Flash Forward is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a fecal transplant black market? (Complicated, it wouldn’t, and yes, respectively, in case you’re curious.) Hosted and produced by award winning science journalist Rose Eveleth, each episode combines audio drama and journalism to go deep on potential tomorrows, and uncovers what those futures might re ...
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Adam Becker on More Everything Forever and Big Tech’s Future Myths
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Content provided by Singularity.FM and Nikola Danaylov. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Singularity.FM and Nikola Danaylov or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Adam Becker is a science journalist with a PhD in astrophysics and the author of the provocative new book More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. I reached out to Adam because I found his book sharp, timely, and necessary — a long-overdue reality check to the fantasies of techno-utopianism flooding our culture. In More Everything Forever, Becker dissects the dominant visions of the future being sold by Silicon Valley’s billionaire elite: godlike AI, digital immortality, interstellar empires, and a future populated by trillions of posthuman minds. His thesis? These aren’t scientific forecasts. They’re billionaire fever dreams—ideological weapons dressed up as inevitabilities. Drawing on over fifteen years as a science communicator and journalist, Becker traces how a fringe worldview — steeped in misunderstood sci-fi, hubris, and colonialist logic — has moved from the internet’s margins into university labs, government hearings, and mainstream media. We discuss why these ideas aren’t just wrong; they’re dangerous distractions from the real crises we face: war, climate change, inequality, and a fraying shared reality. So, if you’ve ever questioned the hype around AI overlords, Mars colonies, or techno-salvation, this conversation is for you. I hope you enjoy my interview with Adam Becker as much as I did. My favorite quotes from this conversation with Adam Becker are: Silicon Valley has confused science fiction with science — and science with branding. We are solving imaginary future problems while the world burns right in front of us. AI overlords, Mars colonies, and posthuman utopias aren’t visions of the future. They’re distractions from the present. See the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/adam-becker/
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324 episodes
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Manage episode 492577755 series 1529385
Content provided by Singularity.FM and Nikola Danaylov. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Singularity.FM and Nikola Danaylov or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://ppacc.player.fm/legal.
Adam Becker is a science journalist with a PhD in astrophysics and the author of the provocative new book More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. I reached out to Adam because I found his book sharp, timely, and necessary — a long-overdue reality check to the fantasies of techno-utopianism flooding our culture. In More Everything Forever, Becker dissects the dominant visions of the future being sold by Silicon Valley’s billionaire elite: godlike AI, digital immortality, interstellar empires, and a future populated by trillions of posthuman minds. His thesis? These aren’t scientific forecasts. They’re billionaire fever dreams—ideological weapons dressed up as inevitabilities. Drawing on over fifteen years as a science communicator and journalist, Becker traces how a fringe worldview — steeped in misunderstood sci-fi, hubris, and colonialist logic — has moved from the internet’s margins into university labs, government hearings, and mainstream media. We discuss why these ideas aren’t just wrong; they’re dangerous distractions from the real crises we face: war, climate change, inequality, and a fraying shared reality. So, if you’ve ever questioned the hype around AI overlords, Mars colonies, or techno-salvation, this conversation is for you. I hope you enjoy my interview with Adam Becker as much as I did. My favorite quotes from this conversation with Adam Becker are: Silicon Valley has confused science fiction with science — and science with branding. We are solving imaginary future problems while the world burns right in front of us. AI overlords, Mars colonies, and posthuman utopias aren’t visions of the future. They’re distractions from the present. See the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/adam-becker/
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324 episodes
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