singularity university

On Singularity University and the Danger of Being Exponential

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Singularity University [SU] has a religious fetish for its sacred words – disrupt, innovate and, most of all, exponential. Just listen to any recent SU alumni and you can’t help it but hear disrupt here, innovate there and, most of all, exponential everywhere. This is not surprising since, even before updating its Massively Transformative Purpose [MTP] to “Be Exponential,” SU was the temple proselytizing the gospel of exponential technology. The problem with such shallow-minded slogans is that people might end up doing just that. And it could be the end of us all. Because, while necessary, technology is not enough.

You see, the Black Death – aka The Great Plague, was exponential. The Spanish Flu was also exponential. [And we were very lucky that neither SARS nor Ebola went exponential during their respective outbreaks a few years ago.] Al Qaeda was pretty innovative in their attacks on 9.11. And ISIS was and still is pretty disruptive, not only in the Middle East but also across the globe. So when you urge us to be exponential, innovative and disruptive, are you suggesting that we ought to be like The Great Plague, The Spanish Flu, Al Qaeda or ISIS?

Clearly, if we go exponential, innovative and disruptive with the wrong things we can do exponentially more harm than good. Therefore, the most important part we must get right, to begin with, is the part of what we are being/doing in the first place. Thus the stress ought to be not on being “exponential” but on “Be-ing” the right thing in the first place. Then, even if we don’t go exponential, we can still make some positive [even if linear] impact on our world. But if we get the being part wrong, and we rush into going exponential, then we can destroy ourselves.

I hope it is clear we can be disruptive, we can be innovative, we can be exponential and we can still cause the extinction of all life on our planet. So being simply “exponential” is not just meaningless. It is outright dangerous. Therefore my concern that we are putting the stress on the wrong word within “Be Exponential” is not mere semantics. Unfortunately, however, I am afraid this slogan captures well and is a direct result of SU’s general confusion of the means with the end. Why else would Singularity University move away from “Solving humanity’s grand challenges” – a noble end in itself, to “Be Exponential” – an instrumental means to an end?! [And was the original purpose of SU not served well enough by its non-profit status? Or is it the case that the personal interests of the people running SU are better served by becoming a for-profit organization?]

Being exponential is just that – a means to an end. In fact, all technology is but a means to an end. Never an end in itself. Because we don’t do things in order to get more technology. On the contrary, we develop new technology in order to get to other more meaningful goals like diminishing suffering, living a good life, and, ultimately, being happy. So when we say “Be Exponential”, or “Be Disruptive” or “Be Innovative” it’s just like saying “Be Technology”, “Be a Tool”, “Be a Means to an End.” It is an empty slogan that spreads confusion and dangerously shifts the focus away from the proper end/goal itself.

Take disruption, for example. We cannot, or at least should not, disrupt the food, water or energy supplies of San Francisco just for the sake of disruption. Just like Facebook should not disrupt the US presidential elections – no matter how innovative and exponential they might be at doing that. So disrupting is not an end in itself – it is, at best, a means. Therefore, if you don’t have something constructive to create as soon you have finished disrupting, you may end up doing a lot more harm than good. Ergo, being constructive is the more important part that we ought to always begin with and pay much more attention to, even though it is always harder to accomplish.

Technology is a magnifying mirror because it has no essence of its own. It simply takes and amplifies the essence we give it. So, instead of focusing on improving the mirror we ought to focus on improving the image we ourselves project in it – i.e. who we are being and what we are doing. Therefore, ultimately, it is not about technology. It’s about us.

Call me short-sighted linear-thinker but my fear is that the “Be Exponential” MTP demonstrates how SU is forgetting technology is just a magnifying mirror: it’s exposing who we are but it’s not changing our fundamental essence – it merely amplifies it. So, if we put garbage in then we are going to get garbage out. But now it’s exponential. And if we are not careful with what it is that we are taking exponential – be it CO2, plastic pollution or grey goo, it can be the end of us all. This is the danger of being merely exponential.

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The Emperor Has No Clothes: Socrates Deconstructs Singularity University

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Singularity University is not about the singularity and is not even a university. It is not about abundance and is not an exponential organization.

Then what is Singularity University about?!

Those are the claims I made and the questions I asked, and tried to address, during my recent presentation at a local meetup organized by Singularity University in the Netherlands. Check it out and judge for yourself.

Update: About a day and a half after this was originally published, I got a call from SU President Rob Nail and was told I made some good points as well as some bad ones, without specifying which ones are which. We agreed to begin a process where I get enlightened about my mistakes. I am always happy to do that. It may take some time but stay tuned for more. Until I see the evidence, however, my argument stands as is.

This is my very boring and very personal story. But I thought I’d tell it first so that people know what are the kind of mistakes I tend to make and therefore be in a better position to judge whether my deconstruction of Singularity University is one of those, or whether there is more to it. I recommend you save your time, skip watching this video altogether and jump right into the essence of my argument with the next one:

This is the very essence of my deconstruction of Singularity University:

 This is the consequent Q&A session:

I owe special thanks to HJ from PunkMedia.nl for recording the above videos

 

Here is the gist of my presentation The Emperor Has No Clothes: Socrates Deconstructs Singularity University

 

I will slice SU in a variety of ways. Some good and some bad. Some large and some small. Some will make sense and some may not. And some my be just totally wrong. In fact, I very much hope that they are totally wrong.

I will attempt to deconstruct Singularity University’s name, business model, strategic context, mission statement and accomplishments, organizational structure and their global plan.

 

Singularity University’s Business Model in 5 words:

 

Create scarcity to sell abundance

 

…And charge an arm and a leg for it…

Some may call this a paradox. Others can call this hypocrisy. So it is up to you really what you want to call it.

Let me explain further and to do that I need the 3 most seminal books related to Singularity University: the Singularity is Near, Abundance and Exponential Organizations. [4th SU book everyone should read is Future Crimes]

Let’s see how SU fits within the space that each of those postulates:

OK, the Singularity is Near but clearly not near enough for its own titular organization to be actually about the singularity. So, again, as Salim Ismail often says SU is not about the singularity. The question is why is it not?! What is more important than that?! If an organization where Ray Kurzweil is a chancellor, where students get a free copy of The Singularity is Near, and which has the word singularity in its name, is not really about the singularity then what organization ought to be about the singularity? And why name it Singularity in the first place? That’s like saying that chocolate fudge is not about the chocolate?

But let’s not forget. Singularity University is neither about the singularity nor a university. So that’s like saying chocolate fudge is neither about the chocolate nor about the fudge. How much sense does this make to you? I mean what is it about for gods sake?! And if it really is not about the chocolate, and not about the fudge, then, why are we calling it chocolate fudge in the first place?!

OK, enough about the singularity you may say. If it is not about the singularity, it must be about abundance, right?

Remember the business model: Create Scarcity to Sell Abundance

Well, let me give 2 examples: talk about just the most recent 2 examples – David Roberts’ OCE Discovery presentation and the most recent phone call about starting SU chapters in Canada and elsewhere…

In short, in the birthplace of abundance, scarcity rules. And it is even worse because it is not the real natural scarcity one may find but it is one that is manufactured on purpose. We have those lecture videos in abundance. We have keynotes in abundance and as Chiara and the other girl admitted we have all kinds and lots of other SU videos. But not for distribution. Now, to me that sounds more like one of the big music labels from 15 years ago. Or some of the 100-year-old book publishers. But it surely doesn’t sound like the abundance mindset of an exponential organization.

So keep in mind the business model I said: Create Scarcity to Sell Abundance

But the point here is that, despite Peter Diamandis‘ brilliant book on Abundance, Singularity University clearly does not take it seriously because it has both a scarcity mindset AND a scarcity business model.

Let’s talk about the 3rd seminal book that I believe everyone must read – Exponential Organizations:

The question is simple – is Singularity University an exponential organization?

Well, let me answer it this way: To this day I have not met one faculty member or GSP student of any year who has told me that they thought SU is an ExO. In fact, in my recent interview with Salim even he said that Singularity University is not.

So the question is how long can you sell others on the idea of ExO’s if you are clearly not one?

I already touched on the name and the books, and the discrepancy thereof. Let me talk about Singularity University’s Mission Statement now i.e. its Massively Transformative Purpose:

Positively Impacting 1 billion people within 10 years

..and, we are not even close to the 125-250 million people we should be at if it is an ExO and follows its own goal’s stated timeline.

Let’s further judge Singularity University on its own record and according to its own goal to “educate, inspire and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges”

Has it been successful?! You may say “Yes” I will say “Not so fast!”

7 years after its beginning, as far as Grand Challenges are concerned I personally fail to see a single grand challenge where Singularity University has directly been able to make a measurable difference, let alone “solving” it.

In addition, when it comes to the “educate, inspire and empower” mandate SU has had some notable success but I would like to suggest that when one takes into consideration the Singularity University resources – its location, trillion dollar network, revenue stream, human resources, sponsorship and so on – it does not have a very good ROI. [Other than in publicity.]

For example, Khan Academy and Wikipedia both have better ROI as far as “educate, inspire and empower” are concerned, with much less hype too. And they are both actually exponential organizations.

If there is one area where SU has been undoubtedly successful it is to feed its own growth, raise and/or charge more money, to hire more people and spread the hype of its own legend. What is worse, I will argue that SU is already starting to show diminishing returns to scale – i.e. as Singularity University grows each unit invested in it will bring about fewer and fewer units of the desired outcome, while the previous two examples arguably still show accelerating returns per units invested. And that is one of the major differences between an exponential and classic organization.

Here are some other problems with Singularity University i.e. major obstacles to achieving its own mission statement – some are tactical and some are strategic:

Tactical: Singularity University’s current model does not scale

In my view SU is not an exponential organization; it does not scale. The business model of bringing people to a location and educating them is a thousand years old. Flying over and doing customer specific seminars is better but is still only a marginal improvement on that. So, in short, the tactical problem is that Singularity University has embraced a closed garden, classic scarcity educational model.

So perhaps the biggest break-through will come in a tactically new business model and structure which scales well – just like the Khan Academy, Udacity, Courcera etc, are all scalable and structurally new in a way that SU is not. Now, I am not saying Singularity University should necessarily become Khan Academy, but I am saying that it cannot claim to be a 21st century organisation, and hope to scale up its impact, if it is embracing an old model and structure – as it currently is. So, instead of embracing what has existed for a millennia, SU must be brave in innovating and embracing a new type of institutional structure and business model.

For example, currently SU is a closed garden – i.e. the only way that people can learn any useful material is to join one of the paid programs and attend Singularity University. In this sense, SU is actually very much behind the curve of even “old fashioned” universities that have the courage to put their courses on-line for free. SU so far has been lacking any such courage which means it is even further behind than old-school universities: What’s the use of improving your curriculum every 3 months if only a tiny number of people paying big money will actually see it?! Is that the way to make exponential change?!

For example, I am hearing from a number of people that some faculty at SU are afraid to publish the gold mine of hundreds of videos that SU has been sitting on for years because they are afraid nobody will actually attend the paid programs afterwords. Now, do MIT, Stanford and Harvard not have the same problem?! Then why are they fearlessly publishing many of their own courses for free?! Why Tesla can open-source all of their amazing innovation and SU cannot?! What organization is more likely to go exponential?!  Whose ideas are more likely to spread?

In short, if SU wants to change the world it has to be the living example of an exponential organization that is clearly changing the world. The longer the gap between its preaching and its own self persists the more its credibility is going to diminish.

Other tactical flaws: 

Singularity University is elitist and top down – it seeks to make change from the top down via “leaders” rather than the bottom up via, for example, networks. [It is also convenient for SU that usually leaders can pay while masses of people cannot]

Singularity University has financial incentives not to change: both personally – where key SU people likely have a personal and/or financial stake at SU, but also institutionally – where SU takes a cut from incubated businesses, which is fine if its main mandate is to produce businesses and to make money. But as long as this is not its mandate then this mechanism is not optimal.

Singularity University has a paid model of education – i.e. it aims to educate but only those who have money to pay for it. And if you don’t then SU provides no help whatsoever.

Singularity University has a single model of implementation aimed at accomplishing its goal – have an idea, start a company, create a product or service to sell – so that SU can have their 5%, and you will change the world. Well, if the Internet, the WWW or Wikipedia were created in SU they would have failed miserably because none of them fits that simplistic Silicon valley monetization model. And it is hard to argue they did change the world and maybe they did it because luckily those entities didn’t embrace the SU model. This single model, however, also leads to a lack of structural diversity of the SU projects because they have to fit the one and only mold proposed as opposed to following a more natural evolution-type of an approach which leads to diverse outcomes.

Singularity University is centralized, bureaucratic and hierarchical and is becoming even more so. Naveen Jain himself told me a couple of years ago that SU is becoming such a bureaucracy that is impossible to get anything done.

Strategic Flaws: Embracing an old socio-economic paradigm.

Singularity University is not looking at creating a new socio-economic paradigm but instead takes the easy road of seeking the most comfortable way to fit in the current one.

Salim often says during his presentations that “SU is not a university and is not really about the singularity”.

I covered the first point already and gave examples of how in some ways even traditional universities are more courageous, more current and even more impact-full than SU currently dares to be. Others such as Udacity and Khan Academy are clearly more scalable. So if Singularity University is not a university then why is it running what is more-or-less an old university model?!

During exponential finance many speakers gave examples of shortsightedness and inability to focus on the longer term so why is Singularity University only focusing on the 5 to 15 years from now – at the most? Why do we not focus at least a little bit on the potential ways of how our current socio-economic capitalist paradigm is likely to change the closer we get to the singularity?!

To me capitalism is by far the best that we have so far but it is not different from other economic systems – it was born during the industrial revolution and is rather likely to die in our lifetime – before or around the singularity. This is what evolution is all about – nothing stays forever, nothing is ever perfect but is always changing and evolving. Thus it only makes sense that capitalism as we know it will also have to at least change or potentially even go extinct.

I am not saying Singularity University should not make money or not embrace capitalist models. It absolutely should. But it should not be limited only to those. And it seems to me that currently SU is a classically structured organization with a corporate model focused on selling, making money, spreading the Silicon Valley capitalist gospel and riding the exponential wave as much as possible rather than being the living example of creative innovation – be it structurally – as a new kind of institution, or strategically – as one focused on fundamentally different strategic goals than anyone else.

And so the main implication of all of the above is that Singularity University is not structured to actually address its own mandate. If SU wants to change the world it has to naturally start with itself and be the living embodiment of the change it seeks to spread. And this is much different from being “a benefit corporation” or whatever other legalese non-sense it currently is.

[This point was skipped due to shortage of time:]

The Singularity University Global Plan revolves around 3 elements chapters, salons and competitions.

We have videos but we are not allowed to distribute them. If you want a local speaker it has to be approved by SU headquarters AND you have to apply for licence. Think about this: are exponential organizations those who need to issue a license to have a saloon? Or are they the ones where decentralization rules?

Tightly regulated branding. Everyone in the chapters participates as a volunteer but only past graduates can be chapter leaders. Which, of course means, just like if you are a scientologist for example, that you have to pay to climb the organizational latter. Chapters must be non-profit. But they secure sponsors and run events and competitions. Roman Catholic Church is also non-profit. But all the profit, the control, the power, branding and the credit flows to the center. While all the work is, of course, done by the periphery.

“Bringing Singularity University to this place and bring SU to that place.” So SU has become the mission. Where as I thought that the mission is to improve the life of a billion people and SU is hopefully the best means to achieve that. But that is what happens to all beurocracies – their first rule is self-perpetuation and self-preservation. Roman Catholic Church done the Silicon Valley Way. With scaled franchising and all.

Singularity University is like the Catholic Church – everything material etc flows to the center and is controlled by it. More and more tightly than ever.

It is like SU is saying: The emperor is dead long live the emperor — the gatekeepers are gone so let all old gatekeepers come to SU because we are the gatekeeper of exponential technology and the Gods of disruption. And so again, in essence, it is the same old cry “the Emperor is dead long live the emperor.” My cry here tonight is rather different: “The emperor is dead. SU has no clothes. The hell with the monarchy. Long live the republic.”

At any rate, time is advancing so let me finish here with Peter Diamandis’ brilliant 6 D’s of Exponentials:

Digitalized – it is absolutely not digitized. That’s why a small-time amateur blogger like me can have more traffic on my YouTube channel than Singularity University.

Deceptive – yes it is deceptive, it sells exponential i.e. it sells something it does not have in the first place. How can you sell exponential org if you are not one?

Disruptive – Yes, it is very disruptive but mostly to people’s and organizations’ bank accounts. Started by charging around $100,000 went through $200,000 and, most recently from 1/4 to 1/2 of 1 million dollars per event. Clearly it will reach a billion dollars way before reaching a billion people. And will disrupt the balance of a number of bank accounts no doubt. Started not for profit and now it’s somewhat half way but the reality is that it is totally for profit if you actually watch what’s being done.

Furthermore, how disruptive and exponential can be a few middle-aged people who fly first class and ask for half a million to do a two day event?!  Revolutions are made by the young and the poor… I can think of a few people whose middle name is disruption and they don’t fly in first class and don’t make the big money. The people who do are business people. People who disrupt, well they just go around and disrupt… its’ what they do, whether they are getting paid or not.

Dematerialized – Singularity University is geographically clustered, based on in-person learning and funded by an artificial scarcity based business model.

Demonetized – it is the exact opposite of that. It is very monetized and trying to be even more so all the time by raising its prices and creating artificial scarcity.

Democratized or Decentralized – Singularity University is neither. It is a classic top down pyramidal structure. So there is nothing fundamentally new, democratized or decentralized about it.

And so I find it be a great irony of exponentials that 7 years later Singularity University is none of those things either.

Conclusion:

As I said in the beginning of my talk today: The Emperor has No Clothes.

Our emperor has no clothes my friends.

Singularity University is not about the singularity. SU is not a about abundance. SU is not an exponential organization. And the exponential irony is that SU charges enormous amounts of money by going to all kinds of organizations that are none of those things themselves and asks them:

Do you know about the Singularity? Do you know about abundance? Do you know about exponential organizations?

And then tells them that they should listen if they want to survive.

And of course, this is what I just did. And so I do hope that SU has a big fat check for me today – and I am happy with only $100,000 because I am giving them the warning they love and get paid to give to others. Which is simply this:

Disrupt yourself or be disrupted. Lead by example and from the front. Seek to monetize abundance, rather than scarcity. Put the mission before the organization. Live your message. Do these and you will reach your goals. Fail to do so and you will fail as an organization.

So, if Singularity University is not about the singularity, not about abundance and is not an exponential organization then the natural question is, of course:

What is SU all about?!

Well, humor me with this absolutely crazy and totally outlandish hypothesis:

Singularity University is a child of silicon valley. And silicon valley is about one thing: start a business, build it up and sell it. In other words Silicon Valley is about IPO’s. It is about taking companies public. And, the strategic drift that I have been getting based on all the observable changes and what’s been happening for the past few years is that Singularity University follows that mold and is being built up and groomed with the idea to eventually be sold to someone like Google, for example.

So, ultimately, Singularity University is about selling to the highest bidder. Most likely Google.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with that. But that is a fundamentally different purpose than impacting the life of a billion people.

And so where does all of this leave us?!

I honestly have not a clue. But I do know that when the Singularity Hub never called me back to become a staff writer for them that was like winning the lottery because I will not be here tonight if I they had called. Because it would have not occurred to me that I can do it on my own. I also know that while I do love Singularity University SU does not have a monopoly over exponential technology, disruption or the future of humanity. So while it is great to have a strong organization it is even better if we have more than one. We need many, many Singularity Universities. That is why for example when people are sometimes surprised that I allow other tech bloggers and podcasters to post on my blog, link to their sites and quote “steal my audience”, I reply that it is totally awesome. Because I believe in the mission more than I believe in my own organization. Because I believe we need many, many singularity universities, singularity blogs and singularity podcasts. And because I believe in abundance.

And so I plan to keep doing what I do best. Even if, at times, that comes at a high price. And I think that now you may have a better idea as to what that might look like. But in the end of the day I am not here to be right. And I am not here to make money. Unless, of course, Yuri has my $100,000 check somewhere there. I am here to start a conversation. I am here to tell you that our Emperor has no clothes and it is our responsibility to say it loud and clear.

And so, in that sense, I admit that I am here to make a ruckus.

But the rest is up to you.

And so, as always, the question is:

What are YOU going to do?!

Thank you very much for your time!

My Journey to Singularity and Beyond: An Evening Symposium with Socrates in Rotterdam

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Nikola DanaylovOn November 17, 2015 Singularity University Netherlands is organizing a 3 hour evening symposium with me where I will share my personal story of leaving Bulgaria, attending Singularity University and becoming the biggest independent blogger and podcaster on topics such as the singularity, AI and transhumanism.

In addition, I will share my philosophy on blogging and podcasting, the importance of ethics and some of the personal lessons I have learned along my journey. Finally, true to my Socrates moniker, I will engage into some provocative deconstruction:

Derrida said that “deconstruction is about cracking nuts” and, since the two juiciest nuts in our community are the technological singularity in general and Singularity University in particular, those are the nuts I will attempt to crack. You be the judge of how that turns out…

I am told that the hall will be able to fit about 300 people or so and we already have 200 registered. So if you want to come join us then register for free now: http://www.meetup.com/Singularity-University-NL/events/226627815/

Socrates Gets Interviewed on the Futurology Podcast

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A few weeks ago I got interviewed on the Futurology Podcast.

During my one hour conversation with show host Jason Peffley we discuss a number of topics such as: how I got to do blogging and podcasting; my time and take on Singularity University in particular and education in general; the wait-and-see vs the proactive approach to the future; the definition of the technological singularity; slow vs hard take-off scenarios; whether I am a futurist or not; my favorite singularity books; the political and economic reality in the US; why life extension technology is so exciting; why I hate Prometheus; pessimism vs optimism…

Here is the original podcast description written by Jason Peffley:

“Instead of running through the top 5 links, this episode is dedicated to interviewing Nikola Danaylov. His site (singularityweblog.com) is periodically discussed here and his podcast has featured some of the biggest names in technology.  Nikola has also studied at the Singularity University.  He now makes his living by blogging, podcasting, and attending singularity related events around the world.”

 

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Vivek Wadhwa: Take What You Know and Do Good

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Last week I interviewed Vivek Wadhwa on Singularity 1 on 1.

I met Vivek last summer at Singularity University where he is the VP of academics and innovation. Vivek is one of those multi-talented and very outspoken people who are never afraid to take the risk and say what they think. He is also a successful entrepreneur and, as a contrarian in the true Socratic fashion, is someone motivated by impact, not profit.

During our conversation with Vivek we discuss issues such as the stories behind his becoming (accidental) entrepreneur and an (accidental) SU linchpin; his current position at Singularity University, its structure and the amazing group of people gravitating around it; the convergence of exponential technology and Vivek’s motivation to do good; the pro’s and con’s of being an outspoken contrarian; the bubble in some tech stocks such as Groupon; his love of science fiction and the fact that technology has already delivered more than he expected; the rapture of the nerds criticism; the up and coming technologies that will change the world as well as the risks and benefits thereof.

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 Vivek Wadhwa?

Vivek Wadhwa is Vice President of Academics and Innovation at Singularity University; Fellow, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and distinguished visiting scholar, Halle Institute of Global Learning, Emory University.

Wadhwa oversees the academic programs at Singularity University, which educates a select group of leaders about the exponentially growing technologies that are soon going to change our world. These advances—in fields such as robotics, A.I., computing, synthetic biology, 3D printing, medicine, and nanomaterials—are making it possible for small teams to do what was once possible only for governments and large corporations: solve the grand challenges in education, water, food, shelter, health, and security.

In his roles at Stanford, Duke, and Emory universities, Wadhwa lectures in class on subjects such as entrepreneurship and public policy, helps prepare students for the real world, and leads groundbreaking research projects. He is an advisor to several governments; mentors entrepreneurs; and is a regular columnist for The Washington Post, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and the American Society of Engineering Education’s Prism magazine. Prior to joining academia in 2005, Wadhwa founded two software companies.

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

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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; the story behind as well as the purpose and structure of the FutureMed program; bone marrow harvesting, regenerative medicine, and stem cell research; longevity and the future of medicine and health care; his greatest inspiration and concerns about the field of medicine and his belief that one doesn’t have to be a doctor to improve health care.

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 Daniel Kraft?

Daniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur and innovator.

Dr. Kraft has over 20 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation.  Daniel chairs the Medicine track for Singularity University and is Executive Director for FutureMed, a program which explores convergent, exponentially developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare.

Following undergraduate degrees at Brown and medical school at Stanford, Dr. Kraft was board certified in the Harvard combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency program at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. He went on to complete Stanford fellowships in hematology/oncology & bone marrow transplantation, and extensive research in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.  He has multiple scientific publications (including in Nature and Science), medical device, immunology and stem cell related patents through faculty positions with Stanford University School of Medicine and as clinical faculty for the pediatric bone marrow transplantation service at UCSF.

Dr. Kraft recently founded IntelliMedicine, focused on enabling connected, data driven, and integrated personalized medicine. He is also the inventor of the MarrowMiner, an FDA approved device for the minimally invasive harvest of bone marrow, and founded RegenMed Systems, a company developing technologies to enable adult stem cell based regenerative therapies.

Daniel is an avid pilot and serves in the California Air National guard as an officer and flight surgeon with an F-16 fighter Squadron. He has conducted research on aerospace medicine that was published with NASA, with whom he was a finalist for astronaut selection.

Daniel Kraft on Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells:

Daniel Kraft at TED:

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Top 5 Tips for Applying to Singularity University

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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 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 Steve 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 their applications or for tips on being successful in applying to Singularity University. Today I decided to make a short video with my top 5 tips. If you are seriously thinking about applying take a few minutes and watch the video below where for the first time ever I reveal all my secret shortcuts and hidden tricks which helped me get accepted to SU on a full scholarship.

My Top 5 Tips for Applying to Singularity University:

1. Do your homework: Learn as much as you can about Singularity University, its mission, founders, employees, and alumni. Try and connect with as many of those people as you can. Get to know their work, their dreams, and aspirations. Eventually, they may even begin recognizing your name or your face. For example, my personal strategy was to interview as many well-known singularitarians as possible. Once I did that I approached the top 3 people with whom I had developed very friendly relationships and asked them for letters of reference.

2. Do the Work! Regardless of what I promised above, I have to admit that there are really no shortcuts for your application. So, just do the work. I honestly hate paperwork and writing extensive applications but despite that, I probably spent at least one whole week writing and polishing my application for 4-5 hours each day. So, take the time and put the maximum effort to submit as great and as polished an application as you possibly can.

3. Submit your optional short video – it is the best way to showcase your passion and personality. Tell them what you’ve done in the past and what you dream of doing in the future. Tell them why you care. And, if you feel so, don’t be afraid to say that you’re different. But be authentic. Don’t fake it. Realize that once you actually make it to SU everyone there is either a rocket scientist or a geek or an entrepreneur or a genius so, one way or another, everyone stands out and is different. Don’t glorify yourself beyond measure and don’t be afraid to mention your weaknesses. Be honest. (See, for example, my own video: Don’t Accept Me To Singularity University: My Top 10 Reasons Why I Should Not Be Accepted. While it is clearly horrible as a video it worked in the sense that it managed to show who I am and what I am passionate about.)

4. Never give up and get lucky! There is an old proverb saying: “Everything I have accomplished in life – I owe it to luck. And the harder I work – the luckier I get.” So, if you fail in your first attempt don’t give up. Keep working at it until you get lucky. For example, I had to apply 3 times to Singularity University and was placed on the waiting list the last time that I applied. It was not even 36 hours before the beginning of the program when I was finally notified that someone didn’t show up and I was accepted on a full scholarship in their place. So, I just got lucky, but if you persist you will get lucky too.

Astronaut Dan Barry (who has been twice in space, worked on the International Space Station, and, for a while, held the record for the longest space-walk) had to apply 13 times to NASA. So, if you are sure that this is what you want to do and where you want to be, then, don’t let anyone or anything stop you. Just keep working at it and eventually you will get lucky.

5. Don’t wait for permission to change the world. Just go and do it. No institution can ever grant you or prevent you from making a dent in the universe. So, own up to the fact that it is really up to you. While SU may be both inspirational and a lot of fun, at the end of the day, it is really just a tool. Not the goal itself. The goal is to change the life of a billion people in a positive way. So, don’t wait for permission – just go and do it.

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Marc Goodman on Future Crimes [TEDx Video]

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Marc Goodman is the Policy, Law and Ethics chair at Singularity University and the founder of the Future Crimes Institute.

Marc is a global thinker, writer and consultant focused on the profound change technology is having on security, business and international affairs. Over the past 20 years, he has built his expertise in combating cyber crime and terrorism working with organizations such as INTERPOL, the United Nations, NATO and the US Government. Marc frequently consults with global policy makers, security executives and industry leaders on technology-related security threats and has operated in nearly seventy countries around the world.

It this TEDx video Marc talks about the impressive innovation and adoption of cutting edge technology by organized crime. He gives numerous examples of the paradigm shift that criminal or terrorist enterprises are undergoing and the consequent problems faced by law-enforcement agencies and every-day people alike.

What should we anticipate about future crimes today?

Watch Marc Goodman’s TEDx video to find out!

Singularity University Lectures: David Rose on Entrepreneurship

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David Rose is not only the track Chair for Finance, Economics and Entrepreneurship at Singularity University but is also an Inc 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur and an early stage venture investor, sometimes described as “the father of Angel Investing in New York”, “top dog in tech” and “the Patriarch of Silicon Valley”.

Today I am posting David Rose’s Singularity University lecture on entrepreneurship for it was among the best I’ve heard on the topic. It is a presentation full of knowledge, wisdom and experience but also humor and style.

A true hypomaniac, David speaks about the meaning of entrepreneurship, the importance of thinking differently and the ecstasy and satisfaction of going successfully against the grain while not forgetting to stress the sacrifices of being an entrepreneur and the agony and common occurrence of failure.

Who is David Rose?

David S. Rose is a serial entrepreneur who crossed the aisle to become one of the country’s leading angel investors…and then crossed back to found Angelsoft, filling a major need in the rapidly growing world of early stage investing.

As an entrepreneur, David has founded half a dozen companies since his first one at the age of ten, and has personally raised tens of millions of dollars of venture, strategic and institutional capital. He was named to the Inc 500 list as CEO of one of the country’s fastest growing private companies, and has been described as a “world conquering entrepreneur” by BusinessWeek.

As an angel investor, David founded and chairs New York Angels, one of the largest and most active angel investment groups in the US. He has personally invested in over 70 early stage companies, and serves on the boards of directors of KoolSpan, Magnify Networks, Social Bomb, Comixology, and Pond5.

Outside of Angelsoft, David is Managing Principal of Rose Tech Ventures, Chairman of Egret Capital Partners, and Track Chair for Finance, Entrepreneurship and Economics at Singularity University. He has been dubbed “The Pitch Coach” by BusinessWeek for his work with early stage entrepreneurs, a “top dog in tech” by Crains New York Business, and “patriarch of Silicon Alley” by Red Herring magazine.

David writes about early stage investing and entrepreneurship on Quora and Twitter as @davidsrose, and on his blog, rose.vc/angelnotes.

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Singularity University: Random Video Highlights from GSP11

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It has been two and a half weeks since I returned home from Singularity University and the post-SU blues that previous graduates have warned us about is beginning to hit me hard. So, I am hoping that my regular blog readers will excuse my indulging in nostalgic reminiscing about my friends from GSP11. The following video collage is a little tribute to both my classmates from GSP11 and all the people who made it all happen.

In the first clip SU students are going literally into the brain: PhD candidate Rachel Kalmar showing us slices and talking about the inner workings of the human brain. The British contingent, consisting of Antony Evans and David Garofalo, look over in a critical and calm manner while Lucy Rogers and Francesco Mosconi get clearly excited by the thought of handling someone’s brain. But it is the creative Darius Lau and Claudia Gobel who almost eat one…

Later on, Daniel Kraft, Justine Lam, Pasha Rudenko, Julielynn Wong and Caitlin Sparks look at a completely preserved human brain and parts of a spinal cord.

Jose Cordeiro, Andreas Raptopoulos, Luis Gonzalez-Blanch, Carlo Bellini and other SU students singing in the bus on the way to CISCO:

Visiting the CISCO Headquarters and watching a demo of their mobile collaboration solutions:

Alaa from Palestine playing with a little toy robot that she just built:

The next video is just but a small demonstration of the variety of backgrounds and skills that SU students possess. Here our Brazilian friend Augusto Camargo opens up the lady’s washroom door, which is locked shut and we don’t have a key. Where did you learn to break into locked doors Augusto?

This video shows the full spectrum of activities happening simultaneously even late into the night at SU – some like Jean Carlo are goofing around, others are watching a documentary or working in the computer lab, while others are partying hard during the initiation night of our new Voodoo Lounge. All in all – a bunch of crazy dreamers who think that anything is possible… At any rate, welcome to the Voodoo Lounge:

Voodoo Lounge 2:

Devolution! This is what happens after 10 weeks at SU’s NASA Ames Campus. Watch the degradation of all my favorite people into monkeys! Love and miss all my primates from SU GSP11!

Me and my friend Paolo Pacorini are getting pumped up for the San Francisco marathon while in the background Darius Lau falls into the abyss:

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Singularity University Tours Autodesk

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Autodesk is among the most notable sponsors, supporters and big time friends of Singularity University. At the same time, it is also a very cool company in its own right with many of its cutting edge 3D design technologies used in a variety disciplines from industrial design to special effects in blockbuster movies such as AVATAR.

The videos below were shot when me and my classmates from Singularity University GSP11 visited the Autodesk demo office and showroom in San Francisco. Hope you enjoy the video tour as much as I did filming it.

The first clip shows several SU students from GSP11 talking to SU academic adviser Jonathan Knowles via his tele-presence robot. During our conversation we talk about Scottish kilts, email spam, 3d printing and, most interestingly, the story behind how Autodesk became a Singularity University sponsor. (Thank you Jonathan!)

In this video we look at the growing variety of materials and objects that can be 3d printed. Some of the students include Dimitar Pachov (Bulgaria), Marianne Abreu (Brazil), Gustav Borgefalk (Sweden), Rachel Kalmar, Justine Lam, Michael Smith, Caitlin Sparks (all from USA), Augusto Camargo (Brazil), Sergey Musienko (Russia) and many others.

In this video security team intern Tony Young Lyu (South Korea) and fast & furious redhead Randi Willis (USA) test drive a 3d car simulation. Then aspiring biker Justine Lam poses with the 3D printed motorcycle in my leather jacket.

And here is the picture for which I had to interrupt the above video:

This is the first video I shot at Autodesk starting from the elevator lobby and walking through their show room. Some of the highlights include the Tesla family sedan car prototype (which apparently belongs to Augusto Camargo), Eduardo Labarca playing with dinosaur poo, and the incredible Tony Young Lyu trying out the car simulator. Other students in the video include Jaime Bonin Roca (Spain), Cristovao Loureiro (Brazil) and Gustav Borgefalk (Sweden).

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Salim Ismail: We Are Already Gods, We Might As Well Start Acting As Such

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During my time at Singularity University, I was privileged to get a 30 min interview with Salim Ismail for Singularity 1 on 1.

During our conversation we discuss issues such as Salim’s personal background and early childhood in India; his motivation, goals, and aspirations for Singularity University; the term “exponential organization”; his take on the technological singularity and the surprising fact that he is not a singularitarian; being/becoming gods; our responsibility for what happens to the planet; religion in general and the rapture of the nerds’ criticism in particular; making money and investing; being Canadian; using technology to address humanity’s grand challenges.

I would like to thank Singularity University for allowing me to use their campus during filming.

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

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 Salim Ismail?

Salim Ismail is a sought-after speaker, strategist, and entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. He travels extensively addressing topics including breakthrough technologies and their impact on a variety of industries.

Salim spent the last three years building Singularity University as its founding Executive Director and current Global Ambassador. SU is based at NASA Ames and is training a new generation of leaders to manage exponentially growing technologies. Before that, he built and ran Brickhouse, Yahoo’s internal incubator. His last company, Angstro, was sold to Google in August 2010. He has founded or operated seven early-stage companies including PubSub Concepts, which laid some of the foundation for the real-time web. Salim also serves on the board of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization.

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