advancements, but how they harmonise with human goals. Emilia stresses the importance of creating positive narratives, ones that integrate AI with genuine human empathy, pointing towards a world where technology complements, not replaces, our connections. To get here, however, she emphasises the need for thoughtful regulation, which moves away from only-theoretical approaches, and promotes an inclusive, multi-stakeholder approach. Emilia sees this pathway as a means to harness AI's capabilities fully. Looking ahead, she believes AI can better human health, pioneer bioengineering, and aid in space exploration, whilst enhancing human connection. For her, it’s more than just mitigating risk – it's about unlocking the vast potential that AI and human collaboration promise. Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcastsExistential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice ErkersFollow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope InstagramExplore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 27, 202355 min

Mark Miller | Paperclips and Pyramids: Misdiagnosing AI Risks

Mark S. Miller is the Chief Scientist at Agoric. He is a pioneer of agoric (market-based secure distributed) computing and smart contracts, the main designer of the E and Dr. SES distributed persistent object-capability programming languages, inventor of Miller Columns, an architect of the Xanadu hypertext publishing system, a representative of the ECMAScript committee, a former Google research scientist, and member of the WebAssembly (Wasm) group.Key HighlightsThis podcast addresses common misconceptions about the risks of advanced AI – an example being the paper clip scenarioHow more pressing concerns regard one entity gaining unchecked power and that solutions lie not in just dispersing power but in structuring institutions effectively – similar to the separation of powers principle.The blend of human and AI intelligence is the cornerstone of future civilization, demanding innovative governance to ensure harmony.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryThe Foresight InstituteA research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 with a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".Get Involved with ForesightApply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as your donations fund us entirely!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 20, 202349 min

Dr. Thomas Macrina | AI for Whole Brain Circuit Mapping

Dr. Thomas Macrina, CEO of Zetta AI and possessing a rich background in deploying deep learning to map neural circuits via 3D electron microscopy datasets, explores the rapid advancements in AI-analyzed neuroimaging, offering insights into the accelerated recovery of synaptic-level neural circuits.Key HighlightsSubstantial progress has been realized in the recovery of petascale cortical circuits, with an impending delivery of a whole brain connectome for fruit flies on the horizon.The talk delves into the intricacies of AI that empower these developments, probing potential pathways to realize the exascale whole-brain connectome of a mouse.Dive deeper into the session: Full SummaryAbout Foresight InstituteForesight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison DuettmannThe President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future". Get Involved with Foresight:Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedInNote: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 13, 202356 min

Robert Zubrin | The Mars Society

Robert Zubrin is an American aerospace engineer, author, and advocate for human exploration of Mars. He and his colleague at Martin Marietta, David Baker, were the driving force behind Mars Direct, a proposal in a 1990 research paper intended to produce significant reductions in the cost and complexity of such a mission.Summary Zubrin recaps his early interest and hopes for space exploration. He speaks about the mission creep that plagued space travel efforts in the 90’s and his efforts to make Mars the focus of space travel once again. He is adamantly against on-orbit assembly and the generally more complex plans that people come up with for Mars bases. He also touched on his interactions with Elon Musk and SpaceX. After founding the Mars Society, Zubrin needed money to develop practice locations for Mars colonization. He held a fundraiser where they met, and from there, Musk was all-in on getting humanity to Mars.Robert continues to create innovative technologies with his independent company. Even with his success at stimulating SpaceX and other organizations to explore Mars, he continues to push for more progress toward the red planet.Full session summary: https://foresight.org/summary/robert-zubrin-the-mars-society/The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 6, 20231h 1m

S2 Ep 17Existential Hope Podcast: Joe Carlsmith | Infite Ethics and the Sublime Utopia

Joe Carlsmith is a writer, researcher, and philosopher. He works as a senior research analyst at Open Philanthropy, focusing on existential risk from advanced artificial intelligence. He also writes independently about various topics in philosophy and futurism and has a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford.Much of his work is about trying to help us orient wisely towards humanity’s long-term future. He delves into questions about meta-ethics and rationality at the foundation, feeding into questions about ethics (and especially about effective altruism), which motivate concern for the long-term future. Session SummaryJoin us to explore Joseph Carlsmith’s insights into his ongoing work and thoughts on issues including AI alignment, lesser-known future risks, infinite ethics and digital minds, and the sublime utopia. Carlsmith shares his concerns in ensuring that advanced AI systems behave beneficially for humanity. However, he emphasizes the importance of broadening the horizon to identify and address other critical factors beyond technical AI alignment. For instance, he delves into infinite ethics, addressing the ethical considerations involving infinite impacts and numbers of people – necessary if we are going to meet future realities. Despite the challenges, this episode is devoted to the exploration of utopia. Beyond the lesser boundary of a concrete utopia, Carlsmith envisions the sublime utopia: a realm of aspirational goals and visions. Although filled with vulnerabilities tied to hoping for extraordinary and unprecedented outcomes, Carlsmith lays out the essential nature of such a pursuit.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future, so that we can have more people commit to the creation of a brighter future, and to start mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Find all previous podcast episodes here, always featuring a full transcript, artwork inspired by the episode, and a list of recommended resources from the podcast. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project. The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and COO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 28, 202349 min

Sumner Norman | What To Expect From The Next Generation Of Brain-Computer Interfaces

Sumner is a research scientist with a decade of experience designing brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and neuroprosthetics for people with neurological injury or disease. His research has leveraged existing BCI techniques to awaken new pathways in the brain, restoring movement to people with paralysis.Summary Brain computer interfaces have been getting a lot of attention – but what do the next generation of these devices look like? A brain computer interface, or BCI, consists of some kind of brain sensor that feeds information into a decoder to translate into commands. Adoption of these devices could grow exponentially if they can be used to treat depression, anxiety, pain, OCD, and other brain circuit disorders. Current BCI’s can read rudimentary brain activity to allow people to play pong, write words, and play video games. Neuralink has gone a step further and created wireless neural implants that allow the patient to untether themselves from cumbersome machines.However, the current generation of BCI’s falls short in the categories of longevity and coverage. These devices last around 5 years, and the invasive surgery required to fix the implant is dangerous and probably untenable for most people. They also only cover a very small portion of the brain, less than one half of one percent, so their usefulness is limited.Sumner proposes that ultrasound might be used to create a BCI that is non-invasive, long lasting, that operates at scale to interact with large swaths of the brain at once. He’s not talking about the ultrasound used for pregnancy tests – a method called functional ultrasound can get down to 100 micron resolution. They detect red blood cell motion and by tracking metabolism they infer neuronal activity. His group has some initial success and believes its possible to use ultrasound to write to the brain along with reading it.Session summary: https://foresight.org/summary/sumner-norman-what-to-expect-from-the-next-generation-of-brain-computer-interfaces/The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 22, 202354 min

Stuart Russel | Human Compatible AI

Stuart Jonathan Russell is a British computer scientist known for his contributions to artificial intelligence. He is a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley and was from 2008 to 2011 an adjunct professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He holds the Smith-Zadeh Chair in Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He founded and leads the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence (CHAI) at UC Berkeley. Russell is the co-author with Peter Norvig of the most popular textbook in the field of AI: Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach used in more than 1,500 universities in 135 countries.SummaryThis episode explores the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on humanity. Russel emphasizes the importance of aligning AI systems with human values to ensure their compatibility and avoid unintended consequences. He discusses the risks associated with AI development and proposes the use of provably beneficial AI, which prioritizes human values and addresses concerns such as safety and control. Russel argues for the need to reframe AI research and policymaking to prioritize human well-being and ethical considerations. Computation: Intelligent Cooperation Foresight Group– Info and apply to join! https://foresight.org/technologies/computation-intelligent-cooperation/The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 15, 20231h 12m

Nathan Johnson, Space Court Foundation | Space Court Foundation’s Research Into Foundations and Evolution of Space Law

Nathan Johnson, a licensed attorney in Washington DC, is the author of the blog and podcast AstroEsq. With expertise in Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law, he has worked at the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation and the US House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Nathan has published articles on topics including orbital debris removal, on-orbit liability, and outer space property rights. He also serves as the Regional Organizer for the Manfred Lachs North America Space Law Moot Court Competition.SummarySpace Law encompasses international law, treaties, agreements, national laws, regulations, norms, and state practices. The Space Court Foundation, established in 2018, aims to create an updated and inclusive Space Law Library, enabling research on different concepts, rights, and responsibilities. This benefits academics, researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, states, and IGOs applying current law to future activities.Space: Expanding Outwards Group: https://foresight.org/technologies/space-expanding-outward/The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 8, 202355 min

Steven Byrnes, Astera Institute | Challenges for Safe and Beneficial Brain Like AGI

Steven Byrnes Steven Byrnes is a Research Fellow at the Astera Institute, where he is doing research at the intersection of neuroscience and Artificial General Intelligence Safety. His public writing on this topic is listed here.Before working on AGI Safety, he was a physicist in academia and industry. He has a Physics PhD from UC Berkeley.Session summaryResearchers will soon develop brain-like algorithms, enabling computers to possess understanding, collaboration, problem-solving abilities, and innovation. To ensure a positive outcome, we must address the challenge of fostering a desirable intelligent species and establishing mutual willingness to coexist. By leveraging our understanding of brain algorithms, we can shape this future. Steven proposes a scenario where ~96% of the human brain is dedicated to scaled-up learning algorithms, where AGI could be achieved in decades – with the continued issue of ensuring prosocial motivations. https://foresight.org/summary/steven-byrnes-astera-institute-challenges-for-safe-and-beneficial-brain-like-agi/Neurotech Group: https://foresight.org/technologies/neurotech-improving-cognition/The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 1, 202359 min

Existential Hope Podcast: Liv Boeree | Game Theory, Moloch & Our Hopeful Future

Liv Boeree is a British science communicator, television presenter and former professional poker player. She is a World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour champion, and is the only female player in history to win both a WSOP bracelet and an EPT event. In this episode, we explore the intellectual and ethical journey of Liv Boeree. A former professional poker player, Liv has transitioned into the realm of effective altruism, motivated by a desire for meaningful social impact. We discuss her early interest in science, the competitive allure of poker, and the ethical questions that led her to reevaluate the zero-sum dynamics of the game. The conversation also delves into broader issues such as misaligned incentives in competitive settings and collective action problems. Tune in for a look at the complexities of competition and cooperation in modern society.Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future, so that we can have more people commit to the creation of a brighter future, and to start mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Find all previous podcast episodes here, always featuring a full transcript, artwork inspired by the episode, and a list of recommended resources from the podcast. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project. The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and COO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Beatrice Erkers is Chief of Operations at Foresight Institute, and program manager of the Existential Hope group. Her special interest in the integration of technology and society has led her to work for Foresight Institute.Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our& Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 25, 202343 min

Sonia Arrison, Longevity Mentorship | Career Counselling

Sonia is a longevity investor via her company 100+ Capital, a women’s investor group called Portfolia, and advises BioVerge here in Silicon Valley. She also spends time helping the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives (A4LI). She is helping A4LI streamline the political processes for advancing longevity research and therapies. When Sonia first moved to California from Canada in 1999, she helped educate congresspeople about the internet and digital technologies. She soon became interested in nanotechnology, and by extension the Foresight Institute. Her interests then turned toward longevity, and she began writing articles here and there about the topic. Peter Thiel convinced her to turn those articles into a book, “100+: how the coming age of longevity will change everything”. This podcast explores valuable insights and guidance on career choices in the context of emerging technologies. Sonia Arrison shares her expertise and advice on navigating career paths in a rapidly evolving world. The discussion delves into topics such as the impact of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and other emerging fields on the job market, as well as strategies for finding fulfilling and impactful careers in these areas.Session Summary: https://foresight.org/summary/career-counseling-with-sonia-arrison/The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-s Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 18, 202356 min

Lewis Hammond, Cooperative AI | Introduction to Cooperative AI

Lewis is based at the University of Oxford where he is a DPhil candidate in computer science and a DPhil affiliate at the Future of Humanity Institute. He is also the acting executive director of the Cooperative AI Foundation, an affiliate at the Centre for the Governance of AI, and a fellow at the Foresight Institute. His research concerns safety, control, and incentives in multi-agent systems and in practice spans game theory, formal methods, and machine learning. Before coming to Oxford he obtained a BSc in mathematics and philosophy from the University of Warwick and an MSc in artificial intelligence from the University of Edinburgh.In this talk I will provide an introduction to cooperative AI – a growing subfield of AI (safety) research that seeks to improve the cooperative intelligence of artificial agents and thus their ability to increase the joint welfare of humans, machines, and groups thereof. After motivating the importance of cooperation in the context of AI, I will highlight the location of cooperative AI within the broader landscape of AI safety research (most of which considers only single-agent settings) and provide several examples of problems and progress in this area. I will also provide a brief introduction to the Cooperative AI Foundation, a new charitable organisation that seeks to build the field.Session summaryThe Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 10, 202353 min

Existential Hope Podcast: Daron Acemoglu | New Paths For Human-Technology Synergy

In this episode we welcome renowned academic and author, Daron Acemoglu, Institute professor and Economist at MIT.Drawing upon his rich experiences and his forthcoming book 'Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity,' Acemoglu navigates the complex landscape of technological progress. He sheds light on how technology can either sideline or empower humans, depending on how it's harnessed. With a focus on the potential for technological disparity and the importance of steering advancements towards inclusivity, Acemoglu's insights provoke thoughtful reflection.Whether you're a technologist, an economist, or simply someone intrigued by the future of our society, this episode with Daron Acemoglu will offer you fresh perspectives on the intersection of technology, economics, and power dynamics. Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future, so that we can have more people commit to the creation of a brighter future, and to start mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Find all previous podcast episodes here, always featuring a full transcript, artwork inspired by the episode, and a list of recommended resources from the podcast. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project. The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Allison Duettmann is the president and COO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. Beatrice Erkers is Director of the Existential Hope project at Foresight Institute. Her special interest in the integration of technology and society has led her to work for Foresight Institute.Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 27, 202356 min

Joseph Mascaro | The Evolution of Space Technology: From Spin-offs to Exaptation

Joseph MascaroJoe Mascaro is a tropical ecologist and Director, Science Strategy & Programs at Planet, a public benefit corporation that operates the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites. Joe works with scientists, universities and space agencies to utilize Planet’s unprecedented imaging resources to enhance primary research and education, improve forest monitoring and conservation, expand food security, and promote ecological resilience for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.Joe discusses transfer of innovations from one segment to another; these “exaptations” in technology occur when an innovation, designed to solve a problem, becomes important in solving a different problem. Originally defined in the context of evolutionary biology, exaptation may be one of the most important outcomes of space exploration and space-based Earth observation science. In the effort to image the whole Earth every day, for example, Planet innovated novel solutions to Earth imaging payloads, which have had important follow on effects in Earth science that were not anticipated—including improving our understanding of hydrology, cryosphere dynamics and geomorphology. These examples are likely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Farer-flung examples from the human spaceflight industry are also discussed.See here: https://foresight.org/summary/joseph-mascaro-the-evolution-of-space-technology-from-spin-offs-to-exaptation/ The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 20, 20231h 2m

Divya Siddarth | Collective Intelligence for Collective Progress

Divya SiddarthDivya is the co-founder of the Collective Intelligence Project, which advances collective intelligence capabilities for the democratic and effective governance of transformative technologies. She serves as Associate Political Economist and Social Technologist at Microsoft’s Office of the CTO. She also holds positions as a research director at Metagov and a researcher in residence at the RadicalXChange Foundation.In today’s rapidly evolving world, where technology is at the forefront of progress, the need for effective collaboration between humans and artificial intelligence is more crucial than ever. In this engaging and thought-provoking talk, we will explore the concept of collective intelligence and discuss how it can be harnessed to drive collective progress in various domains, including science, technology, and social innovation. See here: https://foresight.org/summary/divya-siddarth-collective-intelligence-for-collective-progress/ The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 13, 202359 min

Chris Eliasmith, University of Waterloo | How to Build a Brain

Dr. Chris Eliasmith is jointly appointed in Philosophy and Systems Design Engineering, and cross-appointed to Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. He has supervised students in each of these departments as well as Biology and Psychology. Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience (CTN) He is currently the director of this Centre. The Centre is a focal point for researchers across faculties (math, engineering, arts, science) interested in computational and theoretical models of neural systems.The Computational Neuroscience Research Group (CNRG) is his research lab, and is part of the CTN. He is the head of the lab.Dr Eliasmith's most recent book is called 'How to build a brain' (Oxford University Press, Amazon link). Work described there has been widely covered in the popular press.Session summaryThe Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 6, 202358 min