Singularity.FM

Dr. Michael Fossel is one of those few theoreticians who can see much of the big picture of aging. While some use mostly guesswork, and others hope to improve on that with logic, Fossel never shies away from the clear verdict that only data can give. Add his overwhelming compassion as a human being and you will understand why he is a clinician who really cares. You will also get a pretty good idea of what kind of a person Michael is – both personally and professionally. And those are just some of the reasons why enjoy having him back on my Singularity 1on1 podcast for an in-depth discussion of his latest book on the topic titled the Telomerase Revolution. During our 83 min discussion with Dr. Fossel we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: what the Telomerase Revolution is all about; the difference between realist and optimist medicine; why books don’t cure diseases and why Fossel is more interested in curing rather than understanding aging; the telomere theory of aging; whether we can create a vaccine for old age; the difference between direct and indirect aging; why guesswork is useless, logic is better but data trumps everything; whether we can slow down and/or reverse aging; Liz Parrish’s telomere lengthening experiment; reaching Longevity Escape Velocity and why Aubrey de Grey may turn out to be conservative in his estimate; Fossel’s biotech startup company Telocyte… To watch the full video of this interview click here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/michael-fossel-the-telomerase-revolution/

Last time I interviewed BioViva CEO Liz Parrish I had no idea that she would make global headlines shortly thereafter by becoming a gene therapy test subject herself. And so I wanted to bring her back to discuss the kind of experiment she volunteered for, as well as the broad science behind it. So, 4 months after receiving gene therapies aimed at reversing muscle-wasting disease and aging, I finally managed to get Liz on my Singularity 1on1 podcast. During our 60 min conversation with Liz Parrish we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: why she decided to target these particular diseases – sarcopenia and aging; why Parrish thinks that testing them both at once is a good thing; the best and worst case outcome scenarios; the potential bio-markers that can confirm or deny the efficacy of these therapies; the test protocol and timeline for any definitive results; the costs associated with such treatments and why insurance companies and governments will have an incentive to pay; Zoltan Istvan’s presidential candidacy and his campaign against death; her take on CRISPR and gene editing… You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/bioviva-ceo-liz-parrish-on-becoming-gene-therapy-test-subject/

Singularity University is not about the singularity and is not even a university. It is not about abundance and is not an exponential organization. Then what is Singularity University about?! Those are the claims I made and the questions I asked, and tried to address, during my recent presentation at a local meetup organized by Singularity University in the Netherlands. Check it out and judge for yourself. You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/socrates-deconstructs-singularity-university/

Zoltan Istvan is the first unashamedly and unabashedly openly transhumanist presidential candidate in the history of the United States. His political campaign, his Immortality Bus Tour and his book the Transhumanist Wager, have managed to get a huge amount of global media coverage and stir a debate. For good or for bad, much of that debate has been revolving not only around Istvan’s ideas but also around his personality and leadership style. With much of the criticism coming from within the wider transhumanist community itself. Whatever the case may be, when I heard that Istvan is visiting Toronto for WEST conference I thought that I can’t pass the opportunity to get him for a Singularity 1on1 interview. During our 86 min conversation with Zoltan Istvan we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: a personal update since our first interview when he says I contributed to launching his career; the details surrounding the founding and running of the Transhumanist Party and his presidential campaign; overcoming his libertarian bias to aim for the political center; guaranteed minimum income; living indefinitely and if there is something Zoltan will not do to accomplish it; the reappearing question of whether Istvan is Jethro Knights or not; his chances of winning the elections and the potential for jumping on the Democratic bandwagon; Teleological Egocentrical Functionalism; if and how fiction can influence a political movement; making a transhumanist TV show; difference between visibility and impact of scientists versus that of journalists/bloggers; getting money to fund science; the number of nuclear war-heads; why he doesn’t use his last name; the possibility of running for state or municipal elections; writing a book of non-fiction and a sequel to the Transhumanist Wager… You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/transhumanist-zoltan-istvan-on-his-presidential-campaign/

How can humans ever hope to push back and delay the ever growing power of software based artificial intelligence? Well, Dr. Louis Rosenberg – founder and CEO of Unanimous AI, believes that human swarming may be able to amplify human intelligence and buy us some time, if not change the outcome entirely. During our 86 min conversation with Louis Rosenberg we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: how and why he got interested in AI, virtual and augmented reality; his motivation and main goals; why groups are smarter than individuals; his dream of amplifying human intelligence; the dangers of software based AGI; being a vegan and respecting [i.e. not consuming] other intelligences; his latest company Unanimous AI; the definition of a swarm and its differences from both a herd and a crowd; his platform computer interface for human swarming called UNU; predicting the Oscars with a human swarm; flocks of birds and schools of fish versus swarms of bees; swarms of experts as a super-expert; Miguel Nicolelis‘ brain-to-brain computers; collective intelligence and the Borg… You can watch the full video recording here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/unanimous-ai-louis-rosenberg-on-human-swarming/

To me cryonics just makes sense. It may not be pretty but, just like open heart surgery, it is one of those things that, without any guarantees, can possibly extend your life [very] substantially. Thus, especially given the alternative, I just can’t quite make sense of the slow rate of adoption evident not only in North America but also across the world. And so I am always happy to discover new books that lay out the scientific argument for cryonics while making it easily digestible and giving it a very personal, human perspective. Since the most recent book I thoroughly enjoyed on this topic was Frozen to Life: A Personal Mortality Experiment I thought that DJ MacLennan will make an excellent guest on my Singularity 1on1 podcast. I was not wrong about that. During our 1 hour conversation with DJ MacLennan we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: why he decided to write Frozen to Life and who is it for; cryonics as a glass-state time travel; why he chose neuro- rather than full-body preservation; the costs and rate of adoption of cryonics; the culture, conservatism and geography of his home on the Isle of Skye; transhumanism and transcending limitations; the differences between Max More and James Hughes; his fear of death; the promise of chemical brain preservation; mindfulness and meditation; writing a transhumanist take on The Wizard of Oz and potentially on Grim’s Fairy Tales… You can see the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/dj-maclennan-on-his-cryonics-book-frozen-to-life/

Whether we like it or not, the current reality is that every day 150,000 people die. And while I have no doubt that one day humanity will defeat death of old age, like anyone else, I am not guaranteed that I will be alive to benefit personally from such a radical development. And so, while I am hoping for the best, I am doing what I can to get ready for the worst. In my case this entails planning for a number of contingencies – such as death where my brain has been destroyed or not, and taking a number of pro-active steps such as writing a will and signing up for cryonics. In this context I thought it may be useful to bring in a guest who meets daily with death so that we can at least open up a conversation about a topic that is often considered a taboo in our sanitized society. While both me and Dr. Michael Fratkin have very strong personal biases as well as established thinking on the topic of death, I wanted to see if and what we can each take away from such a conversation so that we are both better off in the end. I have to say that I was not disappointed and I hope you will find something beneficial for you too. Dr. Michael Fratkin is a palliative care physician and during my 2 hour conversation we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his personal story, motivation and medical background; whether we are more than our physical form or not; palliative care, completing life and ResolutionCare; the definition of death; why he is a “presentist” rather than a futurist; the origins of my own personal biases against death; his take on cryonics; Zoltan Istvan‘s Transhumanist Wager and on-going presidential campaign… You can watch the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/dr-michael-fratkin-on-life-death-and-palliative-care/

Salim IsmailExponential Organizations is one of those very rare individuals who can be and look from both inside and outside of the box – all at the same time. Furthermore, Ismail is one the few Singularity 1on1 interviewees who have the uncanny ability to keep surprising me with challenging, provocative, enlightening and often unexpected answers. During my time at Singularity University [GSP’11] I interviewed Salim for the very first time and then we talked about his personal background, why he is not a singularitarian and why “We are already Gods.” During this 2nd conversation with Salim Ismail we went both further and deeper in a variety of interesting topics such as: the progress and changes since my time at Singularity University and what SU is all about; potential cures for Alzheimer’s and Diabetes; his book Exponential Organizations and who is it for; business, scarcity and abundance; the definition of Exponential Organization [ExO]; the Importance of a Massive Transformative Purpose [MTP]; the acronym SCALE IDEAS; whether SU is an ExO or not; why Apple and Google are among the most prototypical ExOs; why we may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the era of large organizations; the monumental implications for our political, legal, economic, social and ethical structures; technological unemployment, zero marginal cost and the decline of Capitalism… (Apologies for Salim’s shorting mic which eventually died half-way through the interview so that we had to use the back up audio. Alas, those are the occasional birth-aches of my small, free podcast trying to produce expensive, broadcast quality interviews.) You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/salim-ismail-on-exponential-organizations/

There are those of us who philosophize and debate the finer points surrounding the dangers of artificial intelligence. And then there are those who dare go in the trenches and get their hands dirty by doing the actual work that may just end up making the difference. So if AI turns out to be like the terminator then Prof. Roman Yampolskiy may turn out to be like John Connor – but better. Because instead of fighting by using guns and brawn he is utilizing computer science, human intelligence and code. Whether that turns out to be the case and whether Yampolskiy will be successful or not is to be seen. But at this point I was very happy to have Roman back on my podcast for our second interview. [See his first interview here.] During our 1 hour conversation with Prof. Yampolskiy we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: slowing down the path to the singularity; expert advice versus celebrity endorsements; crowd-funding and going viral or “potato salad – yes; superintelligence – not so much”; his recent book on Artificial Superintelligence; intellectology, AI complete problems, singularity paradox and wire-heading; why machine ethics and robot rights are misguided and AGI research is unethical; the beauty of brute force algorithm; his differences from Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence; Roman’s definition of humanity; theology and superintelligence… You can see the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/roman-yampolskiy-on-artificial-superintelligence/

BioViva‘s CEO Liz Parrish is a fire-starter and probably not everyone’s favorite person. But if your goal is as bold as defeating aging then you’ll have to break some eggs. And so feel as you might but I have to admit that Parrish is definitely one of my favorite people – not only for the scientific work that she does but also because she is a fun, passionate and fully committed individual that inspires me. Thus it was no surprise that, despite some technical difficulties with my set up, I had a total blast interviewing Liz for my Singularity 1on1 podcast. During our 80 min conversation with Liz Parrish we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: her personal goals and motivations; how she started with the intend to cure childhood disease and ended up in the campaign to defeat aging; BioViva and its mission; being a fire-starter, vegetarian, not everyone’s favorite person and sticking to your choices; the campaign to cure Alzheimer’s Disease; what is gene therapy, how it works and why it so promising; the definition of aging; the ethics in genetics; medicine and human rights; why telomerase therapy in humans is the most exciting therapy… My favorite quote from this interview with Elizabeth Parrish is this: “There is no time like the present. We can’t wait another 20 years… Starting now is the time to start.” You can see the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/bioviva-ceo-liz-parrish-on-gene-therapy/

Marshal Brain‘s 2003 book Manna was quite ahead of its time in foreseeing that eventually, one way or another, we will have to confront and address the phenomenon of technological unemployment. In addition, Marshall is a passionate brainiac with a jovial personality, impressive background and a unique perspective. And so I was very happy to meet him in person for an exclusive Singularity 1on1 interview. [Special thanks to David Wood without whose introduction this interview may not have happened!] During our 82 min conversation with Marshall Brain we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his books The Second Intelligent Species and Manna; AI as the end game for humanity; using cockroaches as a metaphor; logic and ethics; simulating the human brain; the importance of language and visual processing for the creating of AI; marrying off Siri to Watson; technological unemployment, social welfare and perpetual vacation; capitalism, socialism and the need for systemic change… Watch the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/marshall-brain/

The first time I interviewed Jack Andraka he was the youngest guest ever on my Singularity 1on1 podcast. At 16 he already had a mind-blowing list of science awards and inventions, the most notable of which was his nanotechnology-based pancreatic cancer test. So when I discovered that Jack will be speaking at Canada’s best annual conference – IdeaCity, I was determined to kidnap him if I have to, but get a 2nd in-person interview with this brilliant and charming young man. During our 36 min conversation with Jack Andraka we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: an update on his cancer test development; his inspiring, frank and intimate book Breakthrough; the moment he realized he has the power to change the world; his other passions such as kayaking, hiking, origami, math competitions and video games; the relationship between genius and adversity; bullying, homophobia and suicide; his eagerness to study computational mathematics and bio-engineering at Stanford University; his passion for STEM education reform and open access; fame, patents, ethics and staying grounded… Watch the video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jack-andraka-breakthrough/

This is my fourth interview with Ramez Naam and the reason for that is simple: Ramez is a cool, smart guy, who writes kick-ass, gritty, action-packed and scientifically compelling science fiction novels as well as being a researcher and expert in a variety of other fields such as human enhancement, the environment and energy. And so I am always happy to have him back on Singularity 1on1 both because he is fun to talk to but also because I always learn something new from him. During our 60 min conversation with Ramez Naam we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his latest novel Apex; writing dystopian vs utopian science fiction; science, politics, ethics and freedom; naming a character after me in his next book; the science behind Apex and skeptics such as Nicolelis and Picurel; brain simulation and the collapse of the Human Brain Project; technological unemployment… To watch the video interview click here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/ramez-naam-apex/

David Wood is the chair of London Futurists and on the Humanity+ board of directors. He is an eminent futurist whose valuable newsletter I myself have been subscribed to for several years now and so I was very happy that, at long last, we managed to sit down for a proper Singularity 1on1 interview. Not surprisingly, I found our conversation both intellectually enlightening and spiritually entertaining. So block off the next 90 min because I believe you may feel the same way too. During our conversation with David Wood we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his background in mathematics, quantum mechanics and mobile computing; his take on futurism and transhumanism; the importance of philosophy in general and ethics in particular; free will, determinism, making choices and taking action; P+, Transpolitica and the importance of (changing) politics; the singularity and out chances of surviving it; capitalism, abundance and technological unemployment… My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with David Wood is: “Radical change lies ahead. We have to be better at discussing that change. If we are aware of the possibilities – we’ll prepare for them. But even more – we’ll be able to shape them. So let’s put more of our attention not in the past, not in the present, but into discussing the future. Let’s all become futurists so that radical change ahead is something we’ll be happy to embrace when it comes rather than something we wish we had anticipated and prepared for differently.” If you want to see the full video click here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/futurist-david-wood/

A few weeks ago I got interviewed on Review the Future podcast. Co-hosts Ted Kupper and Jon Perry did a great job in putting me on the spot and I enjoyed talking to them very much. So, if for once you are interested in having me as “the man with the answers” then check out their synopsis below and listen to the audio interview above: In today’s podcast we are joined by Nikola Danaylov, host of the popular Singularity 1 on 1 podcast, and a man who has interviewed 170 experts about singularity related topics. After establishing the meaning of the term singularity, we discuss the wide range of opinions held by thinkers in the field. We learn that although there is no single consensus. there are some clusterings of opinion, a few of which fall upon disciplinary lines. Nikola reveals that after doing his show for five years, he is less convinced the singularity will happen then he used to be. After walking through the various routes that could get us to a singularity, we discuss the validity of accelerating returns and the need for diversity in the future. Finally, we conclude by considering the current state of the futurist community.

“Rick Tumlinson is the descendant of pioneers who wants to help create the future pioneers who are going to go open the Solar system and expand life beyond the Earth. That’s why I am here. The whole reason I exist is to make sure that this species and the life of the Earth expands into the universe.” Rick Tumlinson is a legendary visionary, evangelist and a trench warrior for the opening, privatization and commercialization of Space. He has a very rich and colorful biography – one that you can read below in detail. But just some highlights include leasing the Russian MIR space station, helping send the first space tourist Dennis Tito and staring a number of organizations and companies such as the Space Frontier Foundation, Lunacorp, MirCorp, Orbital Outfitters, Deep Space Industries, the New Worlds Institute, The EarthLight Foundation and many others. Needless to say I was very exited to have Rick on Singularity 1on1 for what turned out to be a truly epic interview. During our 137 min long conversation with Tumlinson we cover: Orphan’s of Appolo and the story of leasing the MIR space station; the Space Frontier Foundation; why and how he almost killed the International Space Station by a single vote; how he got the space bug from Timothy Leary and Gerard K. O’Neill; why he flies the skull and bones pirate flag; why we have to go in space even if we have big problems here on Earth; governments, the Apollo program and the Why? of space exploration; the limitations of biology and mind-uploading; his upcoming book God and Rockets; his take on the Fermi paradox… This whole epic interview is full of gems. So it will take way too long if I start listing them all. But just a couple of my favorite quotes are: “The reason we go to new places, the reason we do new things is because we are dissatisfied with the way things are. If we accept the way things are, then why ever do anything new?!” “To carry the light of life to places now dark, the seeds of life to places now dead, and the eyes, hands and minds of humanity to places yet unseen, untouched and unknown.” Watch the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/rick-tumlinson/

Pandora’s Brain is one of the most philosophical science fiction novels I have read recently. And since Calum Chace has been a valuable contributor to Singularity Weblog, as well as a great blogger with an interesting and diverse experience in his own right, I thought that he would make a great guest for my Singularity 1on1 podcast. And so I invited him for an interview which turned out to be a very enjoyable conversation indeed. During our 70 min discussion with Calum Chace we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his intellectual background, business experience and foray into writing science fiction; why science fiction is philosophy in fancy dress; how his mind exploded after reading Ray Kurzweil’s The Age of Spiritual Machines; the importance of planning for the singularity and investing resources in friendly AI; the story behind Pandora’s Brain and the associated Greek mythology; AI, the singularity and our chances of surviving; soft vs hard take-off scenarios; technological unemployment. My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview is: “AI is coming and it could be the best or the worst thing that has ever happened to us. It can’t be stopped. So we have to try to influence it to be the best thing…” See the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/calum-chace-on-pandoras-brain/

This is my second interview with William Hertling. The first time we met was at Greg Bear’s house near Seattle where we did both a 1on1 interview and a fantastic science fiction panel together with our host and Ramez Naam. So I suggest you start by watching those videos if you have not seen them yet because today we are going deeper into topics such as artificial intelligence and the technological singularity. William Hertling is the author of award-winning novels Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears, A.I. Apocalypse, The Last Firewall and The Turing Exception. His plausible scenarios for the technological singularity are both emotionally engaging and logically compelling and I have read all four of his books. So it was no surprise that, once again, I had a total blast interviewing Herting for my Singularity 1on1 podcast. During our 70 min conversation with William we cover: his latest book The Turing Exception; a kill-switch for the internet and other ways to minimize the danger of AI; the impact of reading Our Final Invention; the need for creating AGI/ASI and the democratization of hardware needed to run it; whether it is AI or humanity itself that poses the greatest risk to our existence; science fiction as a social commentary; the importance of ethics; personal development and self-publishing; our chances of surviving the technological singularity… See the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/william-hertling-on-turing-exception/

Marc Goodman is not your typical street cop – he considers himself a humanitarian, he is super smart and well educated, he has worked in over 70 countries and speaks more languages that I can list here. Marc has worked for Interpol and is the Futurist for the FBI. If that is not enough Goodman is also the Chair for Policy, Law and Ethics at Singularity University as well as the author of the scariest book I have ever read in my life – Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It. I say scariest because in a list of many other scary books Future Crimes stands out both because it is non-fiction but also because of the absolutely stunning number of meticulously collected and classified cases from a variety of seemingly unrelated fields. As someone who spent years studying security and political science I have to admit that this was by far the most comprehensive, up-to-date, technologically aware and forward-looking book in the field that I have read so far. During our 45 min discussion with Marc Goodman we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: how he got interested in law-enforcement and eventually started seeing the connection with technology; the cyber dangers to our security that most of us don’t see; Moore’s Law and Moore’s Outlaws or why crime scales but law-enforcement does not; security lessons from epidemiology and bio-mimicry; why the era of anti-virus software is over; how the cyber-threat is going from 2D to 3D; criminal hackers and corporate data-brokers; Goodman’s Law… Let me add that this was one of those interviews where I really did not do justice to Marc’s phenomenal Future Crimes. And, while I will definitely use this as an excuse to bring Goodman back for a follow up, I would urge you to check out his book for yourself. See the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/marc-goodman-on-future-crimes-2/

Michael Fossel‘s dream is to reverse human aging and since 1996 he has been a strong and vocal advocate of experimenting with telomerase therapy as a potential way of intervention in a wide variety of medical conditions related to aging. Fossel is also one of those unique people who are a real pleasure to not only see speaking from the stage but also to meet in person. And having done both of these, I can honestly say that Michael is as much an impassioned expert-speaker as he is a compassionate human being. He is also a generous host, who loves entertaining guests visiting his fabulous house, and I had fun socializing with him both in front and behind the camera. So I very much enjoyed interviewing Dr. Fossel for my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast and wish him success with his daring quest. During our 1 hour discussion with Michael we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his dream to reverse aging and the desirability and feasibility thereof; the Hayflick limit of cell division and Aubrey de Grey’s concerns that telomerase therapy may cause cancer; the distinction between reversing aging and living forever; his “non-sexy” tips on healthy living; his take on cryonics and transhumanism… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with Michael Fossel are: “Ageing is dynamic, not static” “Never mind the low-hanging fruit. […] Go for the important one!” “The reason to do this [reverse aging] is not to double somebody’s lifespan. The reason to do this is because people out there are hurting. They are frightened. They are terrified by the things that happen to them when they get disease. The reason to do this is because we are human and we should be working at this. It’s not playing God, it is working at being human. It’s compassion. It’s not a matter of living longer, it is a matter of making people healthy again.” See the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/michael-fossel/

During my recent visit to the Cryonics Institute I had the chance to do a video tour of CI and learn more about their vitrification procedures and membership policies. I also had the unique opportunity to interview David Ettinger, whose father Robert Ettinger is the “father of cryonics” because he pretty much started the field with his seminal book The Prospect of Immortality. I was also happy to interview David for my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast because we had not only an informative but also very frank and deeply personal interview as to his own story and motivation. During our 1 hour discussion with David Ettinger we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: what is CI, how and why he got involved in it; how his father – Robert Ettinger, came up with the idea of cryonics; my wife’s journey to embracing the idea and my evil plan to sign up the rest of our family; the definition of cryonics and the process of vitrification; why people are often cryo-convinced but unfortunately not cryo-committed; prices and procedures for joining the Cryonics Institute as well as options for people outside of the US; the slow pace of progress in cryo-biology and related research; betting on life vs betting on death; volunteering and the CI business model; David’s take on transhumanism and the technological singularity… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with David Ettinger are: “Being frozen is a horible thing, it’s just that the alternative is even worse.” and “If you’re counting on something other than cryonics extending your life, you are not covering your bets.” See the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/david-ettinger/

This is the concluding sci fi round-table discussion of my Seattle 1-on-1 interviews with Ramez Naam, William Hertling and Greg Bear. The video was recorded last November and was produced by Richard Sundvall, shot by Ian Sun and generously hosted by Greg and Astrid Bear. (Special note of thanks to Agah Bahari who did the interview audio re-mix and basically saved the footage.) During our 30 minute discussion with Greg Bear, Ramez Naam and William Hertling we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: what is science fiction; the technological singularity and whether it could or would happen; the potential of conflict between humans and AI; the definition of the singularity; emerging AI and evolution; the differences between thinking and computation; whether the singularity is a religion or not… See the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/greg-bear-ramez-naam-and-william-hertling-on-the-singularity/

Greg Bear is truly one of the masters of classic science fiction – he has written over 35 books, that have sold millions of copies, and have been translated in 22 languages. No wonder I was not only immensely excited but also pretty nervous while preparing to interview him face to face. As it turned out I was worrying for nothing: Greg Bear is a really affable fellow with a fantastic sense of humor and, together with his wife Astrid, endlessly generous hospitality. Bear is also a passionate macro-photographer with the most stunning dragon-fly-pictures collection that I have seen in my life. Thus it is a total understatement to say that I had an absolute blast spending a full day of shooting 4 Singularity 1 on 1 episodes at his house, including the attached 90 min interview. During our conversation with Greg Bear we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: how he got inspired to write; what is science fiction; the role of photography and visual imagery; the merging of philosophy and science; sci fi as the jazz of literature; religion, mysticism and his take on Jesus; the birth of Comic-Con; whether science fiction inspires science or vice versa; the singularity, transhumanism and “the brick wall of philosophy”… This interview was so packed of intellectual gems that I almost feel like shying away from listing any. But here are just two of my favorites, and you feel free to share yours in the comment section below: “…The people who are changing the world read science fiction.” “In a sense, science fiction is history in reverse…” See the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/greg-bear-singularity/

Technological unemployment is an issue that I have mentioned a few times during my past interviews. In fact, I would go as far as saying that it is at the bottom of the top 5 biggest problems humanity faces today. So while it may not be the very biggest issue we face right now, it definitely is a huge challenge that, if not resolved, has the potential to impact negatively on a variety of other ones – from global warming to economic growth and social stability. And so today’s interview is devoted exclusively on technological unemployment and I am very happy to discuss it with Martin Ford, who has written two best-selling books on the topic: Lights in the Tunnel and Rise of the Robots. During our 70 min conversation with Martin Ford we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: Martin’s background as a small software entrepreneur in Silicon Valley; his interest in technological unemployment and whether it is ok that Robot’s Will Steal Your Job; why this time automation is fundamentally different from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; whether education and hard work are enough for success; the dangers and possible implications of high technological unemployment; the proposal for Guaranteed Minimum Income; the incentives to work, capitalism and the need for systemic change… Watch the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/martin-ford-on-technological-unemployment/

If there’s ever been a case when I just wanted to jump on a plane and go interview someone in person, not because they are famous but because they have created a totally unique and arguably seminal theory, it has to be Danko Nikolic. I believe Danko’s theory of Practopoiesis is that good and he should and probably eventually would become known around the world for it. Unfortunately, however, I don’t have a budget of thousands of dollars per interview which will allow me to pay for my audio and video team to travel to Germany and produce the quality that Nikolic deserves. So, I’ve had to settle with Skype. And Skype refused to cooperate on that day even though both me and Danko have pretty much the fastest internet connections money can buy. Luckily, despite the poor video quality, our audio was very good and I would urge that if there’s ever been an interview where you ought to disregard the video quality and focus on the content – it has to be this one. During our 67 min conversation with Danko we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his personal journey into psychology and cognitive science; writing a manual for the mind; practopoiesis, AI and learning how to learn; consciousness and free will; the Penrose-Hameroff Quantum Theory of consciousness; the brain-mind distinction; the Human Brain Project, whole brain simulation and mind uploading… See the video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/danko-nikolic-practopoiesis/

Hannu Rajaniemi is a Ph. D. in string theory and fellow SU alumni best known for his popular science fiction trilogy The Quantum Thief [Jean Le Flambeur]. His work has risen to prominence both because of its own merits but also because of the legend surrounding his signing up with a major book publisher. Rajaniemi has been suggested numerous times as a strong guest-candidate for my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast and I am extremely happy to have had the opportunity to finally fulfill those requests. I have to admit that I enjoyed immensely reading Hannu’s Jean Le Flambeur trilogy and took that as an excuse to interview him on a variety of topics for over 90 min. During our conversation with Rajaniemi we cover: his math background, writing passion and entrepreneurial ventures; ethics, science and science fiction; the Higgs Boson, the multiverse and other cosmological models; the definition of science fiction and the distinction between sci fi and fantasy; the importance of “constraints and suffering” for creativity; how he sold the Quantum Thief trilogy to a major publisher; tips and tools for novice sci fi writers; determinism, free will and the quest for self-knowledge; his take on transhumanism and the technological singularity… See the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/hannu-rajaniemi-on-quantum-thief/

Jerome C. Glenn is co-founder and Director of The Millennium Project and I had great fun talking to him during our first interview. But it has been over two years since our previous conversation and so, when Jason Ganz reminded me that the latest State of the Future report has been out for several months now, I jumped at the opportunity to have Jerome back on Singularity 1 on 1. In this second discussion with Glenn we cover a wide variety of topics such as: The State of the Future report; if the world is coming to an end; the definition of war and the conflicts in Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine; things that changed and things that did not change since the last interview; infectious disease epidemics and the containment thereof; bitcoin – the currency and the technology; the 15 global challenges and why ethics is one of them; sea/salt water agriculture; the growing rich-poor gap and technological unemployment… My three most favorite quotes that I will take away from the 2nd interview with Jerome C. Glenn are: “Science is an epistemology in the house of philosophy.” […] “Love works and hate doesn’t.” […] and my favorite one: “What works best is idealism but tempered by realism. […] Listen to the negative but don’t let it bury you.” You can see the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jerome-c-glenn-state-of-the-future/

Jonathan Mugan is not only a computer scientist specializing in machine learning and AI but also a father of three and the author of The Curiosity Cycle: Preparing Your Child for the Ongoing Technological Explosion. Since this is one of the few good books on the topic that I am aware of, I thought I’d bring Jonathan on Singularity 1 on 1 so that we can dive deeper into the issues surrounding child education in an age of accelerating change. During our 30 min conversation with Mugan we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his journey from the “soft” half of knowledge – arts, into the “hard” half – science; his book The Curiosity Cycle; building smart robots and educating children; why he focused on “curiosity” rather than “intelligence” and “cycle” rather than a “score”; tips for teaching your kids in the most effective manner, dealing with automation and technological unemployment… See the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jonathan-mugan-the-curiosity-cycle/

I have often felt that being located in Toronto, Canada puts me at a bit of a disadvantage with respect to having a futuristic high-tech blog and podcast. Living in Silicon Valley or New York [or a number of cities in Asia and Europe] appears to make it easier to stay at the cutting edge of technology and meet the amazing people pushing it forward. However, after visiting Decentral, I am convinced that there you can meet people who are making things happen and changing the world as we know it. And so I have come to believe that things are changing for the better – not only for Toronto and Canada but also for the world in general. One of the people behind this change is Arthur Traviss Corry. And so I was very excited to visit Arthur aboard his sail-boat – The Dialectic, and interview him about his work, his passion and the future. During our 40 min conversation with Corry we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: Decentral as start up accelerator, investment fund and mentorship space; exciting ventures in residence such as Buttercoin and Ethereum; the pros and cons of decentralized apps; 51% attack and other vulnerabilities; bitcoin and its potential for good and bad; anarchy and the role of the state; regulation and the potential for backlash; AI and transhumanism… My favorite quote that I will take away from this conversation with Arthur Traviss Corry is: “Software development is an art and these are the artists creating it… It is probably the most important art of our time.” See the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/arthur-traviss-corry-on-bitcoin-decentral/

Some will say that Bill Andrews is totally crazy – at 61 he runs an average of 10 miles per day and at least one 100 mile marathon per month. He also wants to “Cure Ageing or Die Trying”. No wonder Bill is one of the 2 main protagonists of a new documentary about life-extension aptly titled The Immortalists. As to whether he is crazy or not, I myself hope that he totally is. Because, if we are ever going to defeat ageing, we are going to need a lot more out-of-the-box “crazy” scientists like Andrews. And I totally loved interviewing him on my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. During our 1 hour conversation with Bill we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: the relationship between telomeres and ageing; the Hayflick limit and the scientific definition of immortality; how he got interested in finding a cure for ageing; life-extension and overpopulation; supplements and other ways to slow down the pace of telomere shortening such as ultra-marathon running; Product B and TA-65, his book on Curing Aging;Sierra Sciences and the money needed to make a human cell immortal… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Bill Andrews are: “Cure Ageing or Die Trying” [I just cannot not start with this one ;-] “In my opinion nature wants us dead as soon as we’ve raised our young” “Ageing is not going to cure itself – it requires funding. People think that the government is funding all the research in ageing but the government is not interested… Large pharma is not interested. If people are really out there wondering why nobody is curing ageing right now it’s because we need the private individuals that are passionate about this subject to be funding the research. And not just my research – everybody’s research.” See the video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/bill-andrews/

Jeremy Rifkin is a social activist, economist, futurist and best-selling author of twenty books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. His books have been translated into more than thirty five languages and are being used in hundreds of universities, corporations and government agencies around the world. In 2011, Jeremy Rifkin published the New York Times bestseller The Third Industrial Revolution, which captured the attention of the world. Mr. Rifkin’s vision of a sustainable, post carbon economic era has been endorsed by the European Union and the United Nations and embraced by world leaders including Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President François Hollande of France, and Premier Li Keqiang of China. His latest one – The Zero Marginal Cost Society, describes how the emerging Internet of Things is speeding us to an era of nearly free goods and services, precipitating the meteoric rise of a global Collaborative Commons and the eclipse of capitalism. During our 97 min conversation with Jeremy Rifkin we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: near zero marginal cost as the deeply embedded paradox in the heart of capitalism; the dematerialization (i.e. the digitalization) of material objects; The Third Industrial Revolution and the decline of capitalism; how US and Canada are becoming outliers while Germany and China are emerging as the new leaders; Dutch Disease and the risk of being a one-trick-pony-type of an economy; decentralization of power and bitcoin; Rifkin’s biggest dream and greatest fear; AI and technological unemployment; empathy and the Turing Test… Watch the video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jeremy-rifkin-on-the-zero-marginal-cost-society/

In my opinion The Immortalists is a the most frank, open-minded and uniquely personal documentary about life-extension in general and Aubrey de Grey and Bill Andrews, in particular. I was privileged to attend its international premiere during the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, Canada and instantly knew that I have to interview David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg on Singularity 1 on 1. I believe that everyone interested in life-extension – whether they think we should or we should not even attempt it, must see the film. During our 50 min conversation with David and Jason we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: how they got interested in and decided to make a documentary about life-extension; their goals and motivation; choosing Aubrey de Grey and Bill Andrews as the main protagonists; how their ideas on life-extension evolved before and after the film; why Aubrey is not pleased with the title; why deeply personal details are very relevant for making a good documentary; Transcend and Terry Grossman; the cost, time and effort associated with producing original content; whether life-extension is either feasible or desirable… Watch the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/the-immortalists-david-alvarado-and-jason-sussberg/

I just finished reading PJ Manney’s brand new novel (R)Evolution. And, while I was prepared for a stimulating nanotechnology and brain-enhancement science fictional story, I got not only that but also an action packed, character-rich, twisting and intricate thriller with a very generous sprinkling of classic realpolitik. Add a fictional plot (and issues) which may well become a real part of our near future and you will understand why I had so much fun reading her book and couldn’t help it but invite Manney for a Singularity 1on1 interview. During our 80 min conversation with PJ Manney cover a variety of interesting topics such as: her interesting and diverse background; whether there is any tension between story-telling and futurism; the definition and subject of science fiction; her goals and motivation; the Paul Simon song which inspired (R)Evolution; her admiration for Alexandre Dumas’ novels The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers; why she kills Anders Sandberg at the very beginning of her novel; realpolitik, secret societies and their role in US governance and politics; whether she is optimistic about the future of humanity… Watch the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/pj-manney-revolution/

Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, bestselling author, acclaimed public speaker, renowned futurist, and popularizer of science. As co-founder of String Field Theory, Dr. Kaku carries on Einstein’s quest to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into a single grand unified theory of everything. You will not be surprised to hear that Michio Kaku has been on my guest dream-list since I started Singularity 1 on 1, and I was beyond ecstatic to finally have an opportunity to speak to him. During our 90 min conversation with Dr. Michio Kaku we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: why he shifted his focus from the universe to the human mind; his definition, classification and ranking of consciousness; his take on the Penrose-Hameroff Orch OR model; Newton, Einstein, determinism and free will; whether the brain is a classical computer or not; Norman Doidge’s work on neuro-plasticity and The Brain That Changes Itself; the underlying reality of everything; his dream to finish what Einstein has started and know the mind of God; The Future of the Mind; mind-uploading and space travel at the speed of light; Moore’s Law and D-Wave’s quantum computer; the Human Brain Project and whole brain simulation; alternatives paths to AI and the Turing Test as a way of judging progress; cryonics and what is possible and impossible… Watch the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/michio-kaku-future-of-the-mind/

Digital crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin are the singularity of money and, after spending some time educating myself, I have turned from a skeptic into a fan. If you are not familiar with the topic then I suggest that you start with my interview with Andreas Antonopoulos. In that conversation we lay down the basics and discuss why “Bitcoin is not currency; it’s the internet of money!” If you are already intellectually comfortable with Bitcoin, then it is time to talk about Bitcoin 2.0 and the best candidate so far is Ethereum. Ethereum is the brain-child of Vitalik Buterin who wrote most of the original code and had such a compelling vision that he managed to attract a large team of coders, cryptography experts, investors and supporters – all with the goal of making it a reality. And so I was extremely happy to interview Buterin for my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. During our 70 min conversation with Vitalik we cover a variety of topics such as: what is Ethereum and how is it different from Bitcoin; Vitalik’s motivation and biggest dream; why and how Ethereum was designed to be Turing complete; the differences between Ethereum and Ether; the idea of creating a decentralized app ecosystem; egalitarianism and the Gini index; the size and security of the Ethereum database; the excange rate and sale of Ether coins… See the video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/vitalik-buterin-ethereum/

Stuart Armstrong is a James Martin research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford where he looks as issues such as existential risks in general and Artificial Intelligence in particular. Stuart is also the author of Smarter Than Us: The Rise of Machine Intelligence and, after participating in a fun futurist panel discussion with him – Terminator or Transcendence, I knew it is time to interview Armstrong on Singularity 1 on 1. During our conversation with Stuart we cover issues such as: his transition from hard science into futurism; the major existential risks to our civilization; the mandate of the Future of Humanity Institute; how can we know if AI is safe and what are the best approaches towards it; why experts are all over the map; humanity’s chances of survival… My favorite quote from this interview with Stuart Armstrong is: “If we don’t get whacked by the existential risks, the future is probably going to be wonderful.”

The idea that man is a machine is an old one. And since the brain is a physical part of that machine it is often presumed that it can necessarily be simulated on a digital computer. But very little scientific scrutiny has been given on that presumption. The Relativistic Brain is a new book by Miguel Nicolelis and Ronald Cicurel where they address precisely that question: Can a digital machine simulate the human brain? the Relativistic BrainIn their book, Nicolelis and Cicurel provide a variety of neurophysiological, evolutionary, mathematical and computational arguments to conclude that “the brain is relativistic and cannot be simulated by a Turing Machine.” And so I thought that we had all the best ingredients for a fantastic Singularity 1on1 podcast episode. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did for I only managed to ask about half of my questions and plan to do a follow up as soon as I can. During our 90 min conversation with Miguel Nicolelis and Ronald Cicurel we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: their interesting backgrounds in neuroscience and mathematics, brain-machine-interface [BMI] and the Blue Brain Project; neuroplasticity and Miguel’s Walk Again Project; the first Brain-to-Brain communication; the Relativistic Brain Theory [RBT] and why it cannot be simulated on a Turing Machine; the distinction between mechanism and organism; computable vs non-computable [Gödelian] information; their 23 scientific predictions as a way to falsify RBT; computationalism, Plato’s Cave and the mathematical arguments against simulating the brain; Stephen Jay Gould’s “tape of evolution argument”; the collapse of the Human Brain Project; The Penrose-Hameroff Quantum Theory of Consciousness… Watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/miguel-nicolelis-and-ronald-cicurel/

This is my second interview with Steven Kotler. Last time we discussed Abundance: The Future is Better than You Think – the book Steven co-wrote with Peter Diamandis. This time we are here to discuss reaching our optimum state of performance or what many of us call Flow. During our conversation with Steven Kotler we cover issues such as: the definition of flow as an optimal state of performance; his profound personal experiences of being in flow; the likelyhood of putting flow in a pill or video game; why we need setting both long term as well as clear short term goals; Nietzsche and transhumanism; the flow genome project… Watch the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/steven-kotler-flow/

The first time I met Prof. Ed Boyden was at last year’s Global Future 2045 conference in New York. There I was highly impressed with Boyden’s impressive work in neuroscience in general and optogenetics in particular, as well as the profound implications it would have on our ability to understand and manipulate the brain. And so I knew instantly I must bring him for an interview on Singularity 1 on 1. During our 1 hour conversation with Ed we cover a variety of topics such as: his interesting career path from chemistry to physics to electrical engineering and into neuroscience; the loop of understanding and why the brain is where we need to go; the importance of philosophy; optogenetics and whether the brain is a classical computer or not; the Penrose-Hameroff theory of consciousness; the Human Brain Project; Randal Koene‘s Whole Brain Emulation project; the definition and importance of consciousness; neuro-plasticity and Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself; free will and mind-uploading…

Peter Voss is an entrepreneur, inventor, engineer, scientist and AI researcher. He is a rather interesting and unique individual not only because of his diverse background and impressive accomplishments but also because of his interest in moral philosophy and artificial general intelligence. Given how quickly our first interview went by, I wanted to bring him back to Singularity 1 on 1 and dig a little deeper into some of the issues we touched on the previous time. During our 53 min conversation with Peter we cover a variety of topics such as: if and how higher intelligence can make us moral; rational ethics; determinism and the nature of free will, consciousness and reality; the benefits of philosophising…

Andreas Antonopoulos is arguably the face of bitcoin because he is probably the most prolific interviewee as well as the most publicly recognized expert in the field of crypto-currency. To top it off, Andreas is extremely eloquent, has an impressively broad spectrum of knowledge and is an admitted disruptarian. I have been receiving numerous requests to interview him on Singularity 1 on 1 and was very happy to finally have the opportunity to do so during the recent Bitcoin Expo 2014. During our 85 min conversation with Andreas Antonopoulos we cover a very wide variety of topics such as: the very first time he heard of bitcoin and his instant dismissal as “nerd money”; Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper and the monumental impact it had on Andreas; what is bitcoin and how it solves the technical problems of past crypto-currencies; decentralizing trust, money and the consequent revolutionary changes; deflation, inflation and the ability to divide a bitcoin into 100 million Satoshis; money for AI; proof of work and “mining” of coins; why trying to shut down bitcoin is like trying to shut down the internet; the blockchain security, anonymity, transparency and implications thereof; Charlie Stross’ criticisms; libertarians, disruptarians and money neutrality; whether bitcoin is the singularity of money… My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with Andreas Antonopoulos is: “This is the the internet of money; it’s not just money for the internet. […] The bitcoin currency is just the first application – it’s like email on the internet – it’s good enough to change the world and have everyone adopt the internet…”

Peter Voss is an entrepreneur, inventor, engineer, scientist and AI researcher. He is a rather interesting and unique individual not only because of his diverse background and impressive accomplishments but also because of his interest in moral philosophy and artificial intelligence. I have been planning to interview Voss for a while and, given how quickly our discussion went by, I will do my best to bring him again to Singularity 1 on 1. During our 1-hour-long conversation with Peter we cover a variety of topics such as: his excitement in pursuing a dream that others have failed to accomplish for the past 50 years; whether we are rational or irrational animals; utility curves and the motivation of AGI; the importance of philosophy and ethics; Bertrand Russel and Ayn Rand; his companies A2I2 and Smart Action; his [revised] optimism and timeline for building AGI; the Turing Test and the importance of asking questions; Our Final Invention and friendly AI; intelligence and morality…

Emerging reports suggest that the BRX virus has already infected thousands of people. ByoLogyc – the company whose product is linked to the outbreak, has set up a mobile decontamination and vaccination facility in the heart of Toronto. Even though I usually don’t do any breaking news field-reporting, in this particularly shocking case I couldn’t help it but had to go downtown and try to find out what is going on. I was very lucky to get a rare interview with ByoLogic’s elusive and controversial CEO Chet Getram. I apologize for the low video and audio quality but the footage was shot under dangerous circumstances and at high personal risk of infection. Our interview, held in the back of ByoLogic’s decontamination and vaccination facility, was interrupted several times by people’s screams as well as something which looked like a bodybag being carried out right in front of my camera. [Watch carefully around min 23:42 into the interview.] During our 25 min conversation with Chet Getram we cover a variety of topics such as: ByoLogic’s company mission; its controversial product line including ByoRenew, ByoMate, ByoEnrich, ByoBreath, ByoGrow and ByoBaby; the responsibility for and the dangers posed by the BRX virus; the passionate activism and public resistance that seem to follow both ByoLogic and its unapologetic CEO. Originally Posted on April 1, 2014 See video interview at: https://www.singularityweblog.com/byologyc-ceo-chet-getram-brx-virus/

Ted Chu is a professor of economics and former chief economist for General Motors. Most recently, Dr. Chu is the author of Human Purpose and Transhuman Potential: A Cosmic Vision of Our Future Evolution. In my opinion Ted’s book is absolutely profound in the way it draws upon a dazzling variety of philosophical and scientific resources in order to place humanity within a cosmic evolutionary perspective. In that sense I will go as far as claiming that it is a one-of-a-kind book within my transhumanist library and, while it is definitely not an easy or quick read, I enjoyed it very much. I was very happy to get Ted Chu on my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. Human Purpose and Transhuman PotentialDuring our 70 min conversation with Dr. Chu we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his honest and moving personal story starting in a poor family in China and becoming a chief economists for GM; the existential midlife crisis he had at 29 and his consequent search for the meaning of life; the impact of 9.11 – surviving the attacks but losing his book manuscript; why and how he got interested in transhumanism; the importance of philosophy for setting up a higher goal; defining human and transhuman; cosmic being (CoBe) and evolution; religion 2.0 and transcendental ethics; the technological singularity; capitalism, technological unemployment and bitcoin…

William Hertling is a rather recent science fiction discovery of mine and the author of award-winning novels Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears, A.I. Apocalypse, and The Last Firewall. William has written several plausible scenarios for the technological singularity that were so engaging and compelling that, as soon as I finished his first book, I could not help it but go ahead and read the next one too. And so I was very happy to get an opportunity and interview Hertling on my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. During our 45 min conversation with William we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: the impact of reading Accelerando and The Singularity is Near; how he was challenged to become a sci fi author and outlined the plot of his first book on the proverbial paper-napkin; the extrapolation of current trends in software and hardware as a way of predicting technological progress; the importance of theory of mind for the creating of artificial intelligence; the singularity and whether it is more likely to happen in a hacker garage or a military lab; hard take-off vs soft take-off; whole brain simulation and the diminishing costs thereof; if an AI apocalypse is a plausible future scenario or not; transhumanism and healthy life-extension… This is the second out of a series of 3 sci fi round-table interviews with Ramez Naam, William Hertling and Greg Bear that I did last November in Seattle. It was produced by Richard and Tatyana Sundvall and generously hosted by Greg and Astrid Bear. (Special note of thanks to Agah Bahari who did the interview audio re-mix.)

These are the videos of my presentation at the 2014 Podcamp Toronto. This year I decided that it is best not to speak about podcasting but rather focus on issues familiar to readers of Singularity Weblog – artificial intelligence, transhumanism and the technological singularity. The session was intended to provide a brief introduction of the issues and to engage a broader audience of people who are generally not familiar with the topic.

Grady Booch is an IBM fellow, best-selling author, software engineer, geek, philosopher, storyteller, entrepreneur and former US air-force serviceman, who used to work on the secret space shuttle military program. If his bio is not enough to make you watch the interview on its own, let me just add that this was one of the most frank and fun conversations that I have had so far on Singularity 1 on 1. So don’t waste any more time reading but hit the play button and watch the interview! During our 50 min conversation with Grady Booch we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: the moral and social implications of software engineering; his upcoming documentary on Computing the Human Experience; the 4 intellectuals who had the greatest impact on him; whether IBM is trying to create an AI or not; the coolest future apps for Watson and whether the NSA is interested; if intelligence is computable or not; the Penrose-Hameroff Orch OR theory of consciousness; determinism, free will and computability; Marvin Minsky and Noam Chomsky‘s claim that we are not making any progress in general artificial intelligence; Grady’s take on the technological singularity and the Turing Test… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this fun interview with Grady Booch are: “Enjoy the beauty in what you are doing but also take and own responsibility!” and “There is a magical world behind that curtain. Open it up! You will be amazed by the things you’ll see. […] Join us on that journey!”

I first met Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro at last year’s GF2045 conference in New York. Dr. Ishiguro is known around the world for his android, geminoid and telenoid robots and I have been trying to get him on my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast ever since we met. At last, last week we were able to find an empty slot in his busy schedule and I was able to ask him a few questions. During our 50 min conversation with Dr. Ishiguro we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: how and why he got interested in building androids and geminoids; whether it is possible to build disembodied Artificial Intelligence; what is human; the cultural East-West divide on the perception of robots as being good or evil; the uncanny valley and the Turing Test; the importance of implementing emotions such as pleasure and pain; the differences (or lack thereof) of hardware and software; telenoid robots…

Alexander Hayes is an Australian researcher and PhD candidate investigating the social implications of augmented reality technologies such as Google Glass. I met Hayes during last year’s ISTAS13 conference in Toronto and the consequent UAV Drones: Pros vs Cons symposium, where he was one of the key organizers. During the course of these events I was quickly impressed by Alex both personally and professionally, and thus I knew that I had to interview Alex on Singularity 1 on 1 so that he can share the findings of his research. During our 1 hour conversation with Hayes we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his interest in augmented reality and drone technology; whether Google Glass is a slam dunk game-changing device; “normalization” of technology; the break-down of public and private space; privacy, security and surveillance; physiological shifts in the brain resulting from Google Glass’ electro-magnetic and/or radiation emissions; the benefits for education, training, policing and other activities; whether Google Glass is good or bad; Vernor Vinge’s Rainbows End; drones for good and drones for bad; augmented reality, augmented humanity and the process of chipification… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with Alexander Hayes are: “It’s a shift in humanity; it’s not a shift in technology” [on Google Glass and similar devices] and “Beware the implications of your involvement with technology!”

Bre Pettis is the charismatic founder and CEO of MakerBot – one of the most disruptive companies ushering in a revolution in personal manufacturing. If you ever heard of or want to know more about the latest in 3D printing then you have to know about Bre and MakerBot. And so I knew that I simply had to find a way to get Pettis on my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. During our 1 hour conversation with Bre we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: his personal journey from being a teacher, puppeteer and popular podcaster to starting the most disruptive 3D printing company; founding the NYC Resistor hacker space and writing The Cult of Done Manifesto; MakerBot and the commitment to firmware and software updates that make your 3D printer better; why specs such as printing resolution are less important than ease of use; his desire to empower people and democratize manufacturing; the pros and cons of open source vs a startup for-profit company; copyright and the thingiverse; the limits of 3D printing and recycling the world into filament… My favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with Bre Pettis are: “If you want it badly enough – go out and make it!” and “Take your passion and apply a MakerBot to it!”