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The Foresight Institute Podcast

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Nov 19, 2021 • 1h 10min

Lee Cronin | The First Programmable Turing Complete Chemical Computer

“The mission of our lab is to make a new life form. We want to digitize chemistry, we want to build chemical computers.”Lee Cronin,  a professor at the University of Glasgow, was born in the UK and was fascinated with science and technology from an early age getting his first computer and chemistry set when he was 8 years old. In this episode, he explains the Chemputer – a universally programmable device for synthesizing any molecule.  Development is ongoing and proof of concept has been achieved for several molecules.  He estimates that with the right components, it is capable of performing 95% of all organic chemical synthesis.Music:I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100199Artist: http://incompetech.com/Remarks: The length of this recording has been altered. Session Summary: The First Programmable Turing Complete Chemical Computer | Lee Cronin, University of Glasgow - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 12, 2021 • 15min

Kate Sills | NFTs and Engineering Property Rights

“Why is property law so different from contract law? Normally, when two parties buy or sell something, it doesn't have a huge negative effect on everyone else.“Kate Sills is a software engineer with an interest in economics and law. She has been a columnist for the Cato Institute and was previously a board member of the Tezos Commons Foundation. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in Computer Science.How can we create a blockchain-based system for property rights? This is what Kate Sills, a software engineer with an interest in economics and law, talks about in this episode of the podcast. Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100199Artist: http://incompetech.com/Remarks: The length of this recording has been altered. Session Summary: NFTs and Engineering Property Rights | Kate Sills, Agoric - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Nov 5, 2021 • 36min

Peter Norvig | A Modern Approach to AI

“I look at these assistants that we have today which are very primitive like Siri, Alexa and Google. But it's really interesting, because they represent a phase change in operating systems.”Peter Norvig is a Director of Research at Google Inc. Previously he was head of Google’s core search algorithms group, and of NASA Ames’s Computational Sciences Division, making him NASA’s senior computer scientist. He received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award in 2001. In this episode, Peter Norvig speaks about how we can have a more modern approach to AI. Norvig starts with the history of the textbook.  In 1990, the textbooks were subpar.  AI was changing in three ways – moving from logic to probability, from hand coded knowledge to machine learning, and from duplicating human systems toward normative systems that got the best answer no matter what.  After leaving Berkeley to go to Sun, he helped write a new textbook about AI. Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Session Summary: Peter Norvig, Google | Ai: A Modern Approach - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 29, 2021 • 20min

Brewster Kahle | Locking the Web Open

"Can we make journalism that is safe to write and safe to read? Can we have publishing that is along the lines of the original visions of the internet?"How can we improve the reliability and privacy of our internet today?Brewster Kahle is an American computer engineer and Internet entrepreneur, and advocate of universal access to all knowledge. Kahle founded the Internet Archive and Alexa. He has also been inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.In this episode, Brewster Kahle, founder of The Internet Archive, advocates for a more decentralized internet by having a peer-to-peer backend of the internet. This could help us improve the state of the internet today, both in terms of privacy and reliability. Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Session Summary: Brewster Kahle | Locking the Web Open | VISION WEEKEND 2019 - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 22, 2021 • 1h 1min

Adam Marblestone & Ben Reinhardt | FRO & PARPA: Innovating in Scientific Innovation

“The goal is to work on coordinated research programs that are a little bit too research for startups and too engineering coordination heavy for academia.”Adam Marblestone is a Schmidt Futures Innovation Fellow and a Senior Fellow with the Federation of American Scientists. He was a research scientist at Google DeepMind, was the Chief Strategy Officer of the brain-computer interface company Kernel, and co-founded BioBright LLC.Ben Reinhardt is setting up a private ARPA (www.benjaminreinhardt.com/parpa-2-pager) to go after things that are too “researchy” for startups, too engineering-heavy for academia, and too weird for the government. In the past, he was an EIR at Entrepreneur First in Singapore where he helped ambitious people build teams and companies.  Writing:Adam Marblestone on FRO: https://www.dayoneproject.org/post/focused-research-organizations-to-accelerate-science-technology-and-medicineBen Reinhardt on PARPA: https://benjaminreinhardt.com/parpa-2-pager.pdfSession Summary: Adam Marblestone & Ben Reinhardt | FRO & PARPA: Innovating in Scientific InnovationThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in-person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 15, 2021 • 55min

Toby Ord | Existential Risk and Existential Hope

“There's heaps of futures open to humanity. Some of these futures would be constrained to earth, some might involve other planets, star systems or galaxies.”Toby Ord is a Senior Research Fellow in Philosophy at Oxford University. His work focuses on the big picture questions facing humanity. What are the most important issues of our time? How can we best address them? His current research is on the long term future of humanity, and the risks which threaten to destroy our entire potential. His book, The Precipice: Existential Risk and The Future of Humanity, explores these topics and concludes that safeguarding our future is among the most pressing and neglected issues we face. Toby also co-wrote the paper that introduced the term “Existential Hope”. Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Session Summary: Toby Ord, Allison Duettmann – Existential Risk and Existential Hope - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 8, 2021 • 40min

Mark S. Miller | Civilization as relevant superintelligence

Mark S. Miller discusses civilization as relevant superintelligence, the importance and neglectedness of cybersecurity, and decentralized approaches to AI safety.  Even if we don't know yet how to align Artificial General Intelligences with our goals, we do have experience in aligning organizations with our goals. Some argue corporations are in fact Artificial Intelligences - legally at least we treat them as persons already.Mark S. Miller is Chief Scientist at Agoric, and a pioneer of agoric (market-based secure distributed) computing and smart contracts, the main designer of the E and Dr. SES distributed persistent object-capability programming languages, inventor of Miller Columns, an architect of the Xanadu hypertext publishing system, a representative to the EcmaScript committee, a former Google research scientist and member of the WebAssembly (Wasm) group. Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Session Summary: Civilization as relevant superintelligence – Mark S. Miller - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Oct 1, 2021 • 15min

Christine Peterson | Meatspace & Cyberspace: How Can We Get the Best of Both

“The reality is some people would like to be uploaded and live in cyberspace.”Meatspace and cyberspace often conflict. But how can we make the best out of both of them?This episode features Christine Peterson, she is Co-founder and former President of Foresight Institute. She lectures and writes about nanotechnology, AI, and longevity. She advises the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Global Healthspan Policy Institute, National Space Society, startup Ligandal, and the Voice & Exit conference. She coined the term ‘open source software.’ She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from MIT.If you enjoy what we do please support us via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/foresightinstitute. If you are interested in joining these meetings consider donating through our donation page: https://foresight.org/donate/   Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Session Summary: Christine Peterson | Meatspace & Cyberspace: How Can We Get the Best of Both | VISION WEEKEND 2019 - Foresight InstituteThe 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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sep 24, 2021 • 44min

Trent McConaghy, Peter Schlecht, Jessy Kate Schingler | AI DAO's, Brain Computer Interfaces, & Lunar Governance

What are AI DAO’s? Why are they interesting? How can brain computer interfaces help humans? And what challenges will we face when we move into space? All of these questions and more are being answered in this episode that was recorded live at the first ever Foresight gathering in Europe, Berlin.The panel consists of: Jessy Kate Schingler, Open LunarPeter Schlecht, BrainGradeTrent McConaghy, Ocean ProtocolSession Summary: Jessy Kate Schingler, Peter Schlecht, and Trent McConaghy | Foresight’s first Europe Gathering - Foresight Institute If you enjoy what we do please support us via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/foresightinstitute. If you are interested in joining these meetings consider donating through our donation page: https://foresight.org/donate/   Music: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sep 17, 2021 • 36min

Emil Kendziorra, Tyler Golato, Paul Kolhaas, Ole Mensching | Longevity + Cryonics + Crypto

Why does signing up to cryonics today make sense? What are people not getting about longevity? And how can the crypto community and the longevity community work together? All of these questions and more are being answered in this episode that was recorded live at the first ever Foresight gathering in Europe, Berlin.The panel consists of: Dr. Ole Mensching, Apollo VCTyler Golato, VitaDAOPaul Kolhaas, VitaDAOEmil Kendziorra, Tomorrow BiostasisSession Summary: Dr. Ole Mensching, Tyler Golato, Paul Kolhaas, Emil Kendziorra | Foresight’s first Europe Gathering - Foresight InstituteMusic: I Knew a Guy by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Danse Morialta by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/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. Apply to Foresight’s virtual salons and in person workshops here!We are entirely funded by your donations. If you enjoy what we do please consider donating through our donation page.Visit our website for more content, or join us here:TwitterFacebookLinkedInEvery word ever spoken on this podcast is now AI-searchable using Fathom.fm, a search engine for podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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