This week in my conversation with Seth Shostak, we chat about SETI and their search for intelligent extraterrestrial life and trying to find evidence that there’s someone out there, other than us. I first heard Seth in his TED talk where he made a very grand prediction that we will hear from aliens in the next decade so it was exciting to hear that he still believes this to be true.

 

See more from Dr Seth Shostak

 

#sethshostak

 

Website: https://www.seti.org/our-scientists/seth-shostak 

 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on Invasion of the Body Snachers by Jack Finney and can be purchased here.

ET is (probably) out there -- get ready - Seth Shostak

 

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It was such a wonderful experience chatting with Professor Paul Davies, who is an incredible theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and best-selling science author of 31 books. He has published hundreds of research papers and review articles across a range of scientific fields. He is also well-known as a media personality and science populariser in several countries.

Professor Davies is the author of Demon In The Machine which, in the very first chapter, begins with the question ‘What is life?’ so I naturally had to begin with the question of panspermia, which is the theory which suggests that life on Earth did not originate on our planet. Big questions were tackled this week as we dove into our origins, whether or not we are alone and the hunt for a new earth.

See more from Professor Paul Davies

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhysicistPaulDavies/ 

 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-davies-33634114 

 

Website: http://cosmos.asu.edu/ 

 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle and can be purchased here.

The Demon in the Machine: How Hidden Webs of Information Are Finally Solving the Mystery of Life - by Paul Davies

 

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In this episode, I chat with Robert Powell who is both a UFOlogist and Chemist.

I sought out to interview Robert after I found he was the co-author of the book UFOs and Government alongside a cast of international authors headed by Michael Swords, a retired professor at Western Michigan University with extensive knowledge of UFO history, and managed by Robert Powell, director of research at the Mutual UFO Network.

The authors spent more than four years researching thousands of government documents and archives in order to present a work of historical scholarship on the U.S. government’s bungling response to the UFO phenomenon. How and why the U.S. government—and other governments around the world—have dealt with the UFO phenomenon during most of a century is the focus of this historical inquiry.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode including the real-life x-files, how many sightings are legitimate and the most convincing, the element 115, the government, and the future with aliens.

See more from Robert Powell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/explorescu/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/explorescu?lang=en 

Website: https://www.explorescu.org/ 

 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken's and can be purchased here.

UFOs and Government: A Historical Inquiry by Michael Swords and Robert Powell

 

 

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Season 4 is all about making contact with Aliens and how to do so effectively.

This week I chat with Dr Douglas Vakoch, president of Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to transmitting intentional signals to nearby stars and hopefully Aliens. There are so many things to consider, wether or not we will be dealing with AI extraterrestrials, how to send messages that express the better traits of humans, how to respond to signals without starting a war. 

"There may be more 'wise' civilizations out there, I would bet on humanity being the civilization with the most exquisite balance of joy and sorry of any species in the milky way." - Dr Douglas Vakoch

 

See more from Dr Douglas Vakoch

Facebook: https://facebook.com/METIintl

Twitter: https://twitter.com/METIintl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/19190208/admin/

 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on The War of The Worlds by H.G Wells and can be purchased here.

 

Message sent from northern Norway, to a star 12 light-years from Earth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hYAz68lJzo

The need to take a long terms perspective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryLWL-24GMo

Dr Vakoch discussing the messages people would want to send and an analysis of  the words to use in those messages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx9i-KRMCCc

 

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This week I chat with Dr Federico Carminati the chief innovation officer at CERN openlab. Dr Carminati is investigating potential applications of machine learning and quantum computing for high-energy physics.

We talk about the increasing need for stable quantum computing and the race to discover the elusive algorithm that will inevitably launch quantum computers into the mainstream market. The penny drops when I finally realise the true value of efficient quantum computing coupled with machine learning being the ability to truly analyse data for the benefit of mankind. 

See more from Dr Fedrico Carminati

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fcacarminati

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fcacarminati?lang=en 

 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on The Quantum Spy: A Thriller by David Ignatius and can be purchased here.

 

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This week I have a conversation with Casey Pfluger, the founder of Cortex Brainwave Technologies who is building a brain-computer interface headset (BCI) for the treatment of ADHD and Autism. Casey has spent the past two decades as a medical researcher and has a degree in Biotechnology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. The goal of his BCI project is to build technology that allows people to effortlessly harness the potential of neurofeedback in reducing symptoms of neurocognitive conditions.

See more from Casey Pfluger

Cortex Brainwave Technologies: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cortexbraintech/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ouroboros/?originalSubdomain=au

 

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This week I have a conversation with Dr Sofia Vallecorsa from CERN Open-Lab regarding AI and The Singularity.

There are two sides of the camp on AI. The first is that AI and robots will take over the world and the second is that we are so far away from this reality we have enough time to make sure this doesn't happen. In my conversation with Dr Sofia Vallecorsa we discuss her work at Cern, home of the Large Hadron Collider. Sofia's extensive experience in software development in the High Energy Physics domain, in particular on Quantum Computing and Deep Learning applications makes for a very interesting conversation on the future of AI.

 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge and can be purchased here.

 

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This week I have a conversation with Dr. Jordi Prat Camps on Invisibility Cloaking devices and the technologies, fabrics, and science being developed to make this once sci-fi idea a reality. 

Further Reading and Resources:

This episode is based on The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells and can be purchased here.

 

See more from Dr Jordi Prat Camps

Website: https://pratcamps.weebly.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordi-prat-camps-a9bba177/

 

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Dr Fiona Kerr discussing the ethical approach to cyborgs.

This week I have a conversation with Professor Tom Drummond that is centred around the ethical dilemmas of Ai and robots governing the world, driving our cars and potentially participating in society alongside humans or even.... as humans.