Singularity Hub Staff
From This Author
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through January 13)
TRANSPORTATION
CES 2018: Phantom Auto Demonstrates First Remote-Controlled Car on Public Roads
Mark Harris | IEEE Spectrum
“But Shukman is not sitting next to me in the driver’s seat of Phantom’s Lincoln MKZ, and he hasn’t felt...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through January 6)
ROBOTS
The Year Robots Backflipped Their Way Into Our Hearts
Will Knight | MIT Technology Review
“Legged robots remain very expensive and difficult to commercialize. So it came as little surprise when Google sold Boston Dynamics to...
How One of Silicon Valley’s Oldest Companies Survived Tech’s Biggest Transitions
In an industry that celebrates newcomers and disruptors, tech companies over a decade old take on the air of grizzled veterans. Still, some Silicon Valley companies manage to ride out the cycles. Founded in...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through December 16)
BITCOIN
Bitcoin Is a Delusion That Could Conquer the World
Derek Thompson | The Atlantic
“What seems most certain is that the future of money will test our conventional definitions—of currencies, of bubbles, and of initial offerings....
How Clinical Trials Are Making the Case for MDMA in Psychotherapy
In an interview at Exponential Medicine in San Diego, speaker Brad Burge discussed the innovative applications of MDMA in psychotherapy. Burge is the director of strategic communications at non-profit MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies).
Historically, MDMA has...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through December 9)
ROBOTICS
New Robots Can See Into Their Future
Brett Israel | Berkeley News
“Using this technology, called visual foresight, the robots can predict what their cameras will see if they perform a particular sequence of movements. These robotic...
How to Design the Future We Want and Find the Path That Leads to It
Everyone wants to know the future, but how exactly? Authors Julia Rose West and Alida Draudt aim to help people better see the future and take action to shape it.
In their book, What the...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through December 2)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Can A.I. Be Taught to Explain Itself?
Cliff Kuang | New York Times
“Kosinski’s results suggested something stranger: that artificial intelligences often excel by developing whole new ways of seeing, or even thinking, that...
How Will Humans Colonize Space in the Years Ahead?
Exploration is one of humanity’s greatest drivers. We’ve moved around the planet and into almost every environment—mountains, deserts, jungles, and swamps.
But will we be able to take the next step and adapt ourselves to...
You’ve Heard All About CRISPR Gene Editing—Here’s How It Works
Gene editing is in the news a lot these days, but what is it exactly? Gene editing is the process of making precise and permanent changes to living things at the level of DNA,...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through November 18)
ROBOTS
Boston Dynamics' Atlas Robot Does Backflips Now and It's Full-Tilt Insane
Matt Simon | Wired
“To be clear: Humanoids aren’t supposed to be able to do this. It's extremely difficult to make a bipedal robot that can move...
Dark Matter Makes Up a Quarter of the Universe, But What Is It?
Until the 1960s, scientists thought ordinary matter and radiation made up everything in the universe. Then a young physicist named Vera Rubin made a discovery that shook things up. Rubin uncovered an unexpected relationship...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through November 11)
QUANTUM COMPUTING
IBM Raises the Bar With a 50-Qubit Quantum Computer
Will Knight | MIT Technology Review
“50 qubits is a significant landmark in progress toward practical quantum computers. Other systems built so far have...
Future Lighthouse Sketches Out the New Language of Immersive Storytelling
In an interview with Pascal Finette at SU’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Nicolás Alcalá dived into the future of immersive filmmaking and storytelling. Alcalá is CEO and founder of Future Lighthouse, a virtual reality studio based in Los Angeles and...
How Is Technology Evolving Over Time?
What was humanity’s first invention? Some say it was the wheel, while others say it was fire. But perhaps it was our invention of communication. Without this, no tool can be conceptualized, built, replicated,...
Join Us Live at Singularity University’s Exponential Medicine This Week
New technology is pushing medicine into exciting frontiers, and it’s getting better each year. Augmented reality is enhancing surgical training, machine learning algorithms are improving medical diagnostics, and the FDA is breaking ground with...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through November 4)
TRANSPORTATION
Who's Ready to Put Their Kid on a Self-Driving School Bus?
Aarian Marshall | Wired
“The designers know the concept is provocative, but they think it points to a bigger truth: You’ll know autonomous vehicles are...
Why the Customer Is the Center of Everything in the Membership Economy
In an interview with Lisa Kay Solomon, chair of Transformational Practices at Singularity University, at SU’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Robbie Baxter described the concept of the membership economy, a business model that’s...
Einstein Was a Genius, But Was He Always Right?
Einstein was a genius, there’s no debating that.
He was a Nobel Prize-winner who changed our understanding of nature more than anyone since Newton. Einstein is famous for his theory of relativity, his pioneering work...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through October 28)
INTERNET OF THINGS
Amazon Key Is a New Service That Lets Couriers Unlock Your Front Door
Ben Popper | The Verge
“When a courier arrives with a package for in-home delivery, they scan the barcode, sending a...
The Internet of Things Needs to Be Intelligent, Not Just Connected
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Andreas Gal explained how his company is applying artificial intelligence to the Internet of Things (IoT). Gal is the former CTO of Mozilla and is...
The Search to Find Another Earth Like Ours Is Heating Up
Are there other planets out there like our own? If so, could other forms of life, intelligence, or civilizations inhabit them?
This age-old question is a key part of the study of exoplanetology, the scientific...
This Week’s Awesome Stories From Around the Web (Through October 21)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Stunning AI Breakthrough Takes Us One Step Closer to the Singularity
George Dvorsky | Gizmodo
“A new paper published in Nature today describes how the artificially intelligent system that defeated Go grandmaster Lee Sedol in 2016 got its digital...
How Leaders Can Create Social Impact in a Complex World
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Adene Sacks discussed how social impact leadership is evolving in today’s world.
Sacks said, “No one can go do it alone anymore. The social sector is not...
Should We Edit Human Genes? What You Need to Know
There’s a difference between editing genes in a person’s somatic cells and germline cells.
Editing somatic cells, which are differentiated (e.g., skin cells) and non-reproductive, impacts them alone. In contrast, editing germline DNA means changes...
What Gaming Giant EA Knows About Bridging Creativity and Profit
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Andy Billings spoke to us about how he’s bridging the gap between the creative and business sides of Electronic Arts, one of the world’s leading video game...
Here Are 3 Good Reasons Why It’s Time to Return to the Moon
Since 1962 when President John F. Kennedy declared, “We choose to go to the moon in this decade,”moon exploration has sparked the imagination. Today, Peter Diamandis says, moon exploration is as exciting as Alaska...
The ‘Tesla of Ecovillages’ Is Building Self-Reliant Villages for the Coming Billions
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, James Ehrlich shared insights on how combining lessons from nature with new technology is pushing sustainable housing into new frontiers.
Ehrlich is the founder...
The Most Powerful Solutions Are Born When Uncommon Partners Unite
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, SU associate founder and CEO Rob Nail discussed the power of bringing diverse groups of people together to address the world’s biggest problems. Nail is a...
Now That Anyone Can Hack Biology—Should We Be Afraid?
Biohacking is a relatively new field of amateur and professional scientists conducting “do-it-yourself” biology experiments.
The word “hacking”may bring up images of cybercrime, but the majority of biohacking projects are focused on helping society as...
Why Doing What You Love Matters More Than Getting Top Marks
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Esther Wojcicki discussed the future of learning and how to give students the skills they most need.
Wojcicki founded the Palo Alto High Media Arts Center and is...
This Is What Happens to Your Body in Space
Living in space sounds pretty cool. Unfortunately, our bodies haven’t evolved to live in space without suffering harm. You may wonder, “How bad could it really be?”
In space, changes in gravity cause blood to...
Abundance Is Possible, But Only If Everyone’s Along for the Ride
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Mark Brand suggested abundance won’t happen on its own—we’ve all got to pitch in to bring everyone along for the ride.
Brand is a social entrepreneur and restaurateur...
Online Dating Pioneer: Algorithmic Insights Can Help Us Become Better People
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, J. Galen Buckwalter said the quantitative study of personality is finding new tech applications.
Buckwalter developed the matching algorithm at eHarmony and is now chief technology officer at...
Why Quantum Computers Will Be Exponentially Faster Than Digital Computers
Classical computers (like the one you may be reading this on) calculate using bits, or binary digits, which can have only one of two values, either 1 or 0. Quantum computers, however, calculate using...
Why Improvisation Is a Crucial Skill for Great Leadership and Innovation
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, Stanford’s Dan Klein explained how he’s taking improvisational theater beyond the stage and into business, leadership, and life.
Klein is faculty in Stanford’s Drama Department and the...
We Need Space’s Endless Resources to Expand as a Species
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, space entrepreneur Bob Richards gave us a rundown of current efforts to explore, mine, and even settle the moon.
Richards is co-founder, president, and...
Do We Have the Right to Edit the Genes of an Entire Species?
Scientists can now more cheaply and efficiently edit animal and human DNA using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system. But should we edit species, and if so, to what extent?
An interesting way to consider this question...
How We Can Filter Fake News and Make Media More Trustworthy
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, web pioneer Craig Newmark talked entrepreneurship and his work to make journalism more trustworthy.
Newmark founded Craigslist in 1995 and has since focused on technology...
There’s Hope for the Planet: The ‘Greatest Era of Exploration Is Just Beginning’
In an interview at Singularity University’s Global Summit in San Francisco, oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle said we live in a remarkable time when “the greatest era of exploration is just beginning.”
Earle is a National...
When Will We Have the Technology to Reach the Stars?
Recent advances in rocket technology are incredible. From NASA’s Space Launch System to Blue Origin and SpaceX’s reusable rockets, space is getting more accessible. However, no rocket can get us to neighboring stars. The...
Peter Diamandis: How to Find the Mindset and Energy to Go Big
In a recent interview at Singularity University's Global Summit in San Francisco, Peter Diamandis said he's at his best whenever he taps into his passion and lets it shine through.
"Anything I do has got...
Machine Learning Is Everywhere, But What Is It Exactly?
From Google’s language translation app to autonomous cars, machine learning has become a key ingredient in multiple areas of our lives—but what exactly is it?
In the simplest sense, machine learning is a method of...
Tech-X-Planations | Introducing a New Original Weekly Video Series
We’ve all name-dropped a new technology that sounds awesome—like CRISPR/Cas9—without really knowing the basics.
This is why we’ve created Tech-x-planations, Singularity Hub’s new weekly video series that explores fundamental ideas in science, technology, and the...
Ray Kurzweil: A Strategy for Keeping the World Safe From AI
Ray Kurzweil is an inventor, thinker, and futurist famous for forecasting the pace of technology and predicting the world of tomorrow. In this video, Kurzweil discusses AI ethics and risk. Films and books have...
Welcome to a More Discoverable Singularity Hub
This week we’ve rolled out our first major round of improvements to Singularity Hub since our ground-up redesign last December. If we did it right, you’ll find that discovering the technological goodies you come here...
Ray Kurzweil: What Is the Future of Capitalism?
Ray Kurzweil is an inventor, thinker, and futurist famous for forecasting the pace of technology and predicting the world of tomorrow. In this video, Kurzweil suggests there is more consensus about what kind of...
Ray Kurzweil: Our Brain Is a Blueprint for the Master Algorithm
Ray Kurzweil is an inventor, thinker, and futurist famous for forecasting the pace of technology and predicting the world of tomorrow. In this video, Kurzweil suggests the blueprint for the master algorithm—or a single,...
This Augmented Reality Helmet Helps Firefighters See Through Smoke to Save Lives
Sam Cossman was hit by a big idea next to a lava lake. With his sight obscured by fumes and vapors, he couldn’t be confident of his next step. Traditional thermal imaging was a...
Ray Kurzweil: Here’s What Will Happen When We Connect Our Brains to the Cloud
Ray Kurzweil is an inventor, thinker, and futurist famous for forecasting the pace of technology and predicting the world of tomorrow. In this video, Kurzweil looks ahead to a time in the not-too-distant future...
