Welcome to Singularity 1 on 1

Singularity 1 on 1 is a series of podcast interviews with the best scientists, writers, entrepreneurs, film-makers, journalists, philosophers and artists, debating the technological singularity.

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Daniel Kraft on Singularity 1 on 1: You Don’t Have To Be a Doctor to Improve Health Care

by Socrates
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This morning I interviewed Daniel Kraft for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Dr. Kraft at Singularity University where he is the Medicine and Neuroscience Chair and executive director of the FutureMed Program. Daniel is one of those people with an incredibly diverse spectrum of talents and interests for he is not only a medical doctor and oncologist but also an inventor, a technology and space enthusiast, an entrepreneur and an F-16 flight surgeon. During our conversation we discuss a variety of topics such as: Daniel’s early interest and talent in technology and science; his original fascination with the Apollo Space program and eventual participation in International Space University; his passion for flying and being a pilot; his medical education and personal journey to becoming a faculty member at Singularity University; his desire to be an instigator, connector and motivator of innovation; [...]

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Rachel Haywire on Singularity 1 on 1: Art is Intellectual and the Intellect is Artistic

by Socrates
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A couple of months ago I interviewed Rachel Haywire for Singularity 1 on 1. I had some dificulties in posting this interivew but, since those were eventually resolved, better late than never… Rachel Haywire is a multi-media artist and writer currently residing in Los Angeles, California. She is the founder of The Human 2.0 Council which is a Transhumanist network of artists and students on the edge of society and media. Known for bridging the gap between the counterculture and academia she founded the Extreme Futurist Festival which is a 2 day entertainment and tech convention focusing on radical performers and voices of the new evolution. Rachel is known as an “antisocial media coach” and considered a leading voice in digital media. She is credited for bringing DIY Transhumanism into the mainstream. I have to admit that I worked for 10 hours before my interview with [...]

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Top 5 Tips for Applying to Singularity University

by Socrates
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Those of you who followed SingulatityWeblog.com last summer know that I was very fortunate to attend Singularity University on NASA’s campus in Mountainview, California. The 10 weeks I spent there were one of the most challenging yet inspiring periods of my life. I learned a lot about technology, leadership, entrepreneurship and about myself. I was inspired by meeting people such as futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil, space enthusiast and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, astronaut Dan Barry, Apple co-founder Steven Wozniak, and many others from across the globe. I had the unique opportunity to go inside the kitchen of technology, talk to some of the chefs and see what will likely be on the menu for the next decade or more. Since I came back I have been getting numerous emails from people interested in applying who are asking me to read [...]

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Michael Shermer on Singularity 1 on 1: Be Skeptical! (Even of Skeptics)

by Socrates
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I couple of days ago I interviewed Michael Shermer for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Dr. Shermer at the recent Singularity Summit in New York where he was one of the most entertaining, engaging and optimistic speakers. Since he calls himself a skeptic and not a singularitarian, I thought he would bring not only balance to my singularity podcast but also a healthy doze of skepticism, and I was not disappointed. During our conversation we discuss a variety of topics such as: his education at a Christian college and original interest in religion and theology; his eventual transition to atheism, skepticism, science and the scientific method; SETI, the singularity and religion; scientific progress and the dots on the curve as precursors of big breakthroughs; life-extension, cloning and mind uploading; being a skeptic and an optimist at the same time; [...]

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Luke Muehlhauser on Singularity 1 on 1: Superhuman AI is Coming This Century

by Socrates
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Last week I interviewed Luke Muehlhauser for Singularity 1 on 1. Luke Muehlhauser is the Executive Director of the Singularity Institute, the author of many articles on AI safety and the cognitive science of rationality, and the host of the popular podcast “Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot.” His work is collected at lukeprog.com. I have to say that despite his young age and lack of a University Degree – a criticism which we discuss during our interview, Luke was one of the best and clearest spoken guests on my show and I really enjoyed talking to to him. During our 56 min-long conversation we discuss a large variety of topics such as: Luke’s Christian-Evangelico personal background as the first-born son of a pastor in northern Minnesota; his fascinating transition transition from religion and theology to atheism and science; his personal motivation and desire to [...]

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Jose Cordeiro on Singularity 1 on 1: The Energularity is Near

by Socrates
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This weekend I interviewed Jose Cordeiro for Singularity 1 on 1 and I have to admit that this was one of my favorite interviews so far with perhaps the strongest, most positive endings on the show. Jose is a published book author, energy expert, futurist, transhumanist and Singularity University faculty member. So, even if Venezuela’s terribly slow internet connection did not make for the best video recording, the interview is absolutely worth watching.  Furthermore, if you ever attend a public event or a lecture where you suddenly hear someone scream “Energyyyy!” on the top of their lungs – you will have no doubt that it can be no one else but our friend Cordeiro. During our 48 min conversation we discuss a large variety of topics such as: Jose’s personal background and his failed attempt to become Venezuela’s energy minister; the staggering murder rates in [...]

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Copyright Was Just The Beginning: Cory Doctorow on the Coming War on General Computation

by Socrates
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I have always been a huge fan of Cory Doctorow’s – I read his books, I listen to his podcast, I watch his numerous and always ground-breaking keynote speeches and I value his insights and expert opinion. This time, however, Cory outdid even himself. Below you can watch Doctorow’s seminal keynote speech given at the 28th Chaos Communication Congress in Germany. In addition, since the original video recording was released under a creative commons licence and given the immense importance of the topic, I decided to post the audio via my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. So, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the full video recording below. I hope you find it as inspiring, as enraging and as profound as I did. Enjoy!   Abstract: “The last 20 years of Internet policy have [...]

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Randal Koene on Singularity 1 on 1: Mind Uploading is not Science Fiction

by Socrates
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Last week I interviewed Dr. Randal Koene for Singularity 1 on 1. Dr. Koene is perhaps one of the world’s foremost neuroscientists. He is director of analysis at Halcyon Molecular, co-founder of Carbon Copies and co-founder of and director at the Neural Engineering Corporation of Massachusetts. Randal’s research objective is whole brain emulation, creating the large-scale high-resolution representations and emulations of activity in neuronal circuitry that are needed in patient-specific neuroprostheses. During our 70 min conversation we discuss a large variety of topics such as: Randal’s early childhood and interest in science fiction; his lack of time to do all the things that he wanted to; his fascination with neuroscience; the distinction between whole brain emulation, whole brain simulation and complete understanding of the human brain; his work at Halcyon Molecular, Carbon Copies and Neuro Engineersing; the roadmap and benchmarks on [...]

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