Singularity.FM

Jerome C. Glenn is co-founder and Director of The Millennium Project. He is well known for inventing the Futures Wheel technique and, among many other things, is also the primary author on their annual state of the future report and editor of futures research methodology. Thus, when Jason Ganz suggested that I invite Jerome on Singularity 1 […]

Jim Harris is one of North America’s foremost management consultants, public speakers, authors and thinkers on change and leadership. He is also another local Canadian thought leader that I discovered during the World Future 2012 conference where Jim made the closing keynote speech. His speech was so entertaining, informative and illuminating that I […]

Jim Harris is one of North America’s foremost management consultants, public speakers, authors and thinkers on change and leadership. He is also another local Canadian thought leader that I discovered during the World Future 2012 conference where Jim made the closing keynote speech. His speech was so entertaining, informative and illuminating that I instantly decided to invite him on Singularity 1 on 1. During our conversation with Harris we cover a wide variety of topics such as: technology as a major driver of change in our society; how a company (or our civilization) can appear to be healthy while actually being dead; the limits to growth and the ways we get Blindsided; Jim's 13 Laws of accelerating change; why most organizations are incapable of innovation and adaptation; what Jim calls The Learning Paradox - learning, changing and accepting uncertainty; why being green is not some hippy ideology but a very profitable business decision. One of my favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with Jim Harris is: “We need a silver buckshot, not a silver bullet." (As a way of emphasizing the multiplicity of approaches necessary to adapt to accelerating change and address our environmental and economic meltdowns.) As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. Also, if you enjoy Singularity 1 on 1, please show your support: write a review on iTunes or make a donation.   Who is Jim Harris? Jim Harris is one of North America’s foremost management consultants, public speakers, authors and thinkers on change and leadership. He has 20 years experience as a professional speaker and consultant, and speaks internationally at more than 40 conferences a year on topics including innovation and creativity, customer relationship management (CRM), eLearning, creating learning organizations, environmental leadership, energy efficiency, strategic planning, and creating common organizational mission and vision. He was one of the first seven Canadians personally trained by Al Gore to present the slide show for An Inconvenient Truth. He was also one of just 12 Canadians who were licensed to publicly teach Dr. Stephen Covey’s work, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Jim Harris works with leading businesses and Fortune 500 companies. He recently finished a global consulting contract with IBM and a related white paper on how low carbon leadership drives profitability. His new book, A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste, will be published in 2012. It documents hundreds of case studies on how environmental leadership is best for the bottom line, especially in these recessionary times. His most recent book, Blindsided: How to Spot the Next Breakthrough That Will Change Your Business is a #1 international bestseller, having hit the top spot on the Financial Times of London’s European Edition of Best Business Books. He is also the author of The Learning Paradox: Gaining Success and Security in a World of Change, which appeared on numerous bestseller lists, and co-author of national bestseller The 100 Best Companies to Work for in Canada. He is also principal at Strategic Advantage and previously held positions as partner at Cleantech Group and affiliate at Covey Leadership Centre. In addition to his speaking and consulting engagements and books, Jim Harris writes for a number of publications, including the Globe and Mail, Profit magazine and Backbone magazine. Related articles Cyborg Luddite Steve Mann on Singularity 1 on 1: Technology That Masters Nature is Not Sustainable

Jim Harris is one of North America’s foremost management consultants, public speakers, authors and thinkers on change and leadership. He is also another local Canadian thought leader that I discovered during the World Future 2012 conference where Jim made the closing keynote speech. His speech was so entertaining, informative and illuminating that I instantly decided to invite him […]

Ryan Janzen applies principles of electrical engineering and physics to diverse fields, from biomedical science, to fluid dynamics and aerospace, to music and acoustics. With eighteen international peer-reviewed publications, he does research and teaching as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, with Steve Mann. Janzen is a composer not […]

Ryan Janzen applies principles of electrical engineering and physics to diverse fields, from biomedical science, to fluid dynamics and aerospace, to music and acoustics. With eighteen international peer-reviewed publications, he does research and teaching as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, with Steve Mann. Janzen is a composer not only for orchestra but also for the hydraulophone. During our 25 minute conversation with Ryan we cover a wide variety of topics such as: his early passion for both technology and music; his strong interest in nature and ethics; the problems of careerism and pursuing technology for its own sake, both in the arts and the sciences; the importance of questioning what we assume to be the natural order of things; the hydraulophone and its unique way of making music by vibrating water as one of many ways of bringing nature and technology together. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.) If you enjoy Singularity 1 on 1 please show your support: write a review on iTunes or make a donation.   Ryan Janzen on the Hydraulophone Ryan Janzen playing the Hydraulophone and explaining its unique sound and technology.   Steve Mann and Ryan Janzen Hydraulophone Duet   Who is Ryan Janzen? Ryan Janzen's compositions have been performed internationally in New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Copenhagen and Shanghai. Featured on CBC, Danish radio, and at the World Expo, Ryan Janzen's compositions have been sought after for art music, film, and esoteric concerts. As experience-designer/music director of 19 live concerts and producer of 3 albums, he has collaborated extensively with musicians, orchestras, and interdisciplinary researchers. Janzen's work embodies a fusion between art and science that comes naturally: Janzen's scientific research has led to advances in acoustics, aerospace engineering, and electric vehicle propulsion, and was awarded a federal grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. His music research is published in eight international music publications. After founding a technology consulting company in elementary school, Janzen worked on the award-winning film Commedia Fantasia (winner of the 2002 Houston International Film Festival Gold Medal Award in performing arts), and has since produced an array of art music, film music, orchestral and choral compositions, performance art, and high-tech performances that push the limits of art and science. Janzen in 2006 was the world's first composer to create music for hydraulophone, an exotic instrument which is played by touching jets of water. Janzen developed a new expressive performance style and (along with inventor Steve Mann) a new musical notation which gives the performer access to a never-before-seen ability: polyphonic embouchure, brought into existence by hydraulophones. His film scores include "Ritual", an eerie film+concert performance in which audience and performers are left in pitch dark. Janzen's compositions have been commissioned recently for a grand-opening of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Alberta, and for the Marshall Fels Elliott short film "After Hours". His compositions have also been performed at the Music Gallery in Toronto, NIME in New York City, and the Vandkulturhuset in Denmark. Janzen's multimedia work "Stray" was featured in a Florence, Italy presentation. This piece of music was written in the C programming language, for pipe organ and andantephone (a musical instrument designed with Steve Mann which transforms seismic waves from footsteps). Fusion between music and science is also Janzen's specialty as an invited lecturer internationally at courses and conventions alike. He is featured in 22 newspaper, magazine and TV news programs on art, science and technology. Samples of his work can be heard/seen at: ryanjanzen.ca

Ryan Janzen applies principles of electrical engineering and physics to diverse fields, from biomedical science, to fluid dynamics and aerospace, to music and acoustics. With eighteen international peer-reviewed publications, he does research and teaching as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, with Steve Mann. Janzen is a composer not only for orchestra but also […]

Steve Mann is sometimes called the first cyborg. Other times he is called the cyborg Luddite because of the stress he puts on choosing which technologies to embrace and which ones to abandon in order to be in harmony with nature. Whatever the case may be, I was super happy […]

Steve Mann is sometimes called the first cyborg. Other times he is called the cyborg Luddite because of the stress he puts on choosing which technologies to embrace and which ones to abandon in order to be in harmony with nature. Whatever the case may be, I was super happy to get him on Singularity 1 on 1. During our conversation with Steve we cover a wide variety of topics such as: his early interest in both nature and technology; his MIT thesis on humanistic intelligence; his digital eye glass EyeTap camera and display technology; his inventing and usage of HDR imaging technology; augmented reality, mediated reality, augmediated reality and the long and short-term adaptation issues thereof; rethinking the relationship between nature and technology; why he is sometimes called the cyborg Luddite and his call to use less of televisions, elevators, automobiles and air-conditioning; his take on the technological singularity; surveillance and sousveillance; existemology - existential epistomology, learning by doing and learning by being; the hydraulophone; the differences between live blogging, logging and glogging. My two most favorite quotes that I will take away from this interview with Dr. Mann are: "I am not saying more or less technology - I am saying appropriate technology. Instead of technological excess - we should have technology that is balanced with nature. Instead of replacing nature with technology - we should balance it. Instead of replacing intelligence with artificial intelligence - we should use humanistic intelligence..." [...] "I think that the only way we are ever going to understand AI is through HI. I think that the only way we are ever going to understand computers is to become a computer. And I think that the only way to understand measurement (at least as children) is to become the ruler." (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.) If you enjoy Singularity 1 on 1 please show your support: write a review on iTunes or make a donation.   The Hydraulophone Steve Mann playing a hydraulophone and explaining the differences between different models.   Steve Mann and Ryan Janzen Hydraulophone Duet   Socrates and Steve Mann playing duet on the Hydraulophone (sort of)   Who is Steve Mann? Steve Mann has been described by the media as "the world's first cyborg" and was named "the father of wearable computing" at the IEEE ISSCC in February 2000 for his invention of Mediated Reality (predecessor of Augmented Reality), and also invented HDR and panoramics (U.S. Pat.s 5828793+5706416) now implemented in most cameras including Apple iPhone. He also invented the neckworn sensor camera like the one now manufactured by Microsoft. Mann creates interventions+inventions to combine art+science+technology, with emphasis on interplay between technology and nature. Mann is the inventor of the hydraulophone, awarded numerous patents, the world's first musical instrument to make sound from vibrations in liquid (other instruments make sound from vibrations in solids or gases), won first place in the Coram International Sustainable Design Award, and is the recipient of the 2004 Leonardo Award for Excellence. Mann has written more than 200 publications+books+patents, and his work and inventions have has been shown at the Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of American History, The Science Museum (Wellcome Wing, opening with Her Majesty The Queen June 2000), MoMA (New York), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), Triennale di Milano, Austin Museum of Art, and San Francisco Art Institute. He has been featured by AP News, New York Times, LA-Times, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, WiReD, NBC, ABC, CNN, David Letterman (#6 on Letterman's Top Ten), CBC-TV, CBS, Scientific American, Scientific American Frontiers, Discovery Channel, Byte, Reuters, New Scientist, Rolling Stone, and BBC.

Steve Mann is sometimes called the first cyborg. Other times he is called the cyborg Luddite because of the stress he puts on choosing which technologies to embrace and which ones to abandon in order to be in harmony with nature. Whatever the case may be, I was super happy to get him on Singularity 1 […]

Dr. Anders Sandberg is a well known transhumanist, futurist, computational neuroscientist and currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford University. I enjoyed talking to him last time he was on Singularity 1 on 1 and was happy to have him back for another one. During our second conversation […]

Dr. Anders Sandberg is a well known transhumanist, futurist, computational neuroscientist and currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford University. I enjoyed talking to him last time he was on Singularity 1 on 1 and was happy to have him back for another one. During our second conversation with Anders we cover a wide variety of topics such as: transhumanism and the ethics thereof; the limits of being human; the Epic of Gilgamesh and our quest for immortality; overcoming death and enhancing life; life expectancy and our willingness to take risks; the potential for enhancement arms-races; the likelihood of armed conflict between transhumanists and neo-luddites; the most likely path to human enhancement; personal versus collective enhancement; hive-minds, distributed intelligence, the Borg and individulaity; post-humanism and mind uploading. My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with Dr. Sandberg is: "That which does not kill us only makes us stranger." (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.) If you enjoy Singularity 1 on 1 please show your support: write a review on iTunes or make a donation.   Who is Anders Sandberg? Anders Sandberg’s research at the Future of Humanity Institute centres on societal and ethical issues surrounding human enhancement and new technology, as well as estimating the capabilities and underlying science of future technologies. Topics of particular interest include enhancement of cognition, cognitive biases, technology-enabled collective intelligence, neuroethics and public policy. He has worked on this within the EU project ENHANCE, where he also was responsible for public outreach and online presence. Besides scientific publications in neuroscience, ethics and future studies he has also participated in the public debate about human enhancement internationally. Anders also holds an AXA Research Fellowship. He has a background in computer science, neuroscience and medical engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. in computational neuroscience from Stockholm University, Sweden, for work on neural network modeling of human memory. He has also been the scientific producer for the major neuroscience exhibition "Se Hjärnan!" ("Behold the Brain!"), organized by Swedish Travelling Exhibitions, the Swedish Research Council and the Knowledge Foundation that toured Sweden 2005-2007. He is co-founder and writer for the think tank Eudoxa. Related articles Anders Sandberg on Singularity 1 on 1: We Are All Amazingly Stupid, But We Can Get Better Daniel H. Wilson on Singularity 1 on 1: We Can't Win Against Technology - We Are Technology!

Dr. Anders Sandberg is a well known transhumanist, futurist, computational neuroscientist and currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford University. I enjoyed talking to him last time he was on Singularity 1 on 1 and was happy to have him back for another one. During our second conversation with Anders we cover a wide […]

George Dyson was born in 1953 and had a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the conjunction of mathematics and physics that brought the digital revolution to life. He has been observing the relationship between nature and technology ever since. Dyson’s latest book, Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe, illuminates […]

George Dyson was born in 1953 and had a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the conjunction of mathematics and physics that brought the digital revolution to life. He has been observing the relationship between nature and technology ever since. Dyson’s latest book, Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe, illuminates the transition from numbers that […]