The Singularity Discussion Series

This week our guest is Rob Reich, a professor of political science at Stanford University and co-author of the recently published book System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot. In this episode, we focus heavily on how the tech industry’s obsession with efficiency and optimization has often meant sacrificing our values and even democracy itself. This includes conversations abou...

This week our guest is cognitive neuroscientist and author, Bobby Azarian, who recently released his book “The Romance of Reality–  How the Universe Organizes Itself to Create Life, Consciousness, and Cosmic Complexity.” In this episode, we do our best to get the full picture of this process, from how physics shapes life, how that life has an evolutionary tendency towards increased informatio...

This week our guest academic philosopher, Susan Schneider, who is the founding director for the Center for the Future Mind at Florida Atlantic University, as well as the author of the 2019 book, Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind. In this episode we focus heavily on Susan’s thoughts, hopes, and concerns surrounding the current conversations regarding artificial intelligence. This inclu...

This week our guest is philosopher and psychoanalytic theorist, Isabel Millar, who recently released her book, The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence, in which she explores the much neglected role of enjoyment and psychoanalysis in AI. Throughout the book, she uses the sexbot as a focal point of discussion, which allows her to emphasize the role of gender, sex, and a body as it relates to d...

This week our guest is German professor and philosopher, Stefan Sorgner, who has extensively studied and written about the topic of transhumanism–which is commonly defined as a movement that promotes the use of technology to enhance the capabilities of humans. Stefan’s work on the subject includes his 2020 book “On Transhumanism,” his recently released “We Have Always Been Cyborgs,” and peer-revie...

This week our guest is businessman and entrepreneur, Jim Rutt, who you may know as the former chairman of the Sante Fe Institute or from his own podcast, The Jim Rutt show. Jim is also arguably the founding spearhead for a movement known as “Game B,” which we’ll discuss much more deeply in the episode but which could quickly be described here as an alternative to the destabilizing, exploitative, a...

This week our guest is hacker, Andrew “Bunnie” Huang, who is well known for clashing with Microsoft in the early 2000s when he taught others how to hack and modify the Xbox. Nearly twenty years later, and Bunnie is suing the US government for ways in which the Digital Millennium Copyright Act threatens free speech, all while also creating hackable hardware with other influential tech figures such...

This week our guest is Todd Rose, who was previously a professor at Harvard University where he led the Laboratory for the Science of Individuality and was the faculty director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program. Since then, Todd  co-founded the think-tank Populace to help improve society and the lives of individuals, and wrote a book we’ll be talking about a lot in this episode: “ Col...

This week my guest is Yanis Varoufakis, a Greek economist and politician who was the acting Minister of Finance in Greece during their debt crises in 2015. Since then, he founded the political party Mera25, and now sits in the Greek parliament as a member of the party. Aside from his work in government, Yanis has extensive experience with the role of technology in the economic sphere, which includ...

This week my guest is Bernardo Kastrup, who has an impressive background of working for CERN, the world’s largest and most advanced particle physics laboratory, has written 10 books, and holds a PhD in both computer engineering and philosophy. During these years of honing his unique expertise, Bernardo developed his ideas of analytical idealism, building on the philosophy of metaphysical idealism....

As we pass the second yearly anniversary of the show, we take a look back at some of our favorite segments from past episodes with academic guests who share our passion for everything "Singularity". This includes episodes with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (FBL34), Anna Lembke (FBL24), and Toby Ord (FBL16). With their combined years of academic education and research at some of the best univer...

As we pass the second yearly anniversary of the show, we take a look back at some of our favorite segments from past episodes with comedian guests who share our passion for everything "Singularity". This includes episodes with Stephen Fry (FBL20), Duncan Trussell (FBL21), and Reggie Watts (FBL22). Often known for their insights into the human condition, these well-read comedians take us on a tour...

This week our guest is Meghan O'Gieblyn, who has written regularly for entities such as Wired, The New York Times, and The Guardian, in addition to authoring books such as Interior States and her latest book: God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning. Interestingly, much of Meghan’s work pulls on her experience losing her faith in religion while simultaneously b...

This week our guest is Reason magazine’s Senior Editor, Robby Soave, who recently published his newest book, Tech Panic, Why We Shouldn’t Fear Facebook and the Future . This work focuses heavily on how the societal panic about the dangers of social media are overblown, and how this panic could be used to justify harmful governmental policies that increase censorship and limit free speech. In this...

This week our guest is Micah Redding, who is the founder and Executive Director of the Christian Transhumanist Association, an organization that believes science and technology can be used to alter the human condition in a way that empowers the beliefs of Christianity. In this episode, my goal is simply to gain an understanding of how Micah and other Christian transhumanists see the world. This ta...

This week our guest is cognitive scientist, Scott Barry Kaufman, who has an impressive resume that includes teaching at NYU and Columbia, writing for Scientific American, hosting a podcast on psychology that is so definitive it’s actually called The Psychology Podcast, and is the author of several books including his latest, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization . In this episode we tak...

This week our guest is social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, who has authored several of my personal favorite books including the Happiness Hypothesis, The Righteous Mind, and the Coddling of the American Mind. We're lucky enough to have Jon join us to discuss his just released Atlantic article entitled, ' Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid ,' which explores his upcomi...

This week my guest is Kent Bye, the voice behind the podcast, Voices of VR, which has undoubtedly been one of the world’s leading sources of virtual reality information for nearly a decade now. This episode honestly feels like one of the most informative and comprehensive conversations we’ve had on the show yet, with Kent’s expertise carrying us through a wide array of VR relevant topics. This inc...

This week our guest is Nolen Gertz, who is an Assistant Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, and the author of several books including “Nihilism and Technology.” In this episode we really focus on the philosophical side of technology, exploring related concepts of hedonism, the need for struggle, apathy for the world’s challenges, and much more. Ultimatel...

This week our guest is Robin Ince, a comedian, actor, and writer known for presenting the BBC radio show The Infinite Monkey Cage with physicist Brian Cox, his appearances alongside Ricky Gervais, and his stand-up comedy career. In this episode we explore topics from Robin’s latest book, The Importance of Being Interested: Adventures in Scientific Curiosity, which takes readers on a tour through R...

This week our guest is Michael P Lynch, who is the Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut and author of several books including “The Internet of Us” and his latest “Know-It-All Society: Truth and Arrogance in Political Culture.” He self describes his work as an exploration of truth, democracy and the ethics and epistemology of technology. In this episode, we take a tour of Michae...

This week my guest is Lee McIntyre, who is a research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and author of a series of books coming to the defense of science, including his latest book: “ How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason.” In this discussion we explore the many aspects of science...

This week my guest is Singularity’s very own expert in Health, Longevity, and Life Sciences, Kris VeerBurg. In addition to being an actual medical doctor, Kris has authored several books, including his latest work, The Longevity Code: Secrets to Living Well for Longer from the Front Lines of Science. And he’s also the co-founder of NOVOS ( https://novoslabs.com ), which positions itself as the fir...

This week my guest is Hrish Lotlikar, who is best known as the founder and CEO of Superworld. Hrish will explain in much better detail what Superworld is in our discussion, but for now, the best way to think about it is an augmented world that sits on top of the real world, much like Pokemon Go. However, in Superworld, users can create what augmented reality objects exist in the world, and they ca...

This week my guest is Riz Virk, who founded the Play Labs at MIT, has produced several films and video games, and has authored several books including his latest: The Simulated Multiverse. In this conversation we delve into the topics of the Simulated Multiverse, exploring the simulation hypothesis, quantum physics, spirituality, and so much more--including the many different ways cultures have be...