Singularity

Bold - INTRODUCTION & CHAP 1

Last week I interviewed Sonia Arrison for Singularity 1 on 1.

I met Sonia at the Singularity University, where she is a founder and a trustee, and there I picked up a copy of her seminal book 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, from Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith. The book is very well researched and deals with the most profound implications of life-extension and super-longevity. In the author’s own words, the main question is: “how long science will extend our lives and how that in turn will change our ecological, social, and religious worlds.”

During our conversation with Sonia we discuss issues such as: how and why she got interested in technology in general and transhumanism and regenerative medicine in particular; how science and technology will allow us to live longer and healthier lives; the most common objections against increased longevity; the implications thereof on major religions; cryonics; Sonia’s take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it; the fact that we cannot simply sit down and wait for longevity to happen.

Sonia Arrison: Make Regenerative Medicine A Top Priority

This week I interviewed Greg Wientjes for Singularity 1 on 1.

I met Greg at Singularity University and picked up a copy of his book Creative Genius in Technology: Mentor Principles from Life Stories of Geniuses and Visionaries of the Singularity.

The book is very well researched and examines the question: “How do you mentor, educate and cultivate the development of individuals with high potential for technology innovation and advancement?”

It is based on Greg’s conversations with some of the most influential people in technology for the past three decades. People such as: Vint Cerf, Bob Kahn, Ray Kurzweil, Bob Metcalfe, Doug Osheroff, Bill Joy, Tim Berners-Lee, Hector Cargia-Molina, James Leckie, Ernesto Sanches-Tirana, Rita Colwell, Ann Graybiel, Joanne Stubbe and Mildred Dresselhaus.

The result is Greg’s GENIUS theory:

G – Give encouragement, validation and self-confidence to the genius. “You can do it!”

E – Energize the genius to explore and experiment in engineering  and science discovery at an early age. Learn by doing.

N – Nurture creative new ideas through ‘play’ and providing the genius with an abundance of educational resources. Love learning. 

I – Inspire through role modeling and mentoring. Set the example.

U – Utilize unexpected events as opportunities for serendipitous benefit, and adapt; encourage the genius to do the same. Ride the wave.

S – Stimulate the genius to solve problems of practical importance and create beneficial technology solutions. Invent.

***

So, what is my favorite point from Creative Genius in Technology?!

“You Can Do It!”

Who is Greg Wientjes?

Greg Wientjes, Ph.D., was awarded his Stanford doctoral degree (Developmental and Psychological Sciences) in 2010.  Wientjes attended Singularity University (2009), which was cofounded by technology genius, Ray Kurzweil, and that experience served as the inspiration for this book.  Dr. Wientjes completed his Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering (2006) and his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics (2004), both from Stanford.

Greg Wientjes: How do you cultivate GENIUS in technology?

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?

A couple of days ago I interviewed David Simpson for Singularity 1 on 1.

David Simpson is a young up-and-coming science fiction writer from Vancouver. He is the author of the sci-fi novels Post-Human – his 2009 debut, as well as Trans-Human – the sequel.

During our conversation we discuss issues such as: David’s early interest in writing; the motivation and goals behind his work; the relationship between science fiction and technology; his favorite science fiction authors; his current and future books as well as the meaning behind their titles.

Who is David Simpson?

David Simpson is the author of the sci-fi novel Post-Human, his 2009 debut, as well as Trans-Human – the sequel. He is also the author of The God Killers, which is his first sci-fi/horror novel.

David has recently taken the unusual step of re-publishing his books as Kindle ebooks so that he could offer them at extremely low prices, eliminating the overpricing caused by having a traditional publisher. He believes that this is a necessary and positive transition, as the technology that has dictated the practices of the publishing industry – paper books, is rapidly being replaced by ebooks.

Post-Human is available for free on his website. (To get a free copy click here)

Trans-Human and The God Killers are available from Amazon.com for only 99 cents each.

David has a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of British Columbia and is the winner of over a dozen awards and scholarships, both as a student and as a Teacher at the university level.

He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in West Vancouver British Columbia.

David Simpson on Post-Human, Trans-Human and The God Killers

It is only fair that every once-in-a-while Socrates – i.e. “the man with the questions,” ought to get the table turned on him, take the other side of the microphone and answer a few questions himself.

So, when Cameron Reilly asked me to be the next guest on his popular and long-running No Illusions Podcast I was honored and agreed without hesitation.

In 2004 Cameron co-founded the Podcast Network – Australia’s first social media company, which he built into one of the largest independent Australian media sites. In 2007, Reilly was called one of the “40 Biggest Players Of Australia’s Digital Age.” Currently he is a regular speaker on issues surrounding social media, social networking and the future of media in addition to consulting for a number of Brisbane-based companies as their digital strategist.

During my conversation with Cameron we discuss issues such as: my personal history and being born Bulgarian; Canada, Toronto and becoming Canadian; my take on the concept and definition of the technological singularity; the Rapture of the Nerds criticism; the scientific method, science and religion; Moore’s Law; nanotechnology; the potential for dividing humanity into technophile transhumanists and technophobe neo-luddites and all out global war between these two fractions; the pro’s and con’s of being skeptical and using the Socratic method of inquiry.

No Illusions Podcast: Cameron Reilly Puts Socrates in the Spotlight

A couple of months ago I interviewed Rachel Haywire for Singularity 1 on 1. I had some dificulties in posting this interivew but, since those were eventually resolved, better late than never…

Rachel Haywire is a multi-media artist and writer currently residing in Los Angeles, California. She is the founder of The Human 2.0 Council which is a Transhumanist network of artists and students on the edge of society and media.

Known for bridging the gap between the counterculture and academia she founded the Extreme Futurist Festival which is a 2 day entertainment and tech convention focusing on radical performers and voices of the new evolution.

Rachel is known as an “antisocial media coach” and considered a leading voice in digital media. She is credited for bringing DIY Transhumanism into the mainstream.

I have to admit that I worked for 10 hours before my interview with Rachel and was totally wasted by the time we started. Thus I began our conversation a bit low on energy but was quickly energized by her willingness to share frankly some of her very personal struggles and limitations.

In addition, during the interview we discuss issues such as: what does it mean to be “anti-social media coach”‘; how Rachel got interested in transhumanism and issues surrounding the technological singularity; the difference between transhumanism and cyber-punk; being an extreme futurist and organizing the Extreme Future Fest; the early Italian futurists such as Marinetti and their fascist inclinations; women in transhumanism; DIY synthetic biology, human enhancement and bio-hacking; the risks of early adopters; flying as the ultimate freedom; Rachel’s appreciation for ballet and love of dance in general; neuro-diversity; artificial intelligence and others.

My favorite quote from Rachel (apart from the title) is:

“Just because you are smart, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be cultured. And just because you are cultured it doesn’t mean that you can’t be smart. There is intelligence and there is artistic merit, and those two things should, can and do exist at the same time.”

Rachel Haywire: Art is Intellectual and the Intellect is Artistic

Singularity University is not about the singularity and is not even a university. It is not about abundance and is not an exponential organization.

Then what is Singularity University about?!

Those are the claims I made and the questions I asked, and tried to address, during my recent presentation at a local meetup organized by Singularity University in the Netherlands. Check it out and judge for yourself.

You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/socrates-deconstructs-singularity-university/

The Emperor Has No Clothes: Socrates Deconstructs Singularity University

Small Gods

Nikola Danaylov Author of Conversations with the Future,Insights from Interviewing 200+ Tech Leaders

💫✨Always Another Way Podcast ✨💫
✨💫Ep: 32 The World is Transformed by Asking Questions. With Nikola Danaylov, The Modern Day Socrates.

You don’t know what you don’t know and if you don’t ask the question, the answer is always no.

At the very least, you’ll walk away from this podcast smarter than you are today.

Don’t miss my conversation with Nikola. July 26 at 1pm CST. On Always Another Way Podcast Tell your friends. Let’s transform the world.

Nikola Danaylov is an Author, Futurist and Speaker. His Conversations with the Future is an International Bestseller and his popular Singularity.FM podcast is the reason why Danaylov has been called the “Larry King of the Singularity.”

Ep: 32 The World is Transformed by Asking Questions with Nikola Danaylov

This piece is published as part of the collection of 'Letters 
to the Earth', by HarperCollins - a collection of writings in response to
planetary crisis.

We Are In The Underworld And We Haven't Figured It Out Yet

Maria Farrell is the author of some of my most favorite op-ed pieces of 2020. She is very smart, gutsy, genuine, feisty, generous, and Irish. Her writing is sharper, it penetrates deeper and she’s not afraid to go further than most others. I have already learned a lot from her and have become a total fan. So it was a blast to have her on my podcast and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did.

During this 2.5-hour interview with Maria Farrell, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: why she is a reader who eventually became a writer for crooked timber and elsewhere; the image and mythology of Conor McGregor as the Fighting Irish; the biggest issues that humanity is facing today;  stories as tools we think with; futurism as an interest of those happy with the present; what Feminism can teach us about our smartphones; how China is selling Autocracy as a service; why the internet must be more than Facebook; whether technology is a magnifying mirror; the importance and impact of story; why I wasn’t welcome at Google and CISCO; Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History; why the Agrarian Revolution is history’s greatest fraud; the Prodical Techbro phenomenon; my interview with Tristan Harris; the Tragedy of the Commons as a false narrative; why no one is coming to save us from ourselves.

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Singularity.FM

Maria Farrell on Technology, Ethics, Stories and the Prodigal Techbro

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.

Rachel Haywire: Art is Intellectual and the Intellect is Artistic

Singularity.FM

Related tracks