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...

Speaker Anthony 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...

Speaker Hannu 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. Episode Perhaps 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...

Speaker Allison 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...

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. Summary In 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...

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...

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...

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...

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 program Key Highlights McConaghy presented a solarpunk future, envisioning an optimistic trajectory for humanity. He covered three topics: web3 to sovereign...

t Panellists: Alex Fedintsev, Leon Peshkin, Yuri Deigin, and Aleksandra Singer. Recorded at Vision Weekend France 2023. Key Highlights They 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...

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...

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...

Panellists: Divya Siddarth, Jonathan Prasserat-Palmbach, Lewis Hammond, Primavera De Filippi, Stuart Armstrong, and Trent Mcconaghy. Recorded at Vision Weekend France 2023. Key Highlights Panellists 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...

Panellists: Anders Sandberg, Bradley Love, Robin Hanson, Brett Kagan Recorded at Vision Weekend France 2023. Key Highlights The 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...

Panellists: Alexis Courbet, Erik Benson, Stephane Redon, Dean Thomas. Recorded at Vision Weekend France. Key Highlights The 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...

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...

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 Highlights Hubbard shared his deep passion for Mars and recounted his role in restructuring the Mars program.He described Mars as the most Earthlike...

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...

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...

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...

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 Highlights The use of ML models for...

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...

Kipply Chen is part of the data team at Anthropic. Key Highlights The 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 Summary About Foresight Institute Foresight Institute is a research...

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...

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 Highlights A 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...