London Futurists
London Futurists
Anticipating and managing exponential impact - hosts David Wood and Calum ChaceCalum Chace is a sought-after keynote speaker and best-selling writer on artificial intelligence. He focuses on the medium- and long-term impact of AI on all of us, our societies and our economies. He advises companies and governments on AI policy.His non-fiction books on AI are Surviving AI, about superintelligence, and The Economic Singularity, about the future of jobs. Both are now in their third editions.He also wrote Pandora's Brain and Pandora’s Oracle, a pair of techno-thrillers about the first superintelligence. He is a regular contributor to magazines, newspapers, and radio.In the last decade, Calum has given over 150 talks in 20 countries on six continents. Videos of his talks, and lots of other materials are available at https://calumchace.com/.He is co-founder of a think tank focused on the future of jobs, called the Economic Singularity Foundation. The Foundation has published Stories from 2045, a collection of short stories written by its members.Before becoming a full-time writer and speaker, Calum had a 30-year career in journalism and in business, as a marketer, a strategy consultant and a CEO. He studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University, which confirmed his suspicion that science fiction is actually philosophy in fancy dress.David Wood is Chair of London Futurists, and is the author or lead editor of twelve books about the future, including The Singularity Principles, Vital Foresight, The Abolition of Aging, Smartphones and Beyond, and Sustainable Superabundance.He is also principal of the independent futurist consultancy and publisher Delta Wisdom, executive director of the Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) Foundation, Foresight Advisor at SingularityNET, and a board director at the IEET (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies). He regularly gives keynote talks around the world on how to prepare for radical disruption. See https://deltawisdom.com/.As a pioneer of the mobile computing and smartphone industry, he co-founded Symbian in 1998. By 2012, software written by his teams had been included as the operating system on 500 million smartphones.From 2010 to 2013, he was Technology Planning Lead (CTO) of Accenture Mobility, where he also co-led Accenture’s Mobility Health business initiative.Has an MA in Mathematics from Cambridge, where he also undertook doctoral research in the Philosophy of Science, and a DSc from the University of Westminster.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 16, 2024 • 41min
The economic case for a second longevity revolution, with Andrew Scott
The public discussion in a number of countries around the world expresses worries about what is called an aging society. These countries anticipate a future with fewer younger people who are active members of the economy, and a growing number of older people who need to be supported by the people still in the workforce. It’s an inversion of the usual demographic pyramid, with less at the bottom, and more at the top.However, our guest in this episode recommends a different framing of the future – not as an aging society, but as a longevity society, or even an evergreen society. He is Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics at the London Business School. His other roles include being a Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, and a consulting scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Longevity.Andrew’s latest book is entitled “The Longevity Imperative: Building a Better Society for Healthier, Longer Lives”. Commendations for the book include this from the political economist Daron Acemoglu, “A must-read book with an important message and many lessons”, and this from the historian Niall Ferguson, “Persuasive, uplifting and wise”. Selected follow-ups:Personal website of Andrew ScottAndrew Scott at the London Business SchoolThe book The Longevity Imperative: How to Build a Healthier and More Productive Society to Support Our Longer LivesLongevity, the 56 trillion dollar opportunity, with Andrew Scott - episode 40 in this seriesPopulation Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100Thomas Robert Malthus - WikipediaDALYs (Disability-adjusted life years) and QALYs (Quality-adjusted life years) - WikipediaVSL (Value of Statistical Life) - WikipediaThe economic value of targeting aging - paper in Nature Aging, co-authored by Andrew Scott, Martin Ellison, and David SinclairA great-grandfather from Merseyside has become the world's oldest living man - BBC, 5th April 2024Related quotations:Aging is "...revealed and made manifest only by the most unnatural experiment of prolonging an animal's life by sheltering it from the hazards of its ordinary existence" - Peter Medawar, 1951"To die of old age is a death rare, extraordinary, and singular, and, therefore, so much less natural than the others; ’tis the last and extremest sort of dying: and the more remote, the less to be hoped for" - Michel de Montaigne, 1580Music: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration
May 7, 2024 • 46min
Can AI be conscious? with Nicholas Humphrey
Nicholas Humphrey, renowned Psychology Professor, debates AI consciousness in 'Sentience: The Invention of Consciousness'. Topics include qualia, blindsight in animals, and machines mimicking consciousness. Discussion on the evolution of AI consciousness, ethical implications, and boundaries of human consciousness.
Apr 21, 2024 • 41min
Progress with ending aging, with Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey de Grey discusses progress with ending aging, from strategies to repair damage to the RMR project's interventions in middle-aged mice. He also explores a mouse experiment for life extension, advancements in longevity research, and the X-prize HealthSpan award for rejuvenation research.
Apr 13, 2024 • 44min
What’s it like to be an AI, with Anil Seth
As artificial intelligence models become increasingly powerful, they both raise - and might help to answer - some very important questions about one of the most intriguing, fascinating aspects of our lives, namely consciousness.It is possible that in the coming years or decades, we will create conscious machines. If we do so without realising it, we might end up enslaving them, torturing them, and killing them over and over again. This is known as mind crime, and we must avoid it.It is also possible that very powerful AI systems will enable us to understand what our consciousness is, how it arises, and even how to manage it – if we want to do that.Our guest today is the ideal guide to help us explore the knotty issue of consciousness. Anil Seth is professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex. He is amongst the most cited scholars on the topics of neuroscience and cognitive science globally, and a regular contributor to newspapers and TV programmes.His most recent book was published in 2021, and is called “Being You – a new science of consciousness”.The first question sets the scene for the conversation that follows: "In your book, you conclude that consciousness may well only occur in living creatures. You say 'it is life, rather than information processing, that breathes the fire into the equations.' What made you conclude that?"Selected follow-ups:Anil Seth's websiteBooks by Anil Seth, including Being YouConsciousness in humans and other things - presentation by Anil Seth at The Royal Society, March 2024Is consciousness more like chess or the weather? - an interview with Anil SethAutopoiesis - Wikipedia article about the concept introduced by Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela Akinetic mutism, WikipediaCerebral organoid (Brain organoid), WikipediaAI Scientists: Safe and Useful AI? - by Yoshua Bengio, on AIs as oraclesEx Machina (2014 film, written and directed by Alex Garland)The Conscious Electromagnetic Information (Cemi) Field Theory by Johnjoe McFaddenThe Electromagnetic Field Theory of Consciousness by Susan PockettMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration
Apr 4, 2024 • 38min
Regulating Big Tech, with Adam Kovacevich
Adam Kovacevich, Founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, discusses the Apple lawsuit, tech regulation, antitrust issues, AI advancements, and autonomous vehicles vs AI tools in the transportation industry.
Mar 29, 2024 • 42min
The case for brain preservation, with Kenneth Hayworth
In this episode, we are delving into the fascinating topic of mind uploading. We suspect this idea is about to explode into public consciousness, because Nick Bostrom has a new book out shortly called “Deep Utopia”, which addresses what happens if superintelligence arrives and everything goes well. It was Bostrom’s last book, “Superintelligence”, that ignited the great robot freak-out of 2015.Our guest is Dr Kenneth Hayworth, a Senior Scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Janelia is probably America’s leading research institution in the field of connectomics – the precise mapping of the neurons in the human brain.Kenneth is a co-inventor of a process for imaging neural circuits at the nanometre scale, and he has designed and built several automated machines to do it. He is currently researching ways to extend Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging of brain tissue to encompass much larger volumes than are currently possible.Along with John Smart, Kenneth co-founded the Brain Preservation Foundation in 2010, a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting research in the field of whole brain preservation.During the conversation, Kenneth made a strong case for putting more focus on preserving human brains via a process known as aldehyde fixation, as a way of enabling people to be uploaded in due course into new bodies. He also issued a call for action by members of the global cryonics community.Selected follow-ups:Kenneth HayworthThe Brain Preservation FoundationAn essay by Kenneth Hayworth: Killed by Bad PhilosophyThe short story Psychological Counseling for First-time Teletransport Users (PDF)21st Century MedicineJanelia Research CampusMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration
Mar 22, 2024 • 35min
AGI alignment: the case for hope, with Lou de K
Lou de K, Program Director at Foresight Institute, discusses challenges and optimism of AGI alignment. Topics include risks, societal impact, decentralized science, and alternative governance structures in the AI landscape.
Mar 15, 2024 • 42min
The Political Singularity and a Worthy Successor, with Daniel Faggella
Daniel Faggella, Head of Research at Emerj, discusses the Intelligence Trajectory Political Matrix, exploring diverse AI future visions. Topics include the Political Singularity, criteria for a 'worthy successor' AI, and the governance of superintelligence. The conversation delves into the complex future of AI, societal values alignment, and human-machine integration.
Mar 7, 2024 • 47min
The Longevity Singularity, with Daniel Ives
Discussing the field of epigenetic aging and the potential for reversing biological aging through innovative techniques. Exploring the use of AI transformer models to accelerate research. Delving into gene therapy for cellular rejuvenation and the implications of longevity singularity on society and politics.
Feb 21, 2024 • 39min
Where are all the Dyson spheres? with Paul Sutter
NASA advisor and cosmologist Paul Sutter discusses the concept of Dyson spheres, harnessing solar power, future human evolution, and the role of science communication in shaping our society. The conversation delves into the energy requirements, practical challenges, and potential benefits of megastructures surrounding stars.
