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Deconstructing Socrates and the Future of Singularity 1on1: Nikola Danaylov Gets Interviewed by Trevor Haldenby

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Deconstructing Socrates and the Future of Singularity 1on1 Nikola Danaylov gets interviewed by Trevor HaldenbyEvery once-in-a-while, it is a good thing to do a headstand and look at the world from a different perspective. In podcasting terms that would mean putting Socrates in the hotseat and making me answer questions, rather than let me hide in asking them. And I could’t think of a person better qualified to do that than Trevor Haldenby. Trevor is one of the masterminds behind the ByoLogic BRX Virus Outbreak episode I did a couple of years ago as well as a very skilled interviewer and interactive story-teller. And so I was not surprised I had so much fun answering his questions. Hope you enjoy it too.

During our 80 min interview we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: the origin story of Singularity Symposium, Singularity Weblog and Singularity 1on1; the personal fears and lack of domain knowledge I had to overcome to begin blogging and podcasting; my thesis that “technology is not enough”; my mission to create a symposium where people can give birth to their own ideas; asking questions and the dialectical method of investigation; the importance of habits; in vitro meat and the 3 reasons why I became vegan; why I am not an early adopter of transhumanist technology; my on-going attempt to interview Elon Musk; my favorite interviews or lack thereof; what I’ve learned from interviewing Karl Schroeder;  my vision for the future of Singularity 1on1; my best and worst presentation ever; why I have chosen a long anti-TED-type format for my interviews and my current crowdfunding campaign on Konoz…

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.

Make or Break the Singularity 1on1: Crowdfunding Campaign is Live

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Hi,

I wanted to speak to you 1on1 today. So this is not a message for everybody but just for you. Yes you – my audience, my podcast listener, my YouTube viewer, my donor and moral supporter, my fellow geek and friend.

And my reason for doing what I do.

I want to share 3 things with you.

But before I do that let me start by saying: “Thank you for your support!” I have sacrificed a lot for the past 6 years. But this effort has not been in vain. So far I have published about 1,000 articles and produced 200 podcast episodes. Singularity 1on1 has had 4 million views on YouTube and iTunes and has been republished by major media outlets such as the BBC, TVJapan and many others. Today I reach well over 100,000 people per month and some have called me the “Larry King of the Singularity.” So once again thank you for your support because I couldn’t do what I do without you.

Now, the 3 things I want to share with you are: 1. Why am I doing a crowdfunding campaign? 2. What do you get at different funding levels of my podcast? And 3. How can you help?

So, first of all, the main reason why I’m crowdfunding is the simple fact that as the podcast has gotten more and more successful it has become much more expensive to produce and sustain it. Success and good quality come at a price. And, while it is very important to me that Singularity 1on1 is, and will always remain to be, both free of charge and independent of any commercial agenda, it is unfortunately not free of cost or independent of material resources. The reality is that good things cost money to produce and my podcast is not different. And those costs have risen to the point where I simply cannot sustain this on my own any more.

Secondly, what are my funding goals and what do you get for each of them? Well, depending on how much money we raise, I can provide different things at different format and quality for you. Now, if we fail to meet the minimum goal of $50,000 there is a good chance I will simply have to stop blogging and podcasting and seek another way to make a living. But, with $50,000 I will have the ability to focus exclusively on audio podcasting. I will have to cut out all non-essential costs and will stop traveling for expensive in-person high-production interviews. And this podcast will become a true to format audio only endeavor. If, however, we raise $100,000 I will be able to continue with my current format where I can travel and produce high-quality, high definition, in-person interviews. If we reach $200,000 I will be able to raise the bar even further by not only going to a 4K 3-camera professional setup but also by releasing all of my past episodes – i.e. 250 hours of video, under a Creative Commons license. And anyone will be able to not only watch but also use, edit, mix and remix all of my content for free and without any restrictions. Lastly, $300,000 will guarantee that I can interview the future for the next several years and travel anywhere to interview anyone, at any time and any place in the world. I will also release all future episodes under Creative Commons license for as long as the podcast exists. Because the future belongs to us all.

The 3rd and final question is: How can you help? If you are already on my Konoz profile page then don’t delay and make a donation now. If you are watching this video elsewhere then just type InterviewTheFuture.com and you will land on my fundraising page. Once you have donated, then, you can help even more by spreading the word about it. So, if you have an email list, email your list. If you have a Facebook or Twitter account share and tell your followers to come and donate also. If you need a quick way to show what Singularity 1on1 is all about then share my highlights video. If you need social proof – share my testimonials video. And, again, to help me keep producing more Singularity 1on1 episodes please donate what you can now: https://konoz.io/nikola.danaylov

Help me interview the future. So that you can find your mission and make your dent in the universe.

Thanks for listening. Thanks for letting me do what I love. And thank you very much for your support!

Peter Diamandis: Singularity University is Starfleet Academy for the World’s Biggest Challenges

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Last week, I was privileged to get a 30-minute interview with Peter Diamandis.

Peter is not a very tall man, but I have to say that he has the energy of a giant. Interviewing him was like plugging into a nuclear power plant—afterward, I felt as if I got 10 gigawatts worth of energy straight into my batteries.

During our conversation, we discuss issues such as his personal background and early childhood dream to become an asteroid space miner; his motivation, goals, and aspirations for Singularity University; his personal 10^9 project (aimed at positively impacting the lives of a billion people within 10 years); the book on abundance that he is currently working on; his take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it.

I would like to thank Singularity University for allowing me to use their campus studio and especially Matt Rutherford for his crucial support in filming. As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down to 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 Peter Diamandis?

Dr. Diamandis is a self-admitted nine-year-old child-space-enthusiast and a visionary who dreams big and has the resume to prove that “the best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.” Just some of his resume highlights include the Founder and Chairman of the X PRIZE Foundation; co-Founder and Managing Director of Space Adventures; the CEO and co-founder of Zero Gravity Corporation; and, most recently, the Rocket Racing League; the International Space University and the Singularity University. (If you want to learn more about Peter Diamandis visit his profile page on SingularitySymposium.com)

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Charlie Stross: The World is Complicated. Elegant Narratives Explaining Everything Are Wrong!

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Today my guest on Singularity 1 on 1 is award-winning science fiction author Charlie Stross. It was his seminal singularity book Accelerando that not only won the 2006 Locus Award (in addition to being a finalist for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and on the final ballot for the Hugo Award) but was also at least in part responsible for my launching of SingularitySymposium.com and SingularityWeblog.com.

During my conversation with Charlie Stross, we discuss issues such as his early interest in and love for science fiction, his work as a “code monkey” for a start-up company during the first dot com boom of the late nineties, and the resulting short sci-fi story Lobsters (which eventually turned into Accelerando); his upcoming book Rule 34; his take on the human condition, brain uploading, the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it.

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 Charlie Stross?

Charlie Stross, 46, is a full-time science fiction writer and resident of Edinburgh, Scotland. The winner of two Locus Reader Awards and winner of the 2005 and 2010 Hugo awards for best novella, Stross’ works have been translated into over twelve languages.

Like many writers, Charlie Stross has had a variety of careers, occupations, and job-shaped-catastrophes in the past, from a pharmacist (he quit after the second police stake-out) to first code monkey on the team of a successful dot-com startup (with brilliant timing he tried to change employer just as the bubble burst).

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Vernor Vinge: We Can Surpass the Wildest Dreams of Optimism

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Today, my guest on Singularity 1 on 1 is Vernor Vinge, the person who coined the term technological singularity.

Currently, Vernor Vinge is putting the final touches on the sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep. The new book is titled The Children of the Sky and is already available for pre-order on Amazon, though it is not expected to ship until October 2011.

Despite his busy schedule Prof. Vinge still managed to give us over an hour of his time, and during our conversation, I asked him to discuss issues such as: his childhood and early interest in science fiction; his desire to make sense of the universe; his definition of the technological singularity and the story behind the term; his now classic 1993 NASA paper; his favorite science fiction books and authors; major milestones on the way towards the singularity and our chances to survive such an unprecedented event.

As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down to 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 Vernor Vinge?

Arguably the second most recognized singularitarian, Vernor Vinge spent most of his life in San Diego, California where he taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University for over thirty years and where he still lives today.

After retiring from teaching Vernor became widely sought as a public speaker and presenter for business, science, science fiction and general audiences. He has won Hugo Awards for several of his books such as: A Fire Upon The Deep(1992), A Deepness in the Sky(1999) and for the novella Fast Times at Fairmont High(2001).

Known for his rigorous hard-science approach Vinge first became an iconic figure both among cybernetic scientists and sci fi fans with the publication of his 1981 novella True Names, widely considered to be the visionary work behind the internet revolution. Later he gained even more public attention for his coining the term, writing and presenting about the technological singularity.

For a collection of videos of Vernor Vinge see his profile page on SingularitySymposium.com

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Transhumanist Philosopher Max More: Question Everything

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Today my guest on Singularity 1 on 1 is transhumanist strategic philosopher Max More. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.)

As the CEO of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation Dr. More has a full schedule. Nevertheless, he generously managed to squeeze in two 30 min interview sessions in his busy day.

During our conversation we discuss issues such as Max’s early life and childhood heroes; his interest in economics, political science, and philosophy; transhumanism and extropy; the proactinary and precautionary principles; cryonics and the Alcor Foundation; his Paleo diet and exercise regimen; why it is important to question everything (and especially yourself).

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.

To find more about Max More visit his website here.

My favorite quote from Max More:

No more gods, no more faith, no more timid holding back. Let us blast out of our old forms, our ignorance, our weakness, and our mortality. The future belongs to posthumanity.

My favorite short articles: A Letter to Mother Nature; The Proactionary Principle; Transhumanism: Towards A Futurist Philosophy

What others have said about Max:

Ray Kurzweil: “Max More’s ideas are very influential among other “big thinkers,” who in turn are influence leaders themselves. Max’s writings represent well-grounded science futurism, and reflect a sophisticated understanding of technology trends and how these trends are likely to develop during this coming century.”

Marvin Minsky: “the father of artificial intelligence”, said of Dr. More: “We have a dreadful shortage of people who know so much, can both think so boldly and clearly and can express themselves so articulately. Carl Sagan was another such one—and  (partly by paying the price of his life) managed to capture the public eye. But Sagan is gone and has not been replaced. I see Max as my candidate for that post.”

 

Video Update:

A fantastic straight-to-the-point interview with Max More discussing the singularity, transhumanism, technological progress, human enhancement, etc…

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Kevin Warwick: Be/Come the Cy/Borg

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Kevin Warwick photo taken by Robert Scoble

This is my second interview with Prof. Kevin Warwick.

Last time I had him on – You Have to Take Risks to be Part of the Future, he shared his views on a wide variety of topics such as human and artificial intelligence, robotics, the technological singularity, God, the beginning of the universe and so on.

This time around Kevin discusses issues such as: the difference between genius and madness; the magnetic implants and sensory-substitution-devices developed by his students (see picture gallery below); the recent problems surrounding his rat-brain-cell-robot project; the historical contribution, under-appreciated genius and tragic life of Alan Turing; the Turing Test; Watson – IBM’s amazing Jeopardy champion; and, finally, be/coming cy/borg.

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.

Picture Gallery:

 

 

 

 

Who is Kevin Warwick?

Kevin Warwick is Professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading, England, where he carries out research in artificial intelligence, control, robotics, and cyborgs.

As well as publishing over 500 research papers, Kevin’s experiments into implant technology led to him being featured as the cover story on the US magazine Wired. He has been awarded higher doctorates (DSc) both by Imperial College and the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, and has received Honorary Doctorates from Aston University, Bradford University and Coventry University. He was presented with The Future of Health Technology Award in MIT, was made an Honorary Member of the Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, received The IEE Senior Achievement Medal and the Mountbatten Medal. In 2000 Kevin presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, entitled “The Rise of the Robots”.

Kevin’s most recent research involves the invention of an intelligent deep brain stimulator to counteract the effects of Parkinson Disease tremors. Another project involves the use of biological neural networks to drive robots around. Kevin is though best known for his pioneering experiments involving a neuro-surgical implantation into the median nerves of his left arm to link his nervous system directly to a computer. He was successful with the first extra-sensory (ultrasonic) input for a human and with the first purely electronic telegraphic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans — himself and his wife Irena.

For more information, you can visit Kevin Warwick’s Official Site: https://www.kevinwarwick.com/

Andrew Hessel: Don’t Fear Synthetic Biology

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Today I am very happy to have Andrew Hessel as my guest on Singularity 1 on 1. (As always, you can listen to or download the audio interview above, or scroll down and watch the video recording in full.)

During the interview, Andrew shares his truly infectious passion for synthetic biology and the unique opportunities that lie ahead of the budding first generation of DIY bio-hackers.

We also discuss a variety of other interesting issues such as the singularity, religion, the promise of personalized medicine as cancer treatment,  the risks and benefits of open-source synthetic biology, and the fact that biology is a dual-use technology.

I have to admit that I was so infected by Andrew’s passion and his unique, open-source approach that I couldn’t help but buy a 20 dollar share in the Pink Army Cooperative.

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 Andrew Hessel?

Andrew Hessel co-chairs the Bioinformatics and Biotechnology track at the Singularity University, an institution founded by futurist Ray Kurzweil and X Prize Foundation CEO Peter Diamandis, with sponsorship from world-leading organizations that include Google, Autodesk, and NASA. He is also the founder of the Pink Army Cooperative, a venture exploring open source personalized cancer therapies. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Futurist Magazine, H+, and Wired News.

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I Am Eyeborg: Rob Spence on Singularity 1 on 1

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Today I am very happy to have the Eyeborg Rob Spence as my guest on Singularity 1 on 1. (As usual, you can listen to or download the audio above, or scroll down to see the video recording of the interview in full.)

Rob Spence is a Canadian director and producer who lives in Toronto. His work has appeared on Discovery, Vision, Space TV, and the CBC for which he made the controversial documentary Let’s All Hate Toronto. Currently, Rob is working on a documentary about how video and humanity intersect especially with regards to issues of surveillance and personal privacy.

Who is Rob Spence? What is project Eyeborg?

Take a one-eyed filmmaker, an unemployed engineer, and a vision for something that’s never been done before and you have yourself the EyeBorg Project. Rob Spence, Kosta Grammatis, and a team of others are trying to make history by embedding a video camera and a transmitter in a prosthetic eye. That eye is going in Rob’s eye socket and will record the world from a perspective that’s never been seen before.

The Singularity 1 on 1 Interview:

Below is my video interview with the Eyeborg Rob Spence in 4 parts. During our 40 min conversation, I get Rob to share his views on a wide variety of topics such as project Eyeborg, documentary film making, advanced prosthetics, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, the technological singularity, and others.

Check it out and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think…

(Please let me apologize for the poor video quality. Unfortunately, that is the risk one takes when recording on Skype. Fortunately, the sound is pretty good so it is still worth watching and/or hearing…)

 

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Kevin Kelly: Technology Doesn’t Want A Singularity

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Today’s podcast episode features prominent author, maverick technologist, and regular TED speaker Kevin Kelly. Kevin just published a new book called What Technology Wants. Seth Godin blogged about it and called it The Book Of The Year because, in Seth’s opinion, “if there’s justice, it will win the Pulitzer Prize.” Steven Johnson called it the anti-Unabomber manifesto.

After such endorsements, I could not help but buy and read the book myself. Having done so, I have to say that I agree with both of the above ratings. In my opinion, What Technology Wants is perhaps the most optimistic, coherent, beautiful, and poetic defense of technology. It provides unique depth and breadth of its techno-analysis together with an altogether new theory of the evolution and interplay of both technology and biology (and Homo Sapiens). (In some ways, it may arguably serve as the unofficial prequel to Ray Kurzweil‘s The Singularity Is Near.)

During our 45-minute conversation, I got Kevin to share his thoughts on technology in general and his book in particular, but also other topics such as religion, the Unabomber, artificial intelligence, the technological singularity, and the omega point. You can listen to or download the audio podcast above or scroll down and watch the YouTube videos of our conversation below. Unfortunately, after the 6th minute of our discussion, our Skype video feed gets interrupted, and the video becomes choppy and out-of-sync with the audio. While this problem persists until the end of the interview, the sound is excellent. I believe there is a lot of value in listening to or watching what Kevin has to say, even while the Technium is trying to sabotage his message. The good news is that in due time I may use this technical issue as an excuse to get Kevin for another interview.

Who is Kevin Kelly?

Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993 and served as its Executive Editor from its inception until 1999. His most recent book called What Technology Wants was published on October 18, 2010. Kevin is also editor and publisher of the Cool Tools website, which gets half a million unique visitors per month. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a journal of unorthodox technical news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ Conference and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. He authored the best-selling New Rules for the New Economy and the classic book on decentralized emergent systems, Out of Control.

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Ben Goertzel on AI and the Singularity: The Future Is Ours To Create

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Today, my guest is Ben Goertzel. During our 40 min conversation, we cover a wide range of topics such as Ben’s original interest in time travel and science fiction, his decision to start working on artificial general intelligence, and his views on the potential timeline thereof, together with his evaluation of the software vs hardware requirements for building it; scientific funding for AI research in both the USA and China; the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it. (You can listen to or download the audio file above, or you can scroll down and watch the full video of the interview below.)

As attested by his short bio below, Ben is a brilliant AI scientist with a vast spectrum of interests and talents. Even more, I can’t help but mention that he is also a genuinely nice guy because, due to some technical difficulties, he was willing to patiently reschedule our interview twice before we finally managed to get it right. Given the number of other things Ben juggles in his busy schedule, it would have been only natural for him to cancel. Yet he patiently persisted, and I am grateful for and appreciative of his time.

Who is Ben Goertzel

Dr. Ben Goertzel is CEO of AI software company Novamente LLC and bioinformatics company Biomind LLC; Chief Technology Officer of biopharma firm Genescient Corp.; leader of the open-source OpenCog AI software project;  Chairman of Humanity+; Advisor to the Singularity University and Singularity Institute; Research Professor in the Fujian Key Lab for Brain-Like Intelligent Systems at Xiamen University, China; and general Chair of the Artificial General Intelligence conference series.

His research work encompasses artificial general intelligence, natural language processing, cognitive science, data mining, machine learning, computational finance, bioinformatics, virtual worlds and gaming, and other areas. He has published a dozen scientific books, nearly 90 technical papers, and numerous journalistic articles.  Before entering the software industry he served as a university faculty in several departments of mathematics, computer science, and cognitive science, in the US, Australia and New Zealand.  He has three children and too many pets, and in his spare time enjoys creating avant-garde fiction and music, and the outdoors. For more see Goertzel.org

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Terry Grossman on TRANSCEND: Live Long Enough To Live Forever

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In today’s podcast episode, I am very privileged to have Terry Grossman. Terry generously agreed to do this interview from his office in Colorado, and for about an hour, we covered a number of very useful and interesting topics, such as the story and motivation behind his work; the most important medical tests that we all need to do to find out where we are and thereby figure out what we need to do to improve longevity; Terry’s top tips for a healthy lifestyle and achieving maximum life-span;  his positions on religion, the singularity, and artificial intelligence. I have to admit that I not only enjoyed immensely my interview with Terry, but I also learned a ton of very useful information that will help me personally to live a healthier and longer life. I believe that you, too, can benefit from listening to Terry’s advice and reading his books.

Who is Terry Grossman?

Terry Grossman is one of America’s leading authorities in anti-aging and longevity medicine. He has co-authored two books with the famed inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, TRANSCEND: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever (2009) and Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever (2004). Grossman has written numerous articles for health-related magazines and lectures frequently on topics related to anti-aging medicine nationally and internationally to lay and professional audiences.

A 1968 graduate of Brandeis University, Dr. Grossman received his M.D. from the University of Florida in 1979. Following his postgraduate training at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, he spent 15 years as a community family doctor in the Colorado mountains before opening Grossman Wellness Center in Denver in 1994. His clinic emphasizes advanced nutritional therapies and preventive, anti-aging medicine. Grossman has developed numerous cutting-edge protocols for measuring and modifying biological age and promoting longevity. To learn more see GrossmanWellness.com

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