The Foresight Institute Podcast Foresight Institute

Speaker
Allison Duettmann is the president and CEO of Foresight Institute. She founded Existentialhope.com, co-edited Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy, co-authored Gaming the Future, and co-initiated The Longevity Prize. She advises companies and projects, such as Cosmica, and The Roots of Progress Fellowship, and is on the Executive Committee of the Biomarker Consortium. She holds an MS in Philosophy & Public Policy from the London School of Economics, focusing on AI Safety.
Worldbuilding Course
This session is a part of THE WORLDBUILDING CHALLENGE: CO-CREATING THE WORLD OF 2045. In this virtual and interactive course, we engage with the most pressing global challenges of our age—climate change, the risks of AI, and the complex ethical questions arising in the wake of new technologies. Our aim is to sharpen participants’ awareness and equip them to apply their skills to these significant and urgent issues.
Existential Hope
Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.
Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers
Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope Instagram
Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Sebo is an American philosopher. He is a clinical associate professor of environmental studies, director of the animal studies MA program, and affiliated professor of bioethics, medical ethics, and philosophy at New York University.
Summary
In this episode, Jeff discusses the consciousness, sentience, agency, and moral and legal status of non-humans – particularly invertebrates and AI systems. He acknowledges the controversy surrounding AI systems' future consciousness and rights, and emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the difficulty of the problem.
About Foresight Institute
Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.
Allison Duettmann
The President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".
Get Involved with Foresight:
Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!
Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Note: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jules Hedges is a mathematician and computer scientist who was a pioneer of the recently developed field of applied category theory. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Categorical Cybernetics (https://cybercat.institute), a nonprofit organization for research and open-source software development, and 20squares (https://20squares.xyz/), a startup specializing in applied mechanism design and economic modelling in the blockchain space. By day he is a lecturer in computer science at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
Key Highlights
Compositional game theory is an approach to modelling interactions of strategic agents which is designed to be inherently scalable, in contrast to traditional normal-form and extensive-form games that are unsuitable for anything larger than toy problems. It supports a model-is-code paradigm and reuse of model components, inspired by software engineering. This will be a taster of what it looks like and what it can do, ie in applied mechanism design, smart contract analysis and the theory of institution design.
Full Summary
About Foresight Institute
Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.
Allison Duettmann
The President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".
Get Involved with Foresight:
Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!
Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Note: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month, we talk to David Pearce, a thought leader who is always pushing the boundaries of human potential. Pearce, a philosopher and bioethicist, is best known for his advocacy of transhumanism – the movement that seeks to enhance human capabilities through technology.
We'll explore his ideas on overcoming aging, achieving radical life extension, embracing cognitive enhancement, adn ending all suffering. Join us as we unpack the ethics and possibilities of the future, and discover Pearce's vision for a world where humanity transcends its biological limitations
Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts
Existential Hope was created to collect positive and possible scenarios for the future so that we can have more people commit to creating a brighter future, and to begin mapping out the main developments and challenges that need to be navigated to reach it. Existential Hope is a Foresight Institute project.
Hosted by Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers
Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Existential Hope Instagram
Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sumner Norman is a pioneering figure at the nexus of neuroscience, engineering, and impact-driven entrepreneurship. His research in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) is forging new paths in neurotechnology to transform the lives of those with neurological injuries or diseases. Sumner is the co-founder and CEO of Forest Neurotech, a non-profit “focused research organization” that was founded on ultrasound-based BCIs – a high-performance technique that offers a less invasive approach to sensing and modulating brain function.
Key Highlights
Norman would like to see the barriers of entry to our field significantly lowered to empower researchers and clinicians to contribute new and impactful methods for diagnostics, monitoring, and ultimately better therapies for people living with brain-related disorders.
 Forest Neurotech is developing an ultrasound-based interface to sense and stimulate function throughout much of the human brain, bringing hope to the study and treatment of mental health disorders and beyond. To maximize impact, Forest was created as a focused research organization, a novel form of nonprofit startup for science.
Full Summary
About Foresight Institute
Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.
Allison Duettmann
The President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees. She has also been pivotal in co-initiating the Longevity Prize, pioneering initiatives like Existentialhope.com, and contributing to notable works like "Superintelligence: Coordination & Strategy" and "Gaming the Future".
Get Involved with Foresight:
Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!
Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Note: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trent McConaghy is the Founder and CTO of Ocean Protocol and BigchainDB, specializing in AI and blockchain technology to democratize data and AI. His work includes advancing decentralized data solutions and ensuring equitable access to AI technologies. McConaghy also contributes to the IPDB Foundation and advises the Estonian E-residency program
Key Highlights
McConaghy presented a solarpunk future, envisioning an optimistic trajectory for humanity. He covered three topics: web3 to sovereign agents, AI to human superintelligence, and defining human goals.He covered topics including AI superintelligence, humanity's goals, and the transition from web3 to sovereign agents.McConaghy emphasized the importance of aiming for an optimistic future beyond mere survival – proposing reshaping the cosmos at a macro scale as a potential human endeavour. However, he highlighted the challenge of interstellar travel, noting the time it takes to reach the nearest star beyond our sun.Discussed established technologies like Bitcoin, decentralized data storage, and decentralized compute platforms like Ethereum; and explored the concept of sovereign agents through smart contracts on Ethereum, emphasizing their autonomous and ungoverned nature.
Dive deeper into the session: Full Summary
About Foresight Institute
Foresight Institute is a research organization and non-profit that supports the beneficial development of high-impact technologies. Since our founding in 1987 on a vision of guiding powerful technologies, we have continued to evolve into a many-armed organization that focuses on several fields of science and technology that are too ambitious for legacy institutions to support.
Allison Duettmann
The President and CEO of Foresight Institute, Allison Duettmann directs the Intelligent Cooperation, Molecular Machines, Biotech & Health Extension, Neurotech, and Space Programs, alongside Fellowships, Prizes, and Tech Trees.
Get Involved with Foresight:
Apply: Virtual Salons & in-person WorkshopsDonate: Support Our Work – If you enjoy what we do, please consider this, as we are entirely funded by your donations!
Follow Us: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Note: Explore every word spoken on this podcast through Fathom.fm, an innovative podcast search engine.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.