In the popular HBO series Westworld, robotic hosts are depicted as being placed into a kind of psychiatric analysis by their creators. Could this actually happen one day? Joanne Pransky thinks it will. She bills herself as the World’s First Robotic Psychiatrist® (yes, she even registered that title!). She was dubbed the real life Susan Calvin by Isaac Asimov, after the robot psychologist he created in his classic 1950 short story anthology, I, Robot. In this episode of the Seeking Delphi™ podcast, host Mark Sackler talks to her about this and other significant issues in the man/machine relationships to come.
Richard Dawkins might disagree with Thomas Edison. He’d likely say the purpose of our bodies and our brains is to carry around–and perpetuate– our genes. Increasingly, though, the purpose of body is to carry around our technology and interface it with our brains. Wearable electronics…VR goggles…smart phones…our devices are becoming more than tools. They are merging with our being. Add to this the onrush of emerging BCI (brain-computer interface) technologies and one thing becomes clear. We are becoming what we build.
The IEEE brain initiative seeks to set standards for, and explore the ethics of, many of these technologies. Laura Cabrera is a brain researcher working with the initiative. In this episode of Seeking Delphi™ I talk to her about many issues surrounding the accelerating use of technology to diagnose, treat, and eventually enhance, the brain.
“Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.”–Roger Ebert
The upcoming volume, After Shock, features 50 of the world’s most renowned futurists reflecting on the 50-year legacy of Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock, and looking ahead to the next 50 years. Seven of the contributors have been guests on Seeking Delphi™ This is the first in a series of repeats of these podcasts, which will lead up to panel discussion with some of the authors, on the book and the Toffler legacy.
Richard Yonck is an author and futurist based in Seattle Washington.
Links to relevant stories appear after the audio file and embedded YouTube video below. A reminder that Seeking Delphi is available on iTunes andPlayerFM, and has a channel on YouTube. You can also follow us onFacebook.
Is transformation the key to immortality? A better question is: will radical life extension–the end of aging–in itself be transformative? I believe the answer to that second question is a resounding yes.
In this special Seeking Delphi™ podcast, four of the world’s biggest thought leaders and advocates for ending aging discuss implications and issues involved in achieving human rejuvenation therapy, and begin the discussion of what a post-ageing world might look like. We only scratched the very surface on the latter issues–there will be more to come on the subject.
Science fiction pervades our culture. Movies, television, books, even stage productions. It’s rich history, and its significance in shaping our views of the future–or for that matter, inspiring us to invent the future–is the subject of this wide ranging discussion with author Tom Lombardo. Among the subjects we cover:
Science Fiction as a pervasive view of the future; all aspects of human experience, not just technology and science.
Parallels between mythology and science fiction
Science Fiction as social satire and even humor (think Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, for instance).
The danger of Hollywood’s apocalyptic future visions becoming self-fullfilling prophecies
Questions of the day: 1. Is a manned return to the moon possible by 2024? Is a fusion-generated power plant possible by 2025? Will cyborgs rule the world in 2100? Answers: 1. Maybe. 2. Maybe 3. Most of us are already cyborgs. Read on for details.
While you’re reading about all this week’s future-related news, don’t forget that you can subscribe to Seeking Delphi™ podcasts on Apple Podcasts, PlayerFM, or YouTube(audio with slide show) and you can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Transport--Sorry Back to The Future fans, the hoverboard is still a work in progress. Frenchman Franky Zapata failed in his attempt to fly a hoverboard of his own invention across the English Channle. OK, who ever heard of a Frenchman named Franky? (video below)
Seeking Delphi™ 