The Foresight Institute Podcast

Foresight Institute
The Foresight Institute Podcast

Welcome to the Foresight Institute’s podcast! Since 1986, Foresight has advanced technologies for the long-term benefit of life, focusing on science and technology too early-stage or interdisciplinary for traditional institutions to support. Our podcast features technical seminars in Molecular Machines, Biotech, Intelligent Cooperation, Neurotech, and Spacetech, alongside our Existential Hope content and special episodes. To view presentations of our technical work and to stay up-to-date on new content, subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Twitter. The Foresight Institute Podcast is AI-searchable using Fathom.fm.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Caleb Watney, Institute for Progress | Career Counselling

    Caleb Watney is the co-founder and co-CEO of IFP. He manages the metascience, high-skilled immigration, and emerging technology policy teams at IFP. His research focuses on policy levers the U.S. could use to rebuild state capacity and increase long-term rates of innovation. Previously, Caleb worked as the director of innovation policy at the Progressive Policy Insitute, a technology policy fellow at the R Street Institute, and a graduate research fellow at the Mercatus Center. Key Highlights 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 to our virtual technical seminars Join our in-person events and workshops Donate: 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.

    50 min

  2. DEC 6

    Zan Huang | Adapting Neurological Structures to AI

    Zan Huang is a researcher with a passion for alternative computational models in artificial intelligence, mass social patterns, chaotic and emergent systems, and linguistics. Currently focused on scaling deep neural networks through neurologically inspired modularity, he explores critical questions around reducing parameter space, enhancing interpretability, and developing self-similar task divisions akin to brain functionality. Key Highlights Discussion of the adaptation of neurological structures for AI, proposing that neuroscience is crucial for understanding intelligence. Argument that certain principles of physics and mathematics apply to biological systems, like the brain, and that these can inform foundational models for AI. Exploration of concepts related to thermodynamics, information theory, and the fractal nature of intelligence. HPresentation of a neuro AI framework that emphasizes self-supervision, streamification, and task prioritization inspired by brain functionality to create more robust AI systems. 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 to our virtual technical seminars Join our in-person events and workshops Donate: 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.

    55 min
  3. Existential Hope Podcast: Adam Marblestone | Solving Science’s Biggest Gaps

    NOV 29

    Existential Hope Podcast: Adam Marblestone | Solving Science’s Biggest Gaps

    Adam Marblestone is the CEO of Convergent Research. He is working with a large and growing network of collaborators and advisors to develop a strategic roadmap for future FROs. Outside of CR, he serves on the boards of several non-profits pursuing new methods of funding and organizing scientific research including Norn Group and New Science, and as an interviewer for the Hertz Foundation. Previously, he was a Schmidt Futures Innovation Fellow, a Fellow with the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a research scientist at Google DeepMind, Chief Strategy Officer of the brain-computer interface company Kernel, a research scientist at MIT, a PhD student in biophysics with George Church and colleagues at Harvard, and a theoretical physics student at Yale. He has also previously helped to start companies like BioBright, and advised foundations such as Open Philanthropy. Session Summary In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, our guest is Adam Marblestone, CEO of Convergent Research. Adam shares his journey from working on nanotechnology and neuroscience to pioneering a bold new model for scientific work and funding: Focused Research Organizations (FROs). These nonprofit, deep-tech startups are designed to fill critical gaps in science by building the infrastructure needed to accelerate discovery. Tune in to hear how FROs are unlocking innovation, tackling bottlenecks across fields, and inspiring a new approach to advancing humanity’s understanding of the world. 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.

    51 min

  4. NOV 22

    Michael Levin | Agential Interventions

    Michael Levin is an American developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University, where he is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor. Levin is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology.  Key Highlights Discussion of diverse intelligence in biological systems and its biomedical potentialInsights into planarian regeneration and collective problem-solvingAnatomical plasticity and the role of bioelectric interfacesApplying these principles to regenerative medicine and synthetic biologyHow living structures can adapt and solve complex problems – leading to breakthroughs in organ regeneration, cancer treatment, and mental health 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 to our virtual technical seminars Join our in-person events and workshops Donate: 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.

    1h 1m

  5. NOV 15

    Sam Jardine | The Dawn of Astropolitics?

    Samuel Jardine is a Geopolitical Risk Consultant and Historian specializing in space, polar regions, and seabed security, utilizing Applied History and OSINT. He has lectured for institutions like RUSI and the Royal Navy, with publications by Routledge. Currently, he leads research at London Politica, advises Luminint, and contributes to the Lunar Policy Platform. Main Points Context and an overview of AstropoliticsSpace law and governance: geopolitical issues, a Multipolar world, and competitionThe effects of the decoupling of US and ChinaCompeting Space Blocks: The Artemis Accords vs. ILRSChallenges and Opportunities in Space Cooperation 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 to our virtual technical seminars Join our in-person events and workshops Donate: 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.

    54 min

  6. NOV 8

    Anna Chekovisch | Bitcoin as a Path to Freedom

    Anna Chekhovich is the financial director of Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) from Russia. Targeted by Putin’s regime, the foundation has gradually lost access to financial institutions. FBK has been using Bitcoin since 2015 to help overcome financial repression. At that time the Russian government began blocking the bank accounts of various foundations, even those very loosely connected to the FBK. Navalny and his family have also had their personal accounts frozen as did many people who worked on the FBK team. Bitcoin has given them a financial tool away from the reach of Putin’s regime. 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 to our virtual technical seminars Join our in-person events and workshops Donate: 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.

    11 min

  7. NOV 1

    Eric Drexler | Advanced Nanotechnology

    Eric Drexler is a visionary scientist and engineer thought of as one of the “Founding fathers of nanotechnology”, the science of engineering on a molecular level. He is most known for being the driving force behind the concept of molecular nanotechnology (MNT) and its potential benefits for humans. His 1981 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences established fundamental principles of molecular design, protein engineering, and productive nanosystems. Drexler’s research in this field has been the basis for numerous journal articles and for books including Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, 1986, which is written for a general audience, and Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation. This talk discusses the potential of advanced nanotechnology's potential, focusing on: • Atomic-level manipulation for diverse applications • AI's role in accelerating molecular engineering • Environmental and space exploration implications 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 technical 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 to our virtual technical seminars Join our in-person events and workshops Donate: 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.

    14 min
  8. Existential Hope Podcast: Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston | The Future Loves You

    OCT 25

    Existential Hope Podcast: Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston | The Future Loves You

    Speaker Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston is a neuroscientist at Monash University, Australia, where he investigates methods for characterising the nature of conscious experiences. In 2019, he obtained his PhD from The University of Melbourne, where he researched how genetic and environmental factors affect cognition. His research interests range from the decline, preservation and rescue of cognitive function at different stages of the lifespan, through to comparing different people’s conscious experience of colour. Session Summary In this edition of the Hope Drop, we dive into a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, neuroscientist and author of The Future Loves You: How and Why We Should Abolish Death. Ariel explores the science and philosophy of brain preservation, questioning long-held beliefs about life, death, and personal identity. We explore how neuroscience might redefine what it means to truly live—and challenge assumptions around mortality. 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.

    53 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Welcome to the Foresight Institute’s podcast! Since 1986, Foresight has advanced technologies for the long-term benefit of life, focusing on science and technology too early-stage or interdisciplinary for traditional institutions to support. Our podcast features technical seminars in Molecular Machines, Biotech, Intelligent Cooperation, Neurotech, and Spacetech, alongside our Existential Hope content and special episodes. To view presentations of our technical work and to stay up-to-date on new content, subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Twitter. The Foresight Institute Podcast is AI-searchable using Fathom.fm.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Foresight Institute
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2024
  • Episodes
    167
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 The Foresight Institute Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Foresight Institute Podcast

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