Singularity.FM

This week I interviewed Greg Wientjes for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Greg at Singularity University and picked up a copy of his book Creative Genius in Technology: Mentor Principles from Life Stories of Geniuses and Visionaries of the Singularity. The book is very well researched and examines the question: “How […]

This week I interviewed Greg Wientjes for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Greg at Singularity University and picked up a copy of his book Creative Genius in Technology: Mentor Principles from Life Stories of Geniuses and Visionaries of the Singularity. The book is very well researched and examines the question: "How do you mentor, educate and cultivate the development of individuals with high potential for technology innovation and advancement?" It is based on Greg's conversations with some of the most influential people in technology for the past three decades. People such as: Vint Cerf, Bob Kahn, Ray Kurzweil, Bob Metcalfe, Doug Osheroff, Bill Joy, Tim Berners-Lee, Hector Cargia-Molina, James Leckie, Ernesto Sanches-Tirana, Rita Colwell, Ann Graybiel, Joanne Stubbe and Mildred Dresselhaus. The result is Greg's GENIUS theory: G - Give encouragement, validation and self-confidence to the genius. "You can do it!" E - Energize the genius to explore and experiment in engineering  and science discovery at an early age. Learn by doing. N - Nurture creative new ideas through 'play' and providing the genius with an abundance of educational resources. Love learning.  I - Inspire through role modeling and mentoring. Set the example. U - Utilize unexpected events as opportunities for serendipitous benefit, and adapt; encourage the genius to do the same. Ride the wave. S - Stimulate the genius to solve problems of practical importance and create beneficial technology solutions. Invent. *** So, what is my favorite point from Creative Genius in Technology?! "You Can Do It!" (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.)   Who is Greg Wientjes? Greg Wientjes, Ph.D., was awarded his Stanford doctoral degree (Developmental and Psychological Sciences) in 2010.  Wientjes attended Singularity University (2009), which was cofounded by technology genius, Ray Kurzweil, and that experience served as the inspiration for this book.  Dr. Wientjes completed his Master's of Science in Electrical Engineering (2006) and his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics (2004), both from Stanford.

This week I interviewed Greg Wientjes for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Greg at Singularity University and picked up a copy of his book Creative Genius in Technology: Mentor Principles from Life Stories of Geniuses and Visionaries of the Singularity. The book is very well researched and examines the question: “How do you mentor, educate and […]

Last Sunday I interviewed Robert J. Sawyer for Singularity 1 on 1. I have to admit that, despite the fact that he is a very well known and successful best-selling science fiction writer, I only recently stumbled onto Robert’s work. I was taking a ride on the Toronto subway and couldn’t […]

Last Sunday I interviewed Robert J. Sawyer for Singularity 1 on 1. I have to admit that, despite the fact that he is a very well known and successful best-selling science fiction writer, I only recently stumbled onto Robert's work. I was taking a ride on the Toronto subway and couldn't help it but notice the posters for his novel WWW: Wake. The idea of a blind girl seeing the internet and connecting with an emerging virtual intelligence peaked my curiosity so I had to read the book. I thought it was so captivating and brilliant that I went ahead and got book 2 (WWW: Watch) and 3 (WWW: Wonder) as soon as I finished book 1. After finishing the complete trilogy I can honestly say that the story only gets better and better as one moves through the different parts. I recommend it highly. Having read the WWW series I just had to interview Robert. During our conversation with him we discuss issues such as: how and why he got interested in science fiction and technology; the motivation behind and goals of his work; his current book and film projects; his take on artificial intelligence and the technological singularity; philosophy and religion; and the future of humanity. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.)   Who is Robert J. Sawyer? Robert J. Sawyer — called "the dean of Canadian science fiction" by The Ottawa Citizen and "just about the best science-fiction writer out there these days" by The Denver Rocky Mountain News — is one of only eight writers in history (and the only Canadian) to win all three of the science-fiction field's top honors for best novel of the year: the World Science Fiction Society's Hugo Award, which he won in 2003 for his novel Hominids the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Nebula Award, which he won in 1996 for his novel The Terminal Experiment and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, which he won in 2006 for his novel Mindscan Rob is also the only writer in history to win the top SF awards in the United States, China, Japan, France, and Spain. In addition, he's won an Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada as well as eleven Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards ("Auroras"). The ABC TV series Flashforward is based on his novel of the same name. Maclean's: Canada's Weekly Newsmagazine says, "By any reckoning, Sawyer is among the most successful Canadian authors ever," and Barnes and Noble calls him "the leader of SF's next-generation pack." Rob's novels are top-ten national mainstream bestsellers in Canada, appearing on the Globe and Mail and Maclean's bestsellers' lists, and they've hit #1 on the bestsellers' list published by Locus, the U.S. trade journal of the SF field. His twenty novels include Frameshift, Factoring Humanity, Calculating God, WWW: Wake, and the popular "Neanderthal Parallax" trilogy consisting of Hominids, Humans, Hybrids. He's often seen on TV, including such program as Rivera Live with Geraldo Rivera, Canada A.M., and Saturday Night at the Movies, and he's a frequent science commentator for Discovery Channel Canada, CBC Newsworld, and CBC Radio. Rob — who holds an honorary doctorate from Laurentian University — has taught writing at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, the National University of Ireland, and the Banff Centre. He has been Writer-in-Residence at the Richmond Hill (Ontario) Public Library, the Kitchener (Ontario) Public Library, the Toronto Public Library's Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy, the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, and at the Odyssey Workshop. And he edits Robert J. Sawyer Books, the science-fiction imprint of Red Deer Press. Rob has given talks at hundreds of venues including the Library of Congress and the National Library of Canada, and been keynote speaker at dozens of events in places as diverse as Los Angeles, Boston,

Last Sunday I interviewed Robert J. Sawyer for Singularity 1 on 1. I have to admit that, despite the fact that he is a very well known and successful best-selling science fiction writer, I only recently stumbled onto Robert’s work. I was taking a ride on the Toronto subway and couldn’t help it but notice the […]

Last week I interviewed Sonia Arrison for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Sonia at the Singularity University, where she is a founder and a trustee, and there I picked up a copy of her seminal book 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, from Careers and Relationships […]

Last week I interviewed Sonia Arrison for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Sonia at the Singularity University, where she is a founder and a trustee, and there I picked up a copy of her seminal book 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, from Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith. The book is very well researched and deals with the most profound implications of life-extension and super-longevity. In the author’s own words, the main question is: “how long science will extend our lives and how that in turn will change our ecological, social, and religious worlds.” During our conversation with Sonia we discuss issues such as: how and why she got interested in technology in general and transhumanism and regenerative medicine in particular; how science and technology will allow us to live longer and healthier lives; the most common objections against increased longevity; the implications thereof on major religions; cryonics; Sonia’s take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it; the fact that we cannot simply sit down and wait for longevity to happen. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.) Who is Sonia Arrison? Sonia Arrison is a founder, academic advisor, and trustee at Singularity University, located in Mountain View, CA. She is also a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) and a columnist for TechNewsWorld. As a frequent media contributor and guest, her work has appeared on CNN and in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. To find out more about Sonia visit SoniaArrison.com Related articles 100 Plus Book Review: Sonia Arrison on How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything

Last week I interviewed Sonia Arrison for Singularity 1 on 1. I met Sonia at the Singularity University, where she is a founder and a trustee, and there I picked up a copy of her seminal book 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, from Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith. The […]

Yesterday I interviewed Spencer Greenberg for Singularity 1 on 1. Spencer is the Chief Executive Officer of Rebellion Research, the quantitative hedge fund that he co-founded in 2005 at the age of 22. During our conversation with Spencer we discuss issues such as: the unique approach that Rebellion Research takes in […]

Yesterday I interviewed Spencer Greenberg for Singularity 1 on 1. Spencer is the Chief Executive Officer of Rebellion Research, the quantitative hedge fund that he co-founded in 2005 at the age of 22. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.) During our conversation with Spencer we discuss issues such as: the unique approach that Rebellion Research takes in investing; artificial intelligence and machine learning; the Black Swan factor and the abilities of AI to account for and react to unpredictable events; Spencer's take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it; the cognitive biases and logical fallacies that humans are prone to exhibit.   Who is Spencer Greenberg? Spencer Greenberg is the CEO of Rebellion Research, a fund that applies machine learning technology to invest in the stock market. Mr. Greenberg graduated Magna Cum Laude from Columbia University's School of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics and a minor in computer science. He is currently a math PhD candidate at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (all but dissertation), specializing in the mathematics of machine learning. Mr. Greenberg has spoken about artificial intelligence and investing on Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Radio, CNBC, Canada's Business News Network, China's Phoenix TV, in the Wall Street Journal, at Columbia Business School, and at the Stern School of Business. Other information about Spencer: He co-writes AskAMathematician.com, a website with about 100,000 monthly page views where his co-author and him answer people's math and physics questions. In addition, he is very much into rationality, and learning to debug the errors in our own minds and improve our sub-optimal behaviors. On his personal website - SpencerGreenberg.com, he shares his thoughts on these issues. Related articles Stephen Wolfram on Singularity 1 on 1: To Understand the Future, Explore the Computational Universe Peter Diamandis on Singularity 1 on 1: Singularity University is Star Fleet Academy for the World's Biggest Challenges Salim Ismail on Singularity 1 on 1: We Are Already Gods, We Might As Well Start Acting As Such

Yesterday I interviewed Spencer Greenberg for Singularity 1 on 1. Spencer is the Chief Executive Officer of Rebellion Research, the quantitative hedge fund that he co-founded in 2005 at the age of 22. During our conversation with Spencer we discuss issues such as: the unique approach that Rebellion Research takes in investing; artificial intelligence and machine learning; the […]

During my 10 weeks at Singularity University I was able to ambush Dan Barry for a 20 min interview for Singularity 1 on 1. Former NASA astronaut and veteran of 3 space missions, Dan is currently the head of faculty at Singularity University and the co-chair for AI, Robotics, Space and Physical […]

During my 10 weeks at Singularity University I was able to ambush Dan Barry for a 20 min interview for Singularity 1 on 1. Former NASA astronaut and veteran of 3 space missions, Dan is currently the head of faculty at Singularity University and the co-chair for AI, Robotics, Space and Physical Sciences. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.) For me Dan Barry was an inspiration from the very beginning of the program: His inaugural lecture, Failure is an Option, during which he shared both his wife's moving story (documented in her best-selling book Fixing My Gaze) and his own life's story (with his 13 unsuccessful attempts to become an astronaut), not only moved me deeply but also taught me that nothing is impossible and that one should never give up one's dreams. During our conversation with Dan we discuss issues such as: his personal background and early childhood dream to become an astronaut; 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); Artificial Intelligence in general and the process of arming AI in particular; the Turing Test and Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics; 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 and especially Matt Rutherford for his crucial support in filming. (Hey Matt, thank you so much for all your help but I am afraid that my poor editing skills don't do justice to the quality of your film footage!)   Who is Dan Barry? President and Founder, Denbar Robotics, Dan is a former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three space flights, four spacewalks and two trips to the International Space Station. He retired from NASA in 2005 and started his own company, Denbar Robotics that creates robotic assistants for home and commercial use, concentrating on assistive devices for people with disabilities. Dan has received numerous honors. A few of them are the following: 2000 and 2002 NASA Exceptional Service Medals, 2001 Top 10 in the world career spacewalk hours, 100 Most Notable Princeton Graduate School Alumni of the 20th Century, Harvard Medical School Paul J. Corcoran Award and honorary doctoral degrees from Beloit College and St. Louis University. Dan is also a frequent speaker and has given keynote addresses to audiences throughout the world. Dan's educational background includes a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1975; a master of engineering degree and a master of arts degree in electictrical engineering/computer science from Princeton University in 1977; a doctorate in electrical engineering/computer science from Princeton University in 1980; and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Miami in 1982. He has seven patents, over 50 articles in scientific journals and has served on two scientific journal editorial boards. He has film and television experience as well, including roles in two documentary films and as a cast member in season 12 of CBS Survivor. Related articles Singularity University Day 2: Failure is an Option Salim Ismail on Singularity 1 on 1: We Are Already Gods, We Might As Well Start Acting As Such Peter Diamandis on Singularity 1 on 1: Singularity University is Star Fleet Academy for the World's Biggest Challenges

During my 10 weeks at Singularity University I was able to ambush Dan Barry for a 20 min interview for Singularity 1 on 1. Former NASA astronaut and veteran of 3 space missions, Dan is currently the head of faculty at Singularity University and the co-chair for AI, Robotics, Space and Physical Sciences. (As always you can […]