Eric Boyd

HackLab.TO President Eric Boyd on DIY Transhumanism

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Last week, I visited Eric Boyd at HackLab.TO. While there, I interviewed Eric for my Singularity 1 on 1 podcast. Eric is the president of HackLab.TO, one of the co-founders of StumbleUpon, and a regular public speaker on topics such as cyborgs, transhumanism, electronic jewelry, and hacking.

In the past, I have lacked the proper equipment to do an on-site audio or video recording without borrowing it from my friends or my very generous brother-in-law. Fortunately, though, last week I received the biggest anonymous donation ever received at Singularity Weblog. (Thank you, anonymous donor.) The money allowed me to purchase a brand new Canon VIXIA HF G10 camcorder as well as a Fujifilm X10 photo camera, and thus equipped, I headed to HackLab.TO.

During our conversation, we discussed issues such as Eric’s early interest in technology; his co-founding of StumbleUpon and eventual leaving the company; his work in Silicon Valley and involvement in NoiseBridge – the hackerspace in San Francisco; building a vibrant hacker and techno-community in Canada; SenseBridge, the philosophy behind it and the electronic jewelry he makes (e.g. the Sound Spark, Mood Spark, and North Paw); body augmentation and transhumanism; religion and the technological singularity; why humans are naturally born cyborgs; early adopters of tech and judging when to join a revolution so that we are not left behind.

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

 

Who is Eric Boyd?

Eric Boyd is the founder of Sensebridge. He was born and raised in Ontario Canada, on a small chicken farm. He attended Queens University for engineering, graduating in 2003, but not before co-founding StumbleUpon.com. After graduating, he lived and worked in Silicon Valley at a high-tech startup, designing industrial sensors and helping install them at semi-conductor fabs across the United States. Around this same time, he also became fascinated with fashion and style, watching Beauty and The Geek and transforming his own personal style.

He now lives and works in Toronto Canada, where he is President of Hacklab.to, a technology community space. He gives frequent public talks on wearable electronics, the combination of electronics and fashion that is most noticeable these days in performers’ costumes. At Sensebridge, Eric designs manufactures and sells new sensory interfaces, like the North Paw compass anklet (it vibrates to tell you what way is north, giving you a sense of direction), and electronic jewelry, like Heart Spark (it flashes lights in time with your heartbeat, broadcasting your emotions). Eric is a trustee of the Toronto Awesome Foundation, which gives away $1000 each month to support an awesome project somewhere in Toronto. His recent favorites include the Toronto Kiss Map and Cardboard Fort Night. Eric is also involved with the Toronto Guerrilla Gardeners, making the more beautiful one unauthorized garden at a time.

Eric blogs at digitalcrusader.ca. You can learn more about wearable electronic senses at sensebridge.net, and see the electronic jewelry at sensebridge.com.

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HackLab.TO: Toronto’s Hacker Collective

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When Eric Boyd invited me to visit HackLab.TO I got very exited.

I have always had a fascination with hackers and love visiting their creative space because these guys are always pushing the envelope and often point the way for things to come.

In the past, I have lacked the proper equipment to do an on-site audio or video recording without having to borrow it from my friends or my very generous brother-in-law. Fortunately, though, last week I got the biggest anonymous donation ever received at Singularity Weblog. The money allowed me to purchase a brand new Canon VIXIA HF G10 (aff) camcorder as well as a Fujifilm X10 (aff) photo camera, and thus equipped I headed to HackLab.TO.

About HackLab.TO

HackLab.TO is a community space with a diverse membership, including artists, computer programmers, web designers, and hardware hackers. It is inspired by the philosophies of the global hackerspaces movement which encourages people to socialize, share knowledge, and work together on their projects. Newcomers are welcome every Tuesday night at “Unpatched Tuesdays.”

About Eric Boyd

Eric Boyd is an engineer, environmentalist, and transhumanist. He currently spends his time developing wearable electronic senses — devices which augment your interface to the world, turning you into a cyborg. His diverse past includes market gardening, dot coms, industrial sensors, and automotive journalism.

 

Christopher Olah

In this video Chris Olah gives an impassioned impromptu presentation of some of the neat 3d printed objects that members have produced at HackLab.TO.

Chris is a teenage-hacker, amateur math wiz and a total geek. It is young people such as Olah who give me hope that our future is indeed in good hands:

“Way to go Chris! No idea what you’re talking about but I love it! Keep it up and you are going not only to Singularity University but also anywhere you aim for.”