Chiara Marletto is a physicist at Oxford University, and the author of the book “The Science of Can and Can’t”, where she writes about the concept of counterfactuals and constructor theory.

This is a new and different approach to physics where the idea is that the physics most of us are familiar with is mirrored in a way that is very limited. There is a large class of things that science has neglected, and according to this theory, there are questions of what is and isn’t possible, which could provide scientific explanations to many questions in the long run.

Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: Chiara Marletto | The Science of Can & Can’t (existentialhope.com)

Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future, so that we can have more people commit to the creation of a brighter future, and to start mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Find all previous podcast episodes here, always featuring a full transcript, artwork inspired by the episode, and a list of recommended resources from the podcast. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project. 

The Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.

Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees, and shares this work with the public. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. 

Beatrice Erkers is Chief of Operations at Foresight Institute and program manager of the Existential Hope group. She has a background in the publishing industry and has several years of experience working with communication at Foresight and at a publishing house. 

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