The Singularity Discussion Series

This week our guest is Stanford neuroscientist, Robert Sapolsky. You may know Dr. Sapolsky from his incredible 25-part lecture series on Youtube, his triumphant book, Behave, or his guest appearances on the Joe Rogan and Huberman Lab podcasts.

And if you know him from any of these things, you may also know that Sapolsky isn’t a big fan of free will. In fact, he wrote an entire book about it, Determined, which is set to release on O...

This week our guest is Tokyo-based writer, David Marx, who recently wrote Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change.

In this episode, we explore the ideas at the heart of David’s book as they relate to the modern technological paradigm we find ourselves in. In other words, how has the digital world shaped our cultural behavior and how we compare ourselves with othe...

Our guest is professor and director of the Digital Life Institute at Ontario Tech University, Isabel Pedersen, who specializes in the study of wearables, embodied computing, and similar technologies.

In this episode, we take a tour through what Isabel calls the continuum of embodiment, starting with the defining characteristics of the field, exploring its many manifestations and advancements over the decades, and even looking into ...

This week our guest is author and podcast, Chris Ryan, who is well known for exploring the evolution of human society and behavior through his books, Sex at Dawn and Civilized to Death. 

In this episode, we take a candid tour through the many misconceptions and misunderstandings of early hunter-gatherer lifestyles and how an alternative view could benefit us in modernity. This includes topics such as cooperation vs competition, res...

This week our guest is investor and researcher, Lauren Wagner, who has extensive experience shaping the trust and safety protocols at some of the world’s most influential platforms and institutes. 

In this episode, we explore the lessons Lauren has learned from her time at Cornell, Oxford, Meta, and Google, and how that’s shaped her current approach to policy building. This takes us a tour of the impact of free speech, community bu...

This week our guest is psychologist and professor at Northwestern University, Adam Waytz, who specializes in the study of technology, ethics, and how people think about the minds of others.

In this episode, we take a wide tour across many topics as we explore Adam’s different areas of interest and focus. This often centers around how our demonization of technology often blinds us to the real source of our societal struggles: the p...

This week our guest is Harvard-train physician and Chief Innovation Officer at Betterup Labs, Gabriella Rosen Kellerman, who co-authored the recently released book Tomorrowmind: Thriving at Work with Resilience, Creativity, and Connection―Now and in an Uncertain Future.

In this episode, we take a tour of the many behavioral traits and characteristics that are becoming increasingly necessary as the structures of our work lives chang...

This week our guest is writer and technology researcher, Tobias Rose-Stockwell, who has just published a brand new book: The Outrage Machine: How Tech Amplifies Discontent, Disrupts Democracy―And What We Can Do About It.

In this episode, we explore Tobias’ book, which takes us on a journey through topics such as the power of virality for better or worse, algorithmic manipulation, the features of technology that lead to outrage,  le...

This week my guest is psychologist Nicholas Kardaras, a leading expert in the study of addiction, especially as it relates to digital technologies. In addition to running recovery centers in both Maui and Austin, he’s also the author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids and How to Break the Trance, as well as his recently published, Digital Madness: How Social Media is Driving Our Mental Health Crisis–and How to...

This week my guest is neuroscientist and entrepreneur, Adam Gazzaley, who co-authored the 2016 book The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, and whose company Akili Interactive has developed the world's first video game approved by the FDA for the medical treatment of ADHD.

Adam and I start the conversation with a robust exploration of attention from a neuroscientific perspective, investigating the modern impac...

This week our guest is futurist and speaker, Gerd Leonhard, who authored the 2016 book Technology vs Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine. 

In this episode, we explore the ideas Gerd puts forth in his book, with a heavy emphasis on how the humanities are a necessary part of what he calls a "Good Future.” This takes us on a tour of the failings of transhumanism, the need to update our regulatory systems, questions...

This week our guest is author David Auerbach, who was a software engineer at Microsoft and Google during their rise to become the dominant companies they are today. 

In this episode, David and I discuss his latest publication, Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities. David explains how, despite what many tend to think, the realm of digital technology we all occupy is beyond...

This week our guest is distinguished professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley, Edward A. Lee, who has written extensively about the relationship between humans and technology in books such as Plato and the Nerd and The Coevolution.

In this episode, Edward lays out his argument against the status quo of "digital creationism," which states that humans are the gods shaping technology, and prop...

This week our guest is Nita Farahany, a Distinguished Professor at Duke University where she heads the Science, Law, and Policy Lab. The research she conducts in her lab specifically focuses on the implications of emerging neuroscience, genomics, and artificial intelligence; and, as a testament to her expertise, there is a long, long list of awards and influential positions she can lay claim to, including an appointment by Obama to...

This week my guest Anne Scherer, a professor of marketing at the University of Zurich who specializes in the psychological and societal impacts that result from the increased automation and digitization of the consumer-company relationship.

In this episode we focus on the details Anne covers in, You and AI, a book she co-authored with Cindry Candrian to bring an accessible understanding of the ways in which AI is shaping our lives....

To celebrate our 100th episode, we welcome one of the co-founders of Singularity himself, Peter Diamandis.

And although his educational background at MIT and Harvard Medical school is impressive enough, Peter has also built and invested in many successful companies and organizations dedicated to shaping a better world, including his famous X-Prize Foundation and of course the home of this podcast, Singularity.

In this episode, Pet...

This week my guest is professor of neuroscience at University College London, Karl Friston. Viewed by many as one of the world’s most influential neuroscientists, Friston rose to prominence when he pioneered one of the key techniques that allows neuroscientists to analyze brain activity. And as if that wasn’t enough, he has since developed the Free Energy Principle, which some see as monumental to the field as Darwin’s theory of ev...

This week my guest is Jean Twenge, a renowned psychologist, professor, and author who has been one of the world’s leading researchers investigating generational differences and the impacts of technology. This includes her books The Narcissism Epidemic, Generation Me, and my personal favorite iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy–and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.

In t...

This week our guest is British biologist, Nessa Carey, who has researched and written extensively about the latest trends in molecular biology and biotechnology for several decades now. This includes her 2011 book, the Epigenetics Revolution, and her more recent 2019 book, Hacking the Code of Life. 

In this episode, we lay some biological groundwork by first discussing the often misunderstood field of epigenetics, a process wherein...