David Orban on Singularity 1 on 1: What is the question I should be asking?

by Socrates on November 21, 2011

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

This Thursday I interviewed David Orban for Singularity 1 on 1.

I have to admit that David is one of my favorite singularitarians and I enjoyed talking to him immensely. During our conversation we discuss issues such as: David’s personal background and early interest in science and technology; the motivation and goals behind his work; his involvement in Singularity University; his take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it; religion, death and life extension technology; the internet of things; the role of technology in liberating humanity; the value of human-centered communication; Ted Kaczynski‘s arguments against technological progress; why communicating through on-line videos is so popular and powerful.

Hope you enjoy watching the interview as much as I enjoyed talking to David!

(As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.)

YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image

Who is David Orban?

David Orban is an entrepreneur and visionary, and is the CEO of dotSUB, the leading technology and services provider powering video viewing via captions and translations as subtitles in any language to increase access, engagement and global reach, based in New York City.

David is also a Lecturer of, and Advisor to Singularity University, an interdisciplinary university whose mission is to assemble, educate and inspire leaders who strive to understand and facilitate the development of exponentially advancing technologies in order to address humanity’s grand challenges.

He is the was Chairman, and is on the Board of Directors of Humanity+, an organization dedicated to promoting understanding, interest, and participation in fields of emerging innovation. H+ represents a growing movement of people willing to work proactively to benefit the human condition through a commitment to scientific advancement.

He is also a Founder of WideTag, a high technology start-up company providing the infrastructure for an open Internet of Things. David shapes the strategic vision of its technologies by developing the policies and communication steps necessary to enable constructive progress.

David is Co-Founder of Startupbusiness, a social network aimed at enabling the Italian startup ecosystem. Startupbusiness is a spin-off of Questar, an Italian software publishing and distribution company, of which David is the Founder. Questar aims to enhance channel oriented electronic software distribution services, making them available to developers worldwide.

He is further a Scientific Advisory Board Member for the Lifeboat Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging scientific advancements while helping humanity survive existential risks. The Foundation creates mechanisms to discourage the misuse of increasingly powerful technologies such as nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.

David is also a Founder of the Open Government Data working group. The group promotes a more robust understanding of why open government data is essential to democracy. The group utilizes increased civil discourse in order to make Government more effective, transparent, and relevant to our lives.

His educational background includes studies in Physics at both the University of Milan and the University of Padua.

David cuts across the limits of deep specialization to contribute to the new renaissance. He explains, “My vision is at the crossroads of technology and society as defined by their co-evolution.”

David Orban’s personal motto is, “What is the question I should be asking?” This concept is his vehicle to accelerating cycles of invention and innovation in order to build the new world ahead.

Related articles
Print Friendly

Tagged as: David Orban, Singularity 1 on 1

  • http://twitter.com/MichaelN_RS RetiremntSingularity

    Great interview. Highly recommended!   

    Re the question of who will be the “I” who might survive for 100′s or billions of years, to me we don’t really have to project out that far to entertain that question.  Given all the cells in our body are replaced over a few years, the idea of an “I” as continuous, permanent and single is worth examining thoroughly.  

    You could say the idea of “I’ or me or ego, is illusory like the apparent solidity of a candle flame. IMO, the energy we put into protecting/enhancing/holding this image is worthy of personal introspection and analysis as it drives much human endeavor. I suspect it is also highly related to attraction to ‘religion’ as David discusses. 

    Cheers, Michael

  • Pingback: The Importance of Doubt, Asking Questions and Not Knowing

  • http://cmstewartwrite.wordpress.com/ CMStewart

    Orban does a spectacular job at explaining the continuity of life as it applies to an individual and to a species. My favorite quote: “There will necessarily be a point in the future when I will honestly say that I am not the same. And that will be the moment when the individual that is me today will have died. Regardless of material or mental continuity, it is going to be absurd to say that the two entities are the same.” To truly grasp the meaning of that truth is sobering. Evolution- in the broadest sense- is a universal law, one that can’t be circumvented by any type of immortality. I wonder if an evolved “Orban,” in the year 3 million, would have the technology and the inclination to access this podcast, and if his year 3 million intelligence would find it familiar or sentimental.

    I admire Orban’s “missionary atheism.” :) Organized religion is a scourge, in my opinion. I’ve had friends succumb to it, and I’ve watched their rationalism wither away. Similar are nationalism and patriotism. I live in a culture (New England) in which, for example, if you don’t lock-step stand and salute a flag at a sporting event, you could possibly land in the hospital. A public statement of separation of church and state could get you stalked and harassed. An increasingly anti-education and anti-science political climate is threatening the USA. The presidential elections are increasingly depressing. The last elected president started as a glimmer of hope on the horizon, but turned out to be just another bought and sold politician. We need more missionary atheists in the USA.

Previous post:

Next post: