The Future Is Here Today...Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity

Singularity University Gathers Steam, Rolls Out New Website

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by Aaron Saenz on March 3rd, 2010
SU new website

Along with growing student interest and class size, SU has also updated its look to include more videos, more alumni voices, and more social networking.

The spring season of growth has come early to the NASA Ames center in Silicon Valley. That’s where Singularity University is gearing up for its one year anniversary and a new burst of innovation and development. It’s winter Executive Program is currently underway, the spring Executive Progam is approaching and SU is working to double the number of students in its summer Graduate Studies Program. The fledgling university has also formed partnerships with other institutions to further its goals of instructing a generation of leaders about accelerating technologies. SU is working with the XPrize Lab at MIT on brain computer interfaces and is sponsoring the She’s Geeky conferences to help promote women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. If all that wasn’t enough, SU has even revamped their website: adding in more videos, alumni feedback, and social networking. Technology is accelerating, and Singularity University wants to grow right along with it.

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SU’s Winter Executive Program Gearing Up (Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on January 5th, 2010

singularity-executive-programWinter break is almost over, so it’s time to start thinking about going to school, even if you’re years past your college graduation. Singularity University, based out of NASA Ames center in Silicon Valley, is a unique collection of forward-thinking faculty at the heads of their fields. The inaugural SU Summer Program, and the Fall Executive Program had great successes in 2009. Now, the 10 day Winter Executive Program is gearing up and taking applications. It will run from February 26th through March 7th and feature instructors like Ray Kurzweil, Dan Barry, Daniel Kraft, Andrew Hessel and many more. Not sure if you’re interested? Check out what SU graduates are saying about the last Executive Program in the video after the break.

When you’re running a company, or a research team, there’s not much time for continuing education. That’s why Singularity University has taken its nine week summer course and distilled it into ten days of intense experiences. Although many important upcoming technologies will not be active for years to come, those in charge of investments and entrepreneurial endeavors need to plan now for the changes that such technologies will bring. That sort of philosophy is what has kept Kurzweil successful in business and the lecture circuit for so long. SU also hopes that its Executive Program will help powerful decisions makers see the benefit of using accelerating technologies to solve the world’s “grand challenges”: hunger, poverty, energy, and climate change.

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Daniel Kraft – The Future of Medicine (Singularity University Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on November 19th, 2009
Daniel Kraft discusses the future of medicine after his Singularity University Executive Program lecture.

Kraft discusses the future of medicine after his Singularity University Executive Program lecture.

There’s some amazing things coming down the healthcare pipeline and Daniel Kraft knows a little about all of them. Kraft teaches at Stanford University, is an expert on regenerative medicine, and a member of the faculty at Singularity University. He was one of the many lecturers at SU’s nine-day Executive Program which is just wrapping up. After his lecture, he sat down with executive director Salim Ismail to discuss the future of medicine. Check out the video after the break.

Regenerative medicine is starting to experience tremendous growth with the blossoming use of stem cells to help the body heal and replace damaged tissue. While there has been tremendous debate in the US around the ethics of using embryonic stem cells, Kraft is happy to discuss how all manner of adult cells may be coaxed into becoming pluripotent (able to tranform into different tissues). While you should definitely check out the full ten minute interview, don’t miss Kraft discussing pluripotency starting after 6:16. Kraft also briefly touches on the possibility of 3D printing of living tissue (8:50) and the use of stem cells to cure baldness (10:05). These are some impressive developments!

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Dan Barry – The Future of Robotics (Singularity University Video)

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by Aaron Saenz on November 18th, 2009
Dan Barry has pretty much done every cool thing you can do. And he's going to build intelligent robots next. Take that Leonardo DaVinci.

Dan Barry has pretty much done every cool thing you can do. And he's going to build intelligent robots next. Take that, Leonardo DaVinci.

There are people out there who’s list of accomplishments simply seem unbelievable. Dan Barry has a MD PhD and a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science. He’s a robotics expert, and a former astronaut who flew three missions. Of course most of you probably know him because he was a contestant on Survivor. Sounds impossible, but it’s all true. Barry was also the Head of Faculty for Singularity University’s Graduate Summer Program and is the track chair for AI and Robotics. After his recent lecture at SU’s nine-day Executive Program, he sat down with executive director Salim Ismail to discuss the future of robotics. Check out his uniquely qualified opinions in the video after the break.

From a certain point of view, your car is a robot. Remote controlled machines are remarkable, and an important branch of robotics, but Barry’s focus is on autonomous creations. He wants to build a robot that could interact and live with humans, maybe even have human like intelligence and consciousness. While there are many breakthroughs coming in the next five years (see 2:50 in the video), it seems unlikely to Barry that we’ll have companion robots even in the next decade (5:40). Eventually, however, Barry believes that we will fall in love with our robots (9:35) the same way we fall in love with pets and cars. While the entire video is worth watching, make sure to check at 11:30 to hear about Barry’s theories on how intelligence is based on movement. He also speculates on how robots may eventually become self aware at 13:47.

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Singularity University’s Executive Program In Full Swing

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by Aaron Saenz on November 10th, 2009

Singularity University Flag LogoWhere have all the forward thinking business executives gone? They’re in school. We warned you it was coming, and now it’s here: Singularity University’s inaugural executive program began last week at the NASA Ames campus in Silicon Valley. The nine day course will allow industry leaders and MBA students to listen to some of the most innovative thinkers discuss the future of technology. Already, execs have attended classes, explored nearby companies, and driven around in a cherry red Tesla roadster (see the video after the break).

Part of Singularity University’s unique approach to executive training focuses on getting attendees to use social networking to connect their experience to the wider world. You can follow most of what happens in the program on SU’s twitter feed. Making their $15,000 per person program as transparent and publicly accessible as possible is a revolutionary, and some might say, economically dangerous idea. Why pay for the university cow when you get the cyber milk for free? Yet, Singularity University is betting that the uniqueness of their program will continually attract new attendees while recognizing that part of that program is wasted if it can’t be shared with the global community. You get the feeling that SU is trying to show that the new executive must be globally conscience and future-minded.

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Sign Up for Singularity University’s Executive Program

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by Aaron Saenz on October 7th, 2009

singularity-university-executive-programThere’s the crisp smell of autumn in the air, which can only mean one thing: you’re almost too late to register for classes! Singularity University is the academic program focused on the exponential growth of technology that just completed it’s inaugural year. Located in the NASA Ames campus, SU’s main summer program allowed its students to explore the companies and innovations of Silicon Valley. A shorter, 9 day executive program is running from November 7th to 15th and will focus on many of the same concepts as the summer session. Registration for the executive program October 20th, so interested candidates should go now to the SU sign up page. Dr. Peter Diamandis, vice-chancellor of Singularity University, discusses the goals and benefits of the 9 day session in a short video after the break.

Singularity University’s executive program in November essentially takes a nine week summer course and distills it into just nine days. The aim is to educate business leaders about the possibilities and consequences of exponential growth in technologies. With the knowledge from the course, SU hopes to generate a class of educated executives who will be capable of harnessing the emergent trends of technology to solve humanity’s grand challenges (including hunger, poverty, climate change and energy). Hopefully, those attending the course will be better able to navigate their own companies to profit from exponential growth technologies while simultaneously creating a future where those technologies benefit everyone.
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