This Thursday I interviewed David Orban for Singularity 1 on 1.

I have to admit that David is one of my favorite singularitarians and I enjoyed talking to him immensely. During our conversation we discuss issues such as: David’s personal background and early interest in science and technology; the motivation and goals behind his work; his involvement in Singularity University; his take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it; religion, death and life extension technology; the internet of things; the role of technology in liberating humanity; the value of human-centered communication; Ted Kaczynski‘s arguments against technological progress; why communicating through on-line videos is so popular and powerful.

Hope you enjoy watching the interview as much as I enjoyed talking to David!

Who is David Orban?

David Orban is an entrepreneur and visionary, and is the CEO of dotSUB, the leading technology and services provider powering video viewing via captions and translations as subtitles in any language to increase access, engagement and global reach, based in New York City.

David is also a Lecturer of, and Advisor to Singularity University, an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges.

He is the was Chairman, and is on the Board of Directors of Humanity+, an organization dedicated to promoting understanding, interest, and participation in fields of emerging innovation. H+ represents a growing movement of people willing to work proactively to benefit the human condition through a commitment to scientific advancement.

He is also a Founder of WideTag, a high technology start-up company providing the infrastructure for an open Internet of Things. David shapes the strategic vision of its technologies by developing the policies and communication steps necessary to enable constructive progress.

David is Co-Founder of Startupbusiness, a social network aimed at enabling the Italian startup ecosystem. Startupbusiness is a spin-off of Questar, an Italian software publishing and distribution company, of which David is the Founder. Questar aims to enhance channel oriented electronic software distribution services, making them available to developers worldwide.

He is further a Scientific Advisory Board Member for the Lifeboat Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging scientific advancements while helping humanity survive existential risks. The Foundation creates mechanisms to discourage the misuse of increasingly powerful technologies such as nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.

David is also a Founder of the Open Government Data working group. The group promotes a more robust understanding of why open government data is essential to democracy. The group utilizes increased civil discourse in order to make Government more effective, transparent, and relevant to our lives.

His educational background includes studies in Physics at both the University of Milan and the University of Padua.

David cuts across the limits of deep specialization to contribute to the new renaissance. He explains, “My vision is at the crossroads of technology and society as defined by their co-evolution.”

David Orban’s personal motto is, “What is the question I should be asking?” This concept is his vehicle to accelerating cycles of invention and innovation in order to build the new world ahead.

David Orban on the Singularity: What is the question I should be asking?

Singularity.FM is the first and best known singularity podcast - the place where we interview the future. 

Singularity.FM is a series of singularity podcast interviews with the best scientists, writers, entrepreneurs, film-makers, philosophers and artists, debating issues such as the technological singularity, transhumanism, artificial intelligence, life-extension and ethics.

Past guests of this singularity podcast include people such as Ray Kurzweil, Peter Diamandis, Noam Chomsky, Stuart Hameroff, Marvin Minsky, Aubrey de Grey, Max More, Michio Kaku, Vernor Vinge, Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross and many, many others.