The World Transformed

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Fusion, Space on the Cheap, and Becoming Aquaman Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

Phil and Stephen kick off a special series of shows for Thanksgiving week. We’re calling it the good-news-a-palooza. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week the World Transformed will be a No Buzzkill Zone as we explore tremendously encouraging news that is breaking all around us. Scientists Invent Oxygen Particle That If Injected, Allows You To Live Without Breathing A team of scientists at the Boston Children’s Hospital have invented what is being considered one the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. They have designed a microparticle that can be injected into a person’s bloodstream that can quickly oxygenate their blood. This will even work if the ability to breathe has been restricted, or even cut off entirely. Study Finds SpaceX Investment Saved NASA Hundreds of Millions Zapata estimates that SpaceX launches cost NASA around $89,000 per kilogram of cargo delivered to the space station. There's no telling what precisely would have come from a cargo spacecraft developed by NASA, but Zapata estimates that it would be $272,000 per kg. In less than a day LPP Fusion Fund Raising at $147,000+ LPP Fusion is trying to make a 5 megawatt dense plasma focus fusion generators. Their current WeFunder crowdfunding equity is going well with over $147,000 raised toward a fund raising goal of $1 million. WT 371-682

Blade Runner 2049 and the Hard Problem of Reality Nov 18, 2017

Show notes

Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed sequel to the 1982 Ridley Scott Classic is officially a box-office disaster. goo.gl/HcF9NY (Apparently you have to rake in a half a billion these days for a big movie to be considered a success.) But don't worry. That won't slow us down in spending a full GEEKOUT episode of the World Transformed exploring the many dimension of this bleak and fascinating vision of the future. Listeners beware: this one is all spoilers all the time. We also spend some time reflecting on the original Blade Runner goo.gl/iZv4zY , and on War for the Planet of the Apeshttps://goo.gl/DuXYZS. Plus we throw in a mini-review of Thor Ragnarok goo.gl/mk8eBi. Join us. WT 370-681

Quark Fusion, Spinach Hearts, and Back to the Moon Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

Phil and Stephen reflect on recent news items that give a hint as to how amazing the future is going to be. “Quark Fusion” Produces Eight Times More Energy Than Nuclear Fusion Researchers, building on findings from work involving the Large Hadron Collider, have found a theoretical new form of energy. This new, renewable option is more powerful than nuclear by fusing quarks into baryons. A robot can print this $32,000 house in as little as 8 hours — take a look inside A new Ukrainian homebuilding startup called PassivDom uses a 3D printing robot that can print parts for tiny houses. The machine can print the walls, roof, and floor of PassivDom's 380-square-foot model in about eight hours. The windows, doors, plumbing, and electrical systems are then added by a human worker. A Dying Boy Gets a New, Gene-Corrected Skin In June 2015, Hassan was admitted to the burn unit of a children’s hospital in Bochum, Germany. By that time, around 60 percent of his epidermis—the top layer of his skin—was gone. The pain was excruciating. “Why do I have to live this life?” he asked his father. Spinach Leaf Transformed Into Beating Human Heart Tissue Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle, potentially solving a long-standing problem in efforts to repair damaged organs. NASA Orion Spacecraft That Will Bring Humans to Mars Will Undergo Moon Test Mission in 2019 NASA is planning to take humans back to the Moon—something that has not been done since 1972.

Reality Sandwich Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

Phil and Stephen discuss the Hard Problem of Reality. Our notion of what’s real is increasingly being challenged by new technologies like AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) as well as algorithm-driven social sites that serve up ever-more extreme content just to keep us clicking along. Are these technologies diving us farther away from each other and from what is really real? Of course, it’s possible that the new reality technologies are insignificant compared to the longstanding human ability to delude ourselves (and others) about what is real. But what happens when that well-established capacity for delusion meets these powerful new technologies? Here are some recent news items that speak to that eventual convergence. Report: Apple AR Headset Coming In 2020 With Brand New OS We’re Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads Billionaire ex-Facebook president Sean Parker unloads on Mark Zuckerberg and admits he helped build a monster Teen Girl Posed For 8 Years As Married Man To Write About Baseball And Harass Women Why Total Immersion Is Virtual Reality's Future WT 368-679

Foresight Visions Part 2 — Longevity, Blockchains, and Cybersecurity Nov 11, 2017

Show notes

Phil, Stephen, and PJ welcome Christine Peterson and Allison Duettmann for a two-part discussion on what's new with the Foresight Institute and what's going to be happening at the upcoming Foresight Vision Weekend December 2-3. What Is the Vision Weekend? A member-gathering dedicated to taking stock of the most compelling ideas of today, turn them into coherent visions for a better future and get to work on them. Keynote panels will explore: Longevity: Reaching Escape Velocity Blockchains: Master Key To Unlock The Future? Intelligence: The Brain As Next Frontier? The Long-Term: So Much To Do, So Little Time In part two of our discussion, we discuss: Innovative ways to assess longevity Blockchain technologies beyond the crypto-currency hype Blockchain risks and opportunities SPECIAL OFFER: World Transformed listeners can get a 50% discount off the ticket price for the Vision Weekend (which also requires membership in the Foresight Institute -- you can join when you buy your ticket.) Just use the discount code transformed. About Our Guests: Christine Peterson writes, lectures, and briefs the media on world transforming technologies. She is the Co-Founder and former President of Foresight Institute, the leading nanotech public interest group. Allison Duettmann is the chair of the Foresight Institute’s Vision weekend. She also conducts research, authors reports, and hosts the invitational technical workshops and public events. WT 366-677

Foresight Visions, Part 1 -- Existential Hope Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

Phil, Stephen, and PJ welcome Christine Peterson and Allison Duettmann for a two-part discussion on what's new with the Foresight Institute and what's going to be happening at the upcoming Foresight Vision Weekend December 2-3. What Is the Vision Weekend? A member-gathering dedicated to taking stock of the most compelling ideas of today, turn them into coherent visions for a better future and get to work on them. Keynote panels will explore: Longevity: Reaching Escape Velocity Blockchains: Master Key To Unlock The Future? Intelligence: The Brain As Next Frontier? The Long-Term: So Much To Do, So Little Time In part one of our discussion, Allison explains why Existential Hope will be a major theme for the Vision Weekend. Plus Christine, Phil, and PJ reflect on the imact of past Foresight vision events SPECIAL OFFER: World Transformed listeners can get a 50% discount off the ticket price for the Vision Weekend (which also requires membership in the Foresight Institute -- you can join when you buy your ticket.) Just use the discount code transformed. About Our Guests: Christine Peterson writes, lectures, and briefs the media on world transforming technologies. She is the Co-Founder and former President of Foresight Institute, the leading nanotech public interest group. Allison Duettmann is the chair of the Foresight Institute’s Vision weekend. She also conducts research, authors reports, and hosts the invitational technical workshops and public events. WT 366-677

Fast Forward -- The Nanotech Debate Is Over Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

In this edition of Fast Forward, Christine Peterson, co-founder of the Foresight Institute, talks with our hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon about her ongoing work exploring and educating the public about coming powerful technologies, including nanotechnology and related technologies. Are we witnessing the dawn of a new industrial revolution? If so, how will it impact the economy, the environment, and our day-to-day lives? Topics Defining nanotechnologyThe end of the nanotechnology debateA new industrial revolution?Nanotechnology and space explorationNanotechnology and medicineThe relationship between nanotechnology, open source software, and artificial intelligenceThe Foresight Institute Vision Weekend About our guest Christine writes, lectures, and briefs the media on world transforming technologies. She is the Co-Founder and former President of Foresight Institute, the leading nanotech public interest group. Foresight educates the public, technical community, and policymakers on nanotechnology and its long-term effects. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, and has served on California's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology and the Editorial Advisory Board of NASA's Nanotech Briefs. She has directed numerous Foresight Conferences on Molecular Nanotechnology, organized Foresight Institute Feynman Prizes, and chaired Foresight Vision Weekends. Learn more About the Foresight Institute About the Foresight Vision Weekend Music: www.bensound.com FF 002-676

Visitors and Messages from the Stars Nov 03, 2017

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Phil and Stephen discuss remarkable recent discoveries related to space. Citizen scientist spots comet tails streaking past distant star Citizen scientist Thomas Jacobs was the first to spot tell-tale signs that a comet was orbiting a distant star monitored by the Kepler Space Observatory. Professor Saul Rappaport (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; MIT) and his team then collaborated with Jacobs to report the discovery in new research published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Mysterious object from deep space has entered the solar system Most objects orbiting our Sun do so along a common plane: the planets, dwarf planets and asteroids mostly swing around in roughly the same way. This one appears to have come down on the plane from 122 degrees, from the direction of the star Vega, in the constellation Lyra. And its path did not indicate the curved ellipse typical of clockwork-like returning comets. Reports of spectacular UFO - a giant glowing ball lighting the sky - in Siberia Strange messages coming from the stars are ‘probably’ from aliens, scientists say What Lies Beyond The Edge Of The Observable Universe? GEEKOUT Stranger Things (seasons 1&2) WT 365-675

IQ 10,000 Nov 01, 2017

Show notes

Following up on Monday’s show, Phil and Stephen explore the possibilities embedded in this recent prediction: Billionaire CEO of SoftBank: Robots will have an IQ of 10,000 in 30 years In about 30 years, artificial intelligence will have an IQ of 10,000, Son says. By comparison, the average human IQ is 100 and genius is 200, according to Son. Mensa, "the High IQ society," starts accepting members with an IQ score of 130. Assuming the average person has an IQ of 100, Masayoshi Son is predicting that computers will be 100 times smarter than we are. What will we do with that kind of mental capability (assuming we’re still calling the shots?) Phil and Stephen discuss some problems that might benefit from 100X human intelligence: Anti-aging medicine This kind of thing: To Stay Young, Kill Zombie Cells An anti-aging strategy that works in mice is about to be tested in humansWorld hunger 20 years ago, 1 billion hungry people Today, 1 billion hungry people Lots of glib “solutions,” but the problem persists Do we need some smarter thinking Getting to true atomically precise manufacturing The transition from an employment economy to a post-scarcity Or maybe just plain making everybody rich? Flying cars Or is this all ultimately a dystopian idea? Join us. And leave a comment -- what problem would you put 100X human intelligence on? WT 365-675

Citizen Robot Oct 31, 2017

Show notes

Phil and Stephen review recent developments related to robotics and artificial intelligence. Meet the first-ever robot citizen — a humanoid named Sophia that once said it would 'destroy humans' Sophia the robot might not have a heart or brain, but it does have Saudi Arabian citizenship. As of October 25, Sophia is the first robot in history to be a full citizen of a country. If we had general intelligence at the level of a rat then the Singularity would be very near If we had a general intelligence with the capabilities of a rat then it would three times beyond the goals of the European Human Brain Project with its mouse models and would be a matter of scaling the neurons and the solution by 400 times. Peter Diamandis Thinks We’re Evolving Toward “Meta-Intelligence” The story, in a nutshell, is this—early prokaryotic life appears about 3.5 billion years ago (bya), representing perhaps a symbiosis of separate metabolic and replicative mechanisms of “life;” at 2.5 bya, eukaryotes emerge as composite organisms incorporating biological “technology” (other living things) within themselves; Billionaire CEO of SoftBank: Robots will have an IQ of 10,000 in 30 years In about 30 years, artificial intelligence will have an IQ of 10,000, Son says. By comparison, the average human IQ is 100 and genius is 200, according to Son. Mensa, "the High IQ society," starts accepting members with an IQ score of 130. WT 364-674

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