From DNA to Star Trek: Samuel Arbesman on Reconciling Science with Tradition, Building Personalized “Sims” for Your Body, and What it Means to be a Scientist in VC

On this episode of Invested, Michael hosts Samuel Arbesman, the Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital. In addition, he is an xLab senior fellow at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and a research fellow at the Long Now Foundation. He is the author of The Magic of Code, Overcomplicated, and The Half-Life of Facts, and his writing has appeared in such places as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and Wired, where he was previously a contributing writer. He lives in Cleveland with his family. The first computer he used was a Commodore VIC-20.

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KEY TOPICS 

00:00:00 The Intersection of AI and Creativity 00:03:11 What it Means to Be a Scientist in VC 00:05:55 The Frontier of Computation and Biology 00:08:51 Biology as a New Computing Paradigm 00:11:45 The Future of Personalized Simulations 00:15:10 Applying Complexity Science 00:17:49 Sci-Fi Ideas in Biotechnology 00:21:07 Ethics of Biohacking and Human Enhancement 00:24:14 Humility and Personal Values in Science 00:36:57 Embracing Uncertainty in Knowledge 00:39:20 The Power of Incremental Progress 00:40:38 Learning from History and Tradition 00:43:59 Reconciling Science with Tradition 00:46:01 The Role of Community in Modern Life 00:48:41 Individualism vs. Community in Tech 00:50:06 Cultural Foundations in Tech Development 00:57:09 AI: Evolution or Revolution? 01:03:06 Finding Meaning in a Post-Scarcity World

RESOURCES

Follow Samuel on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/arbesman/ 

Follow Samuel on X  - https://x.com/arbesman 

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CREDITS

Executive Producer: Erica Marom 

Producer: Myron Shneider, Yoni Mayer

Video and Editing: Ron Baranov

Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar 

Content and Editorial: Kira Goldring

Design: Rony Karadi