MIND & MACHINE: Science & Tech of Maximizing Human Capability

Discovery is pursuing bold new methods of storytelling across their media portfolio (Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, etc...). This week we talk with Jeff Abramson, the Head of Virtual Reality Content Development and Programming for Discovery Communications, and get his insights into what makes immersive media (VR, AR, MR and such) compelling as well as where he sees it heading in the future.

More at www.mindandmachine.io

Today we explore CRISPR and gene editing, embryo selection vs embryo editing, parental vs societal needs, emerging mind-reading technologies, and the ethics surrounding all of these issues.

August Bradley's guest is Hank Greely, a Stanford Law School professor specializing in the ethical, legal, and social implications of new biomedical technologies, particularly those related to genetics and neuroscience. Hank frequently serves as an advisor on policy issues — he's the chair of California’s Human Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, a member of the Advisory Council on the NIH’s National Institute for General Medical Sciences, a member of the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law of the National Academies, and a member of the Neuroscience Forum at the Institute of Medicine. He chairs the steering committee for the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and directs both the Stanford law school’s Center for Law and the Biosciences, and the Stanford Program in Neuroscience and Society. His book "The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction" gives us a look at the future of making babies through new technologies.

Podcast Audio version at: http://mindandmachine.libsyn.com

More on Hank Greely at: https://law.stanford.edu/directory/henry-t-greely/ https://profiles.stanford.edu/henry-greely

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hankgreelylsju __________

More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io

My guest today is Paul Scharre, author of the book "Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War" — which Bill Gates recently featured in his top five book recommendations of the year. Paul is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security — a think tank based in Washinton D.C. Previously, Paul worked for the U.S. Secretary of Defense where he played a leading role in establishing policies on unmanned autonomous systems and emerging weapons technologies. He led the Department of Defense working-group that drafted policies on autonomy in weapon systems. He also led DoD efforts to establish policies on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance programs. We discuss the current state of military autonomous weapons, the degree to which highly autonomous warfare will be conducted in the future, and the ethical challenges facing this technology. We also get into the resistance from employees within Google and other A.I companies toward supporting military uses. More from Paul: https://www.cnas.org/people/paul-scharre Twitter: https://twitter.com/paul_scharre More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io

Pixar and Bungie veteran Tom Sanocki is the CEO and founder of Limitless Ltd, building extraordinary new tools for creating CG animated characters that come to life in VR — responding to voice and other stimuli, interacting in remarkably authentic ways. Having worked on character creation for years at Pixar and video game leader Bungie, Tom is uniquely suited to share insights on virtual character technology today and where it will go in the age of artificial intelligence.

More on Tom at: http://www.vrlimitlessltd.com https://twitter.com/LimitlessLtdVR https://twitter.com/tomsanocki

MIND & MACHINE features interviews by August Bradley with leaders in transformational technologies. https://www.mindandmachine.io

This week we explore a broad range of high-concept futurist frameworks and future technologies. My guest is Gray Scott, a visionary futurist and creator of both the Serious Wonder digital magazine and the Futuristic Now video series. Gray takes fragments of modern life and extrapolates a wholistic framework of how technology, humanity and universal physics will intertwine. We explore technology as a natural phenomenon, how the future is inside of us, recording dreams, sharing brain streams, digital twins, rogue selves, plus geometry and fractals as the foundational code of the universe. More about Gray Scott at: https://www.grayscott.com Futuristic Now video series: https://www.youtube.com/user/GrayScottFuture Twitter: https://twitter.com/grayscott __________ More at: https://www.MindAndMachine.io