Stay ConnectedWeekly interview show with people at the forefront of transformational technologies, scientific research, and bold new thinking that enables humans to operate at higher levels — better able to achieve whatever each person values most in life.
This could be in fields as diverse as neuroscience, computer science, psychology, bio-tech, augmented reality, nutrition & fitness and so many more areas of pioneering work.
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My guest today is cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman, author of the book "The Case Against Reality". Don has been making waves lately in a range of scientific fields with a theory of reality that splinters all of our preconceived notions. What if everything we thought was real -- the physical world around us and the notion of time -- are not reality but a vast surface-level operating system designed to guide our behaviors for evolutionary survival. What if understanding true objective reality were in fact counter to evolutionary success, and therefore the truth has been obscured from us.
Don Hoffman is a cognitive scientist at the University of California, Irvine.
In our conversation today we explore the nature of reality and of consciousness. Then over the next week I'm going to release a shorter episode, as a stand-alone addendum, on Don's process for moving beyond conventional wisdom and to generate truly original thinking -- plus a look into the secret club of brain scientists he was a part of for nearly two decades with some of the most brilliant minds in cognitive science. That mini-episode will follow shortly.
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"The Case Against Reality" (Book) is at https://is.gd/thecaseagainstreality
More on Donald Hoffman: Website: http://cogsci.uci.edu/~ddhoff/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/donalddhoffman __________
More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
Today we explore CRISPR and gene editing, embryo selection vs embryo editing, parental vs societal needs, emerging mind-reading technologies, and the ethics surrounding all of these issues.
August Bradley's guest is Hank Greely, a Stanford Law School professor specializing in the ethical, legal, and social implications of new biomedical technologies, particularly those related to genetics and neuroscience. Hank frequently serves as an advisor on policy issues — he's the chair of California's Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, a member of the Advisory Council on the NIH's National Institute for General Medical Sciences, a member of the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law of the National Academies, and a member of the Neuroscience Forum at the Institute of Medicine. He chairs the steering committee for the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and directs both the Stanford law school's Center for Law and the Biosciences, and the Stanford Program in Neuroscience and Society. His book "The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction" gives us a look at the future of making babies through new technologies.
Podcast Audio version at: http://mindandmachine.libsyn.com
More on Hank Greely at: https://law.stanford.edu/directory/henry-t-greely/ https://profiles.stanford.edu/henry-greely
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hankgreelylsju __________
More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
August Bradley's guest today is Martin Bryant, a technology and media writer, speaker and consultant who puts out the Big Revolution newsletter on what's happening at the intersection of technology and media. Martin was previously the Editor In Chief of the TNW digital magazine which operates alongside the influential The Next Web conference on emerging tech.
We explore how tech companies are transforming the media world, and bringing many aspects of culture and politics along with it.
Podcast Audio version at: http://mindandmachine.libsyn.com
Martin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MartinSFP
More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
My guest today is Steven Furber, who has led the design of the SpiNNiker neuromorphic computer — a brain simulator with one million cores on a single machine, each core interacting with the others in ways mimicking how living brains function. His work on the SpiNNiker neuromorphic computer is designed to both teach us more about how human brains work and to advance computational capabilities.
Neuromorphic computing is a sub-set of Artificial intelligence focusing on hardware that uses the information processing methods of brains, as opposed to other fields of AI using software algorithms.
Steven Furber is the ICL Professor of Computer Engineering in the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester in the UK.
We discuss modeling the brain with machines, why neuromorphic computing is generating so much excitement these days, and how it opens up computational possibilities beyond traditional computers. Then we examine the potential capabilities and ethical challenges of artificial intelligence more broadly.
My guest today is Paul Scharre, author of the book "Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War" — which Bill Gates recently featured in his top five book recommendations of the year. Paul is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security — a think tank based in Washinton D.C. Previously, Paul worked for the U.S. Secretary of Defense where he played a leading role in establishing policies on unmanned autonomous systems and emerging weapons technologies. He led the Department of Defense working-group that drafted policies on autonomy in weapon systems. He also led DoD efforts to establish policies on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance programs. We discuss the current state of military autonomous weapons, the degree to which highly autonomous warfare will be conducted in the future, and the ethical challenges facing this technology. We also get into the resistance from employees within Google and other A.I companies toward supporting military uses. More from Paul: https://www.cnas.org/people/paul-scharre Twitter: https://twitter.com/paul_scharre More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
My guest today is Chris Pain, director of the AI documentary film "Do You Trust This Computer?" and previously the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?". The new film is a powerful examination of artificial intelligence centered around insights from the most high-profile thinkers on the subject, including Elon Musk, Stuart Russell, Max Tegmark, Ray Kurzweil, Andrew Ng, Westworld creator Jonathan Nolan and many more. Chris set out to ask these leaders in the field "what scares smart people about AI", and they did not hold back. More on Chris and the Film: Chris Paine's Production Company, Papercut Films: http://papercutfilms.com "Do You Trust This Computer?" Website: http://doyoutrustthiscomputer.org __________ More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
My guest is Isaac Arthur — a theoretical space scientist, physicist, futurist and bold visionary of human expansion. He brings a mind-blowing level of research and storytelling to his series . While the subject matter sounds like science fiction and is certainly inspired by it, his exploration is framed within the known laws of physics.
We will focus on space megastructures, a form of future world-building on a scale that's almost unimaginable. From Dyson Spheres and Ringworlds to Shell Worlds and Artificial Planets. We touch on all this and more, all within known physics and largely within known technology, albeit at a mind-bending scale.
More on Isaac and his work: https://www.isaacarthur.net
More MIND & MACHINE: https://www.mindandmachine.io
As artificial intelligence evolves, it will present itself to us in a variety of ways. One of the most intriguing manifestations of AI will be when it assumes our own faces — forming an autonomous double of ourselves. My guest today is Nikhil Jain, founder and CEO of ObEN which creates AI-driven digital humans in the likeness of its users to perform tasks when they cannot be there in person. These digital avatars simulate a person's voice, face and personality, enabling never-before-possible social and virtual interactions. We look at the technology today, its ultimate potential and how it can transform they way we live and work. More on ObEN at http://oben.me Twitter: https://twitter.com/ObenMe __________ More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
My guest today is J.L. Galache, an asteroid astronomer turned new-space entrepreneur. J.L. is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Aten Engineering, a pioneering space mining company. He has designed and directed asteroid data projects with NASA's Frontier Development Lab and Oracle. At the Minor Planet Center (part of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), J.L. was Acting Deputy Director, where he helped keep the world safe from killer asteroids. We discuss space mining and the practical steps necessary for human settlement of the solar system — as well as what a space economy among interplanetary settlements would look like. More on J.L. & Aten Engineering J.L. on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlgalache Aten Engineering: https://www.atenengineering.com Aten on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AtenEngineering __________ More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
Today we explore genomics and how it will transform medicine. My guest is Lisa Alderson, the CEO and co-founder of Genome Medical — a fast growing company in the emerging field of genomics. Genome Medical provides expertise to both individuals wanting to explore their DNA, and to health care providers wanting to offer genomic medicine. We explore how genomic medicine will transform health care. Lisa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisaa?lang=en Genome Medical: https://www.genomemedical.com More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io
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