Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Science is learning from start-ups (with Adam Marblestone)

May 15, 2023

01:13:39

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Highlights

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Episode notes

Innovative Ideas for Improving Science and Focused Research Organizations

00:47

The Role of FROs in Bridging the Gap in Scientific Projects

00:38

The Ethics and Possibility of Cryonics in Cryobiology

00:38

Introduction

2min

The Structure of Science Today

3min

The Monolithic Focus of Brain Mapping

2min

The FROB's Concrete Objectives

4min

The Importance of Startups in Micro-Vengineering

2min

How Deep Tech Companies Can Apply to Fusion Research

4min

The Importance of FROs in Scientific Projects

2min

The Future of Philanthropy

2min

The Future of FROs

2min

10.

How FROs Shift Incentives Relative to Academia

5min

11.

The Importance of a Time Limited FRO

3min

12.

The Different Roles of a FRO

2min

13.

How to Make Science Better Through Building Fields

4min

14.

How to Build a Better Field

6min

15.

The Problem With Speculative Science

3min

16.

The Role of Hypothesis Free Technology in Alzheimer's Treatment

2min

17.

The Role of Quantum Effects in Brain Disorder

2min

18.

The Role of the Government in Building a Field

4min

19.

The Implications of Large Language Models

4min

20.

AI and the Future of Science

3min

21.

Automated Theorem Proving for Scientific Problems

4min

22.

AI and Theorem Proving

4min

23.

How to Optimize Your Twitter Recommendations

3min

24.

The Importance of Machine Learning in a Machine Learning Environment

2min

25.

How to Motivate Students to Learn What They're Learning

2min

Read the full transcript here.

What are focused research organizations? Which kinds of research projects lend themselves to the FRO model? Researchers in academia frequently complain about the incentive structures around funding and publishing; so how do FROs change those dynamics? Why must FROs be time-limited, especially if they're successful? Who's in charge in an FRO? How does "field-building" help to improve science? What effects might large language models have on science?

Adam Marblestone is the CEO of Convergent Research. He's been launching Focused Research Organizations (FROs) such as E11 bio and Cultivarium. He also serves on the boards of several non-profits pursuing new methods of funding and organizing scientific research including Norn Group and New Science. Previously, he was a Schmidt Futures Innovation Fellow, a consultant for the Astera Institute, a Fellow with the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a research scientist at Google DeepMind, Chief Strategy Officer of the brain-computer interface company Kernel, a research scientist at MIT, a PhD student in biophysics with George Church and colleagues at Harvard, and a theoretical physics student at Yale. He also previously helped to start companies like BioBright and advised foundations such as the Open Philanthropy Project. His work has been recognized with a Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35 Award (2018), a Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship (2010), and a Goldwater Scholarship (2008). Learn more about him at adammarblestone.org.

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