The Future And You

Brain Wang (writer, speaker and noted futurist) is today's featured guest.

Biases remain strong, Brian says, within government and the scientific community that have prevented the funding of some nanotechnology projects while promoting others. Brian explains how these biases are misused to secure funding for projects which have nothing to do with nanotechnology, at the cost of those that do.

Brian also talks about: Bussard Fusion (not to be confused with the interstellar ramjet also invented by Doctor Robert Bussard); types of nanotechnology and how each would change our lives and our civilization; the military's attitude toward nanotechnology; the need to quit keeping all our eggs in one basket and spread a meaningful portion of our species throughout the solar system; how future space wars in our solar system will differ from ground-based wars; that solar cells are likely to become cheap by 2015; and what a 'Mundane Singularity' might be like (one without AI or molecular manufacturing) and how much change such a Singularity might still produce in our lives. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 10, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 57 minutes]

Brian Wang is a long time futurist, who has been involved with nanotechnology associations since 1994. He is a Senior Associate of the Foresight Institute, a member of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Task Force, and on the Advisory Board of both the Nanoethics Group and the Lifeboat Foundation.

He is the author of Predictions For a Technological Future, Now Until 2050; The Impact of Nanofactories on Jobs in the USA; and Considering Military and Ethical Implications of Nanofactory Level Nanotechnology. He has also been involved in e-commerce, Internet startups and real estate investing. He is a competitive dragon boat racer and has competed at the World Club Crew Championship.

His blog is NextBigFuture.com, but he is also a featured blogger on Michael Anissimov's acceleratingfuture.com, and on Ray Kurzweil's kurzweilAI.net.

News Items in this episode include: [1] CNN has laid off its entire Science and Technology reporting team including their Senior Science Reporter Miles O'Brian; [2] Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, describes his efforts to get China to lift their ban on Wikipedia; [3] The City State of Extropia inside Second Life celebrated its first anniversary (your host's photos may be viewed on Flickr).

David Orban (futurist, speaker and business executive) is today's featured guest. This is the second half of his interview. (The first half is in the episode dated October 29, 2008.)

Spimes, some people call them. What are spimes? What are the benefits and dangers of this new Internet expansion? What will be the uses and misuses? How will spimes impact people's lives? How will portions of the Internet migrate to this Spimey Network.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 3, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 56 minutes]

Also included are an update on the host's ongoing recovery from surgery; listener feedback; and an announcement that Sophrosyne's Satruday Salon will resume on December 6, 2008 with Information Week's Mitch Wagner as guest speaker.

David Orban is the founder of WideTag, Inc. which is working to place CO2 sensors into cell phones so that the CO2 concentrations within a nation or continent can be mapped with unheard of precision. He is also Founder and Director of Singularity Institute Europe; an Advisory Board Member of the Lifeboat Foundation; Founder and CEO of Questar; Founder of Vulcano; and a Founding Member of Lunarez.

David Orban (futurist, speaker and business executive) is today's featured guest.

The Internet is big and still growing. How it grows and where it grows changes with time. During the next few years one of its massive growth spurts will be into devices that are not physically connected to the net. This transition has already begun. It is moving into the billions of cell phones. But next will come other simpler objects, like shoes and clothes and toys and toasters.

Spimes, some people call them. What are spimes? What are the benefits and dangers of this new Internet expansion? What will be the uses and misuses? How will spimes impact people's lives? How will portions of the Internet migrate to this Spimey Network. David Orban covers all these topics as well as the backlash Walmart and Darman each received over their use of RFID chips in their products.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 29, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 49 minutes]

David Orban is the founder of WideTag, Inc. which is working to place CO2 sensors into cell phones so that the CO2 concentrations within a nation or continent can be mapped with unheard of precision. He is also Founder and Director of Singularity Institute Europe; an Advisory Board Member of the Lifeboat Foundation; Founder and CEO of Questar; Founder of Vulcano; and a Founding Member of Lunarez.

Chris Phoenix (nanotechnology scientist, author and researcher) is today's featured guest. (This is the second half of the interview we started last week.)

Chris Phoenix is the co-founder and Director of Research for CRN (the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology). He is also a Scientific Advisor for The Nanotechnology Group, Inc., on the Scientific Advisory Board for Nanorex, Inc. and a Senior Associate at the Foresight Nanotech Institute.

Topics discussed include: his ideas about the Singularity; why molecular manufacturing may prove to be impossible to regulate; his theory concerning the Cambrian Explosion; his programming work with Doctor Aubrey de Grey concerning human life extension; his several talks at the BIL conference (which is held the same week as the more famous TED conference); and a cure for dyslexia.

He also suggests the possibility that an artificial intelligence of superhuman intellect might use our increasingly Byzantine system of laws to manipulate civilization since it will understand them and we won't; and the possibility that by coming as a series of many small changes the big changes of the next few decades may quietly sneak up on most people without their awareness.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 22, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 55 minutes]

Chris Phoenix has worked in the field of advanced nanotechnology for over 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and a Master's in Computer Science, both from Stanford University.

He has written many articles, essays and research papers about various areas of nanotechnology including medical applications and molecular manufacturing, such as his peer-reviewed paper, Design of a Primitive Nanofactory, as well as his comprehensive outline of Thirty Essential Nanotechnology Studies.

Chris Phoenix (nanotechnology scientist, author and researcher) is today's featured guest.

Chris Phoenix is the co-founder and Director of Research for CRN (the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology). He is also a Scientific Advisor for The Nanotechnology Group, Inc., on the Scientific Advisory Board for Nanorex, Inc. and a Senior Associate at the Foresight Nanotech Institute.

Topics discussed include: an anecdote about the nanotechnology class he took from Eric Drexler; the state of nanotechnology--and especially molecular assemblers; his four different speaking topics at this year's BIL conference; and the work being done by Zyvex.

He also explains the ideas he presented when he spoke at Doctor Aubrey de Grey's Third SENS Conference on the topic Getting Ahead of Aging; as well as some of the ways nanotech might help in life extension, the potential benefits of nanotech as a replacement for human blood, how soon he expects human longevity to become indefinite, and what methods he thinks are the most promising.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 15, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 52 minutes]

Chris Phoenix has worked in the field of advanced nanotechnology for over 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and a Master's in Computer Science, both from Stanford University.

He has written many articles, essays and research papers about various areas of nanotechnology including medical applications and molecular manufacturing, such as his peer-reviewed paper, Design of a Primitive Nanofactory, as well as his comprehensive outline of Thirty Essential Nanotechnology Studies.

Julie Grimaldi, president of Police Futurists International, is today's featured guest.

The mission of Police Futurists International is to foster excellence in policing by promoting and applying the discipline of Futures Research.

Topics discussed include: ways CSI and other TV shows deviate from the reality of police work; inflammatory video clips of police misconduct posted onto youtube; flash cameras at intersections which produce automated traffic ticket; how high gas prices affect police departments; Tasers and other less-than-lethal weapons; how dashboard video cameras mounted in police cars can be used as evidence; the Internet and cyber-crime; international crime; and other trends which will affect the future of law enforcement.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 8, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 53 minutes]

In addition to being president of Police Futurists International, Julie Grimaldi is a member of the International Association of Law Enforcement Planners (IALEP).

Julie Grimaldi has worked as a researcher, project manager, analyst and advisor to the Ontario Provincial Police senior and executive command staff on strategic issues and initiatives relevant to policing since 1990. Prior her work for the OPP she conducted research as a consultant to the Ontario Board of Parole. She holds an honours bachelor's degree from York University (double major Law & Society/Philosophy), and a master's degree in criminology from the University of Toronto.

Rudi Hoffman, the world's leading cryonics insurance provider, is today's featured guest.

You can too take it with you! How combining cryonics and insurance can let you leave your million dollar insurance death benefit to yourself. It may allow you to wake up a century or two in the future, not just healthy but also wealthy. Cryonics is not just for today's rich. Ordinary people with moderate incomes can afford cryonic suspension by funding it with insurance.

Rudi also describes one of the principal enemies of the fledgling cryonics services: the powerful funeral industry. This is a David and Goliath story of a nationwide big-money operation trying to stamp out two tiny business facilities. One industry financed by millions of customers per year; the other by dozens. Hardly a fair fight.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 1, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 85 minutes]

Writing cryonic insurance since 1994, and with more than 80% of the world's market share, Rudi Hoffman is the world's leading cryonic insurance provider. He has been an insurance agent and professional financial planner since 1980. He is on the Board of Advisers for the Lifeboat Foundation, and is a Senior Associate with the Foresight Institute.

Larry Niven, the award-winning author of Ringworld, The Mote In God's Eye, and many other hard science fiction novels, is our featured guest.

He reveals that Robert A. Heinlein was the secret proofreader for his and Jerry Pournelle's novel The Mote In God's Eye. He describes Jerry Pournelle's personal edit war in Wikipedia, how they and other science fiction writers are helping the Department of Homeland Security, and his own work on Land of the Lost, The Outer Limits, and Star Trek the Animated Series.

He also discusses illegal organ banks, room temperature superconductors, and agrees that there is a possibility that your host's personal theory may be correct concerning high-temperature lifeforms having evolved in the ocean of liquid iron surrounding the earth's core.

Other topics include: nanotech molecule chain, how to move the earth, the Neanderthal Genome Project, human rights for AIs, the Wikipedia page concerning Jesus, exoplanets, the singularity, and the persistent rumors about a movie version of Ringworld.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 24, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 74 minutes]

Larry Niven's writing is primarily hard science fiction of an adventurous style which often involves large science concepts and theoretical physics. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series which treats magic as a non-renewable resource. He has also written humorous stories; such as those collected in The Flight of the Horse. He has won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards.

Doctor Adrian Bowyer (inventor of the RepRap machine) is our featured guest.

The RepRap machine is the first machine in all of human history that can make most of its own parts. Not all of them (at least not yet) but most. This means that with a good bit of human assistance and intervention it can do two things that for six hundred million years only biologically living things could do: Reproduce and Evolve.

What's more, the material the machine needs to make more of itself can be grown in your garden. And Doctor Bowyer (who is an engineer and mathematician at the University of Bath in England) has made the design of the machine freely available to anyone who would like to build one by declaring it Open Source.

All this would be meaningless of course if the machine could only make more copies of itself but it has already made shoes, coat hooks, door handles, gears, plastic jewelry, cups, flasks, and a shot glass for toasting its own creation.

A few months ago on May 29, 2008 its first offspring, its first 'child machine,' was assembled and was immediately used to make one of the components needed to make a grandchild machine. Which means that its reproduction and evolution has already begun.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 17, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 83 minutes]

Where this will all lead is still uncertain. If the good doctor has his way, in a few years millions of them will exist in homes all around the world, happily churning out useful and decorative household items at ridiculously low cost.

From New York City to Bangladesh, no place would be left out. If enthusiasm remains strong, they might quickly spread everywhere. Because if your friend or neighbor or relative has one and you don't, you can ask them to have theirs make one for you too.

Nick Bostrom (author, lecturer, philosopher at Oxford University, co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association and of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies) is today's featured guest.

Topics include: artificial intelligence, the future of civilization, transhumanism, the singularity, mind uploading, human extinction risks including the Toba super volcano, his simulation argument, and much more.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 10, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 74 minutes]

Doctor Nick Bostrom is a philosopher at Oxford University, and is the Director of the Oxford Future of Humanity Institute. In 1998, he co-founded (with David Pearce) the World Transhumanist Association, and in 2004, he co-founded (with James Hughes) the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET).

In addition to his writing for academic and popular press, Nick Bostrom makes frequent media appearances in which he talks about transhumanism-related topics such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, cloning, mind uploading, cryonics, and the simulation argument.

He has a background in cosmology, computational neuroscience, mathematical logic, philosophy, and artificial intelligence, and is the author of the book Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy.

His research interests include the philosophy of science, probability theory, and the ethical and strategic implications of anticipated technologies. He has been a consultant for the Central Intelligence Agency in the U.S., and for the European Commission and the European Group on Ethics in Brussels.