Tim Ventura Interviews

Dan Lopez describes the Arkisys space port and how its swarm-like modular architecture empowers off-world commercial mission flexibility at substantially lower costs.

Dan Lopez is the Chief Business Officer at Arkisys, a newspace commercial startup building the world's first Space Outpost for Assembly, Integration and Resupply.

Dan leads finance, strategy, corporate development, operations, and partnerships at Arkisys. In previous roles, he has experience as a technical co-founder and board member of several NewSpace startups and nonprofits, providing strategy for game-changing space data and machine learning applications and products for some of the world's most influential organizations including DoD, UN, NASA, USAID, NGA, ESA, SETI, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Bank.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Integrated Science and Technology, Biotechnology from James Madison University, and he joins us today to discuss Arkisys ambitious plans in the rapidly emerging commercial space market.

Dr. David Chester discusses Quantum Gravity, General Relativity, emerging models in theoretical physics, and applications for advanced propulsion. Other topics include String & Brane Theory, Kaluza-Klein, Yang Mills, Quantum Foam, Le Sage, and perturbative renormalizability in gravitational equations.

Dr. David Chester. David has a PhD in Physics from UCLA, and became passionate about quantum field theory and general relativity while attending MIT for undergraduate studies. During his graduate studies at UCLA he worked on efficient scattering amplitude methods for Yang-Mills theory and its relation to solutions of gravity.

His PhD thesis discussed how to compute gravitational radiation from Feynman diagrams. This further demonstrated that theoretical methods used for the LHC can be relevant for LIGO, two of the largest experimental endeavors. David is also interested in the application of exceptional mathematics to describe quantum gravity beyond the standard model physics.

Dr. David Chester is a member of the Quantum Gravity Research Group, a team of physicists, mathematicians and chemists are hard at work on what we call “emergence theory,” a new quantum gravity theory (or “Theory of Everything”) that unifies space, time, energy, matter, information and consciousness.

Links:

https://quantumgravityresearch.org/

Dr. Jack Sarfatti proposes a new approach to warp-drive design utilizing gravitational metamaterials to create a low-power warp-drive based on the conventional & well-accepted principles of relativity theory. He will also describe how this new model for warp-drive propulsion explains the reported flight performance of UAPs as described in the US Navy Nimitz encounters.

Jack Sarfatti has a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, taught physics at San Diego State University, worked with David Bohm at the University of London's Birkbeck College and with Abdus Salam at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.

Jack was the basis of the memorable time-travelling Dr. Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy, and the author of Super Cosmos (2005), Destiny Matrix (2002), Space: Time And Beyond II (2002), and the coauthor with Fred Alan Wolf and Bob Toben of Space-Time and Beyond: Toward an Explanation of the Unexplainable (1975).

EmDrive Inventor Roger Shawyer provides an in-depth review of the highly-publicized EmDrive propulsion technology, which has been featured in Popular Mechanics, Wired, Space.com, National Geographic, NewScientist, Forbes, and other popular media venues.

In 2016, Harold White's group at NASA observed a small apparent thrust from one such test, however subsequent studies suggested this was a measurement error caused by thermal gradients.

In this presentation, Shawyer defends the experimental test, and says, "The company has successfully tested both an experimental thruster and a demonstrator engine which use patented microwave technology to convert electrical energy directly into thrust."

The EmDrive is a concept for a thruster for spacecraft, first written about in 2001. It is purported to generate thrust by reflecting microwaves inside the device, in a way that would violate the law of conservation of momentum and other laws of physics. The concept has been referred to at times as a resonant cavity thruster or as the latest "Impossible Drive".

Roger Shawyer is a British Chartered Electrical Engineer with 48 years’ experience in the Space and Defence industries. Roger is the inventor of the EmDrive and for the last 19 years has been director of a small R&D company, Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd (SPR). Roger's extensive career includes work at CAV limited, Sperry Gyroscope, and Marconi Space & Defence Systems and more.

Links:

http://www.emdrive.com/

Franc Milburn provides a strategic & tactical analysis of the recent US Navy UAP encounters involving "mystery drones" hovering over warships near Catalina Island off the California Coastline.

Franc Milburn is a former UK Defence Intelligence officer and Army Paratrooper with over 23 years of experience producing threat & risk assessments for clients operating in hostile environments from North Africa to ME, Iraq & LATAM. His experience includes providing strategic & operational assessments of prevailing business environments for extractive industries, as well as a variety of Fortune 500, aerospace & government clients.

Franc is an alumnus of The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the London School of Economics. He has written peer-reviewed papers for a number globally ranked think tanks, including: the Middle East Economic Survey, the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. He is an affiliated researcher with the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Illan University, and is a member of the Scientific Coalition for UAP Studies.

For several weeks in 2019, unknown objects stalked U.S. warships off the coast of southern California. While the bizarre “drone” encounters remain unsolved, the incidents occurred in an area with a long history of UFO sightings, including two of the most credible encounters on record.

According to documents reviewed by The Drive, the first reports of unidentified objects hovering and flying near Navy vessels sparked a sweeping, high-level investigation. The Navy, working with the FBI and Coast Guard, now appears to have ruled out civilian activity or U.S. military operations as plausible explanations for the encounters. This leaves two possibilities, each with extraordinary implications.

Either a foreign adversary is spying on Navy ships around the Channel Islands (which lie just west of Los Angeles and San Diego), or devices of truly unknown origin are operating with impunity around U.S. (and allied) vessels.

Martin Ciupa discusses the existential risks and unintended consequences of AI superintelligence and the Singularity, along with concerns about AI augmentation through Neuralink. We also explore the philosophical underpinnings of The Singularity and how it fulfills a long-standing human need for transcendence in a technologically advanced society.

Martin Ciupa is a subject matter expert on artificial intelligence. Martin is the CEO of Remoscope Inc, an AI-based Telehealth startup, and an advisor & consultant to Mindmaze, a Unicorn Neurotech company focuses on applying advanced neuroscience to everyday life. Martin has decades of experience in computing and artificial intelligence, PhD studies in AI, and a Master’s Degree in Cybernetics. He joins us today to discuss AI Superintelligence and the Singularity.

We previously touched on Ghosts in the Machine in terms of the human qualities we unintentionally build into AI, so today I wanted to focus on “God In The Machine”, especially in regards to AI Superintelligence and the Singularity. Let’s start with a story in Futurism quoting former Google Exec Mo Gawdat as saying that “AI Researchers are creating God”.

The Singularity has scared more than just this researcher: Stephen Hawking has said that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race”. Bill Gates and Elon Musk have also voiced concerns on AI Superintelligence. Gates said, “I am one of those who is concerned about superintelligence. First, machines will do a lot of work for us and they won't be super smart. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that, they will be smart enough to be a concern.” – and Elon Musk has said that development of artificial intelligence “is the greatest existential threat to humanity".

We contrast these views against the optimistic view of AI Superintelligence by proponents like Ray Kurzweil, who has said, “The pace of change will be so astonishingly quick that we won’t be able to keep up, unless we enhance our own intelligence by merging with the intelligent machines we are creating”. What are your thoughts on the positive aspects of this technology?

Finally, speaking in practical terms, the world we live in is becoming increasingly automated and complex, and moving past the ability of people to manage all of these systems. We explore whether human-level or higher AI at some point simply to help run this machine-driven world we’re creating.

Dr. Peter Vincent Pry discusses Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) weapons and provides insights into the strategic and tactical implications of this technology in modern warfare.

Dr. Pry is the Executive Director of Task Force on National and Homeland Security, a Congressional Advisory Board dedicated to achieving protection of the United States from electromagnetic pulse (EMP), cyber-attack, mass destruction terrorism and other threats to civilian critical infrastructures on an accelerated basis. Dr. Pry is also the Director of the United States Nuclear Strategy Forum, a Congressional Advisory Board dedicated to developing policies to counter Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Dr. Pry served on the staffs of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States (2008-2009); the Commission on the New Strategic Posture of the United States (2006-2008); and the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack (2001-2008). He served as Professional Staff on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) of the U.S. Congress, with portfolios in nuclear strategy, WMD, Russia, China, NATO, the Middle East, Intelligence, and Terrorism (1995-2001).

Dr. Pry was an Intelligence Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency responsible for analyzing Soviet and Russian nuclear strategy, operational plans, military doctrine, threat perceptions, and developing U.S. paradigms for strategic warning (1985-1995). He also served as a Verification Analyst at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency responsible for assessing Soviet compliance with strategic and military arms control treaties (1984-1985).

Links:

https://emptaskforce.us/index.php/1-pry/

https://media.defense.gov/2018/Nov/28/2002067172/-1/-1/0/LP_0002_DEMAIO_ELECTROMAGNETIC_DEFENSE_TASK_FORCE.PDF

https://media.defense.gov/2019/Aug/09/2002169501/-1/-1/0/LP_0004_ELECTROMAGNETIC_DEFENSE_TASK_FORCE_2_2019.PDF

Nick Pope discusses the DoD UAP Task Force, the classified Congressional briefing, and provides insights into current UAP research in the USA and UK. He also talks about the challenges of collection and identification in UAP reporting, provides an overview of the Rendlesham Forest encounter, and offers commentary on the challenges of data collection and collaboration between allied partners.

Nick worked for the UK Ministry of Defence and ran the British government’s UFO project. He’s a regularly cited subject matter expert on UAP phenomenon, including the US Government’s investigation of UAPs and UFOs, including the AATIP & UAPTF programs.

During the 1990’s, Nick researched and investigated UFOs and a number of other strange phenomena, leading the media to call him the real Fox Mulder. His government background and his level-headed views have made him the media, film and TV industry’s go-to guy when it comes to UFOs, the unexplained and conspiracy theories.

Nick Pope has consulted on, and helped to promote a number of alien-themed movies, TV shows and video games. He has hosted, consulted on and contributed to numerous TV shows, has written six best-selling books, and lectures all around the world.

Dr. Namrata Goswami discusses the economic & military interests driving the 2nd Space Race, and how the competing interests of China, India, Russia and the USA are influencing off-world policy and defense strategy.

Dr. Namrata Goswami is an independent scholar on International Relations, subject matter expert with the Future’s Laboratory, and co-author of the new book “Scramble for the Skies”. She joins us today to discuss the book which focuses on the economic ambitions of the 2nd space race, and the financial & international competition driving it forward.

In this interview, we discuss the economic potential of the Moon, Mars, and asteroid belt, and explore the anticipated timelines for economic development of these key space resources. We also discuss the Blue Water role of the US Space Force in helping maintain a level economic & political "playing field" in space, as well as the USSF need to address defense priorities in an Earth-based support capacity.

Finally, we'll be discussing the political & military ambitions of "Great Powers" like China, Russia and the United States, and how the threats on orbit and a changing military doctrine indicates that space is no longer a “safe haven”.

Amazon Book Link:

https://www.amazon.com/Scramble-Skies-Competition-Control-Resources/dp/1498583113

An analysis of the “Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” report released on June 25th, 2021 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and highlights of its key findings.

This report is historically valuable as being the first official acknowledgement of the UAP Phenomenon by the United States Government.

This report is provided by ODNI in response to the provision in Senate Report 116-233, accompanying the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2021, that the DNI, in consultation with the Secretary of

Defense (SECDEF), is to submit an intelligence assessment of the threat posed by unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and the progress the Department of Defense Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) has made in understanding this threat.

Additional analysis and commentary will be provided by Franc Milburn, a former UK Defence Intelligence officer and Army Paratrooper with over 23 years of experience producing threat & risk assessments for clients operating in hostile environments. Franc is an alumnus of The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the London School of Economics, and the author of “The Pentagon’s UAP Task Force”, published through the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University.

Report Link (PDF):

https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Prelimary-Assessment-UAP-20210625.pdf