Science fiction legend Vernor Vinge inspired the title of this podcast - and his influence extends far beyond fiction. His novella "True Names" gave readers a first taste of the metaverse, and in a 1993 talk for NASA, Vinge described a 'technological singularity' - a time when computers get so good so fast that they 'run away' from human control. It's a scenario that haunts every big company working in AI today, possibly an element in the behind-the-scenes dynamic that got Sam Altman...

Mark started working with cryptocurrencies back in 2014. Ten years at the coalface has convinced him that - despite incredible promise - cryptocurrencies are pwned by gamblers and grifters. After a decade advising financial institutions, regulators and cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, Mark explains why he's chosen to leave it all behind - and might never mention cryptocurrencies publicly again. For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit...

Despite some new car announcements from Honda, this year's Consumer Electronics Show reveals a stagnant automotive sector that seems to have lost its way in the transition to EVs. Co-host Sally Dominguez, Special Correspondent Drew Smith and Mark Pesce find a few bones to pick with the future on offer in Las Vegas - but a surprise from Sharp left the team smelling roses. It's Las Vegas, baby - with the pedal to the metal, and one foot in the future. For more information about this podcast...

The Consumer Electronics Show is one of the biggest conventions in the world, featuring gadgets of every size and description. It’s also the most important car show in the world. Cohost Sally Dominguez, special correspondent Drew Smith and host Mark Pesce share some of their highs and lows of this year’s show.  For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com. The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel -...

The year of 'brolectrification', artificial intelligence working its way into car dashboards, a Chinese EV invasion - and Cybertruck's domination. At the end of 2023, what have we learned? Co-host Sally Dominguez and Special Correspondent Drew Smith sit down with Mark Pesce to augur the entrails of a very weird year, then look forward to the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show. On this final episode of a three-part miniseries, we explore how ChatGPT rose to become the fastest growing app in...

RESHARE! Thanks to Paddy Dhanda for having Mark Pesce on his Podcast Superpowers school - we're happy to be sharing here!  🎧 Follow Superpowers School Podcast on: 👉 Apple 👉 Spotify 👉 YouTube 👉 Newsletter In this exclusive interview, Mark Pesce shares his journey of writing his new book published by the BCS, "Getting Started with ChatGPT and AI Chatbots." He was inspired by the realisation that billions of Windows users would soon need guidance on how to use powerful AI tools following...

Autonomous agents - computer programs that can think and act for themselves - have been an impossible dream for almost forty years. Suddenly, they're easy to create - and being weaponised as agents of mass disinformation. In this final of our three-part miniseries on AI, we look at the power - and peril - of autonomous agents, a technology that will play a huge role in our NEXT BILLION SECONDS. On this final episode of a three-part miniseries, we explore how ChatGPT rose to become the...

While everyone was going gaga over ChatGPT, Meta - the former Facebook - rewrote the AI playbook with LLaMA. Small enough to run on a smartphone, LLaMA gives us a glimpse of what the world will look like at the end of next year - with AI chatbots everywhere, inside almost everything. LLaMA and its tiny kin are amazing - but are they safe? On this second episode of a three-part miniseries, we explore how ChatGPT rose to become the fastest growing app in history, then found itself the weapon...

On 30 November 2022 startup OpenAI released ChatGPT, resetting expectations for artificial intelligence. Only one year later and billions now have access to ‘good enough’ AI, resetting our expectations for what computers can do - and leaving us wondering how we’ll adapt to this latest breakthrough. On this first of a three-part miniseries, we explore how ChatGPT rose to become the fastest growing app in history, then found itself the weapon of choice in the longest running war in the...

While they've worked together for five years, Mark, Sal and Drew have never met face-to-face - until this show. Eyeball-to-eyball they ask one another some 'hard questions', and learn some hard truths about the state of micromobility, EVs - and the future of the transition that may be better for the auto industry than for the planet. For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com. The Next Billion Cars (and The Next Billion...

SPECIAL EPISODE. We were so happy with Special Correspondent Drew Smith’s rich and powerful interview with Horace Dediu, we wanted to share an episode featuring their complete conversation. Drew Smith sat down for an hour-plus interview with Horace Dediu, the ‘father’ of micromobility - Horace coined the word! - exploring its origins and future. Along the way, Horace offers a blistering critique of the failure of the automotive sector to embody the new design possibilities offered by...

What is ‘micromobility’? It’s a philosophy that emphasises choice and urban-centered design in our transportation networks and transport options. Drew Smith speaks with Horace Dediu, the ‘father’ of micromobility, about its origins, his critique of the new generation of EV companies, and the way things must change in order to provide a transport future that we can all enjoy. Mark looks at the ‘wheel’ of transportation that takes developing nations from bicycles to scooters to cars - and back...

Long-promised as the ‘fuel of the future’, hydrogen fails to live up to its hype. Co-host Sally Dominguez looks at the the future for big hydrogen-powered vehicles, speaking with Brendan Norman of Australian hydrogen vehicle startup H2X. Mark speaks to Romesh Rodrigo at Daimler Trucks Australia about the future of ‘liquid’ hydrogen - a fuel that needs to be cooled to within 20 degrees of Absolute Zero, and ‘bleeds off’ quickly, leaving storage tanks empty. Finally, Special Correspondent Drew...

The number of electric cars in Australia doubled in 2022 - yet it remains nearly impossible to buy the model you want, and the nation’s public charging infrastructure remains on the drawing board. Big things will need to change, quickly. Co-hosts Sally Dominguez and Drew Smith dive into the systemic changes needed to get these ‘batteries-with-wheels’ charged and charging into the future. With contributions from Richard Hackforth-Jones, Joe Simspon and Daniel O’Brien. Can you drive across...

The Next Billion Cars Mini-Series is BACK for another mini series. In this episode about the future of Autonomous Vehicles, Mark Pesce with co-hosts Sally Dominguez and Drew Smith explore what the future holds for the car industry and how we move. In the first episode, Mark and guests explore the future of autonomous vehicles.  It all started in 2016 when Tesla made a video touting their 'self-driving' software - which we soon found out was faked, but that didn't stop the industry. Every...

Work futurist Dom Price and resilience expert Sally Dominguez guide us through a new world of work, post-pandemic. Mark speaks with two leaders at the coalface, Julie Watkins, Chief People Officer of Uni Super, and Dr Rajkuma Buyya, Director of the Cloud Computing and Distributed Systems (CLOUDS) Laboratory, and a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne and CEO of Manjrasoft, share how both are finding unique paths to help their staff thrive in a world of work...

TSMC now makes the best computer chips - making Taiwan a prize that China needs in order to continue its rise as an economic and military superpower.  Rebroadcast from June 7, 2021.  For more information about this and all our other Next Billion Seconds content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com Mark Pesce - The Next Billion Seconds is produced by Ampel - visit https://ampel.com.au to find out what Ampel could do for you! If you are interested in sponsoring The Next Billion...

In the 2010s, VR roared back into life with Oculus, Vive, WebGL and Hololens. Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite gave millions a deep drink of the potential of the Metaverse. Facebook - renamed Meta - bet the house on the Metaverse. Where is the Metaverse headed? We hear insights from forty years of experts.   For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Skills...

In the early 2000s, the Metaverse blossomed into the foundation for a new generation of video games such as 'Ultima Online', and big data 'digital twins' like Google Earth. It's "Game On!" for Tony and Mark - and on and on and on and on... Featuring Raph Koster, Philip Rosedale, Ken Birdwell, Amy Jo Kim, Avi Bar-Zeev, Clay Graham and Justin Liang. For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This...

In the second half of the 1990s, VRML became the platform of choice for 'virtual worlds' filled with 'avatars' - digital representations of real people. The Web goes big - and stays big - yet VRML crashes back to Earth, as Second Life becomes the last best hope for the Metaverse. Featuring Neal Stephenson, David Frerichs, John McCrea, Jan Mallis, Bruce Damer, Mark Jeffrey, Christopher Caen, Linda Jacobson, Philip Rosedale and Stuart Buckland as the Narrator. Tony’s Intervista Software had a...

Tony and Mark - supported by a global community of technologists, enthusiasts and dreamers - brought 3D to the brand-new Web with VRML, creating the foundations for the “DIY Metaverse”. Featuring Owen Rowley, Linda Jacobson, John McCrea, Coco Conn and Neal Stephenson. Read the interview with Jaron Lanier in MONDO 2000 issue 2 that changed Mark’s life. “Homebrew VR“, written by Linda Jacobson, in WIRED magazine, issue 1. Use Windows? Have a play with ‘Labyrinth’, the world’s first 3D Web...

The technology behind the metaverse has its origins in the darkest days of the Cold War. This ‘Military metaverse’ gave birth to the Internet, transforming warfare - and, a generation later, online gaming. Featuring Michael Zyda. JCR Licklider – “Lick” to his friends and colleagues – is little-known but absolutely an essential figure in the development of modern computing.Ivan Sutherland is probably the most influential computer scientist, full stop.Here’s a video of Ivan Sutherland giving...

Welcome to the first episode of our new series, "A Brief History of the Metaverse". Mark and co-host Tony Parisi travel back more than a century to uncover the roots of the Metaverse. From pioneers Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, creators of "Habitat", the first massively multiplayer online environment, we learn the Metaverse has never been about technology - but always about people. Featuring Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer.  Have a read through Tony Parisi’s “The Seven Rules of the...

A clever bit of AI software transforms my voice into a silky-smooth 'Lisa' - almost an archetypal radio host. In the near future, we'll be able to make ourselves sound - and look - like anyone else. How will we know if we're being fooled? To find out more about Lisa (sorry, Mark) and this show, check out https://nextbillionseconds.com If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform.  This podcast is produced by Ampel. To find...