Summary: This is the second singularity podcast. Given my experience with James Harvey I already knew that interviewing people is an acquired skill that I really need to work on. This interview is another indicator that I have a long way to go before I get to be good at it. Luckily my guest Michael Anissimov is eloquent and knowledgeable for the both of us. Thus, despite Socrates' failure to live up fully to his name, Michael's passion for and knowledge of the technological singularity made this podcast interesting, engaging, informative and very worthwhile. Michael Anissimov is Media Director for the Singularity Institute and Fundraising Director, North America for the Lifeboat Foundation. He is a science and technology writer and futurist. In 2006 Michael started the Accelerating Future blog. Since its founding, the blog has received over six million visits and has been featured on G4.TV’s Attack of the Show and SciFi.com. Michael’s blog posts have appeared on the front page of Digg and Reddit. Michael has been a consultant for a variety of future-oriented non-profit organizations and for-profit companies including the Methuselah Foundation, Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, and Kurzweil Technologies. On behalf of the Lifeboat Foundation and the Singularity Institute, Michael has briefed the representatives of organizations such as the US Navy and spoken informally with reporters at outlets such as The New York Times, New Scientist, Financial Times, The Guardian, and many other regional newspapers. During my interview with him, Michael discusses a variety of topics such as his early interest in technology and its enormous potential for making life better for humanity, his belief that the singularity is the biggest challenge facing humanity, his involvement in the Singularity Institute and the upcoming Singularity Summit, scheduled for August 14-15 in San Francisco. Related articles by Zemanta Michael Anissimov: Transhumanism has already won (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Michael Anissimov at Foresight 2010: Don't Fear the Singularity, But Be Careful (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Debating the Singularity: Eliezer Yudkowsky vs Massimo Pigliucci (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) James Harvey's Singularity Podcast: We are Singularia (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Latest Singularity University Video Remix (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Jason Silva on Singularity Podcast: Let Your Ideas Be Noble, Poetic and Beautiful (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Singularity Podcast: George Dvorsky on Transhumanism and the Singularity (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Singularity Podcast: Barry Ptolemy on Transcendent Man (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Aubrey de Grey's Singularity Podcast: Longevity Escape Velocity Maybe Closer Than We Think (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com) Kevin Warwick on Singularity Podcast: You Have To Take Risks To Be Part Of The Future (singularityblog.singularitysymposium.com)
