Constellation: Making the Graphic Novel show

Constellation: Making the Graphic Novel

Summary: Enter a simulated universe where software beings engage in classic human struggles for belonging, status, and attention, and old certainties like death and gravity are just settings to be negotiated. You can be the god of your own private world, but if find yourself feeling lonely, you might be tempted to give away some of your precious control. This podcast will take you behind the scenes with comic book authors and veteran podcasters Jon Perry (@perryjon) and Ted Kupper (@tedkupper) as they write and develop a science fiction graphic novel called Constellation, set in a metaverse unlike any you’ve seen before: neither a utopia nor a dystopia, neither real nor virtual, it is a simulation where everyone knows they are being simulated and no one much cares, where there’s no hope of leaving and no reason to, just an endless supply of human-designed worlds to create and explore.

Podcasts:

 089: Discussion of Ray Kurzweil’s 2019 Predictions | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:23:49

We're back! In this return episode we're looking back at the prediction made for this year, 2019, twenty years ago in Ray Kurzweil's 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines. This list was impressively specific and bold, and as we show not all of the predictions panned out. But is Kurzweil just a bit optimistic, maybe by ten years or so, or is he fundamentally wrong? We take a pretty unscientific look at how each of his predictions fared, then give our own gut assessments of how the future's coming along.

 088: Discussion of Hypocralypse and the Future of Punishment | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 55:52

In this week's discussion Ted and Jon talk about the new Robin Hanson article positing a future 'hypocralypse' in which useful hypocrisies become impossible to pull off because of technology. How will people and culture react? What might happen to laws and norms that are very influenced by symbolic concerns? Also they discuss the four main purposes of punishment and ways that various technical advances might better serve those purposes, and what that might look like.

 087: What is the Future of Sex Robots? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:23:55

In today's episode, we discuss the future of sex robots. Inspired by the book "Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications," we consider various benefits and harms that sex robots might have on users, society, and even the robots themselves. Will sex robots be on balance a good thing or a bad thing? Will they provide a safe outlet for bad behavior or possibly just embolden it? And what will be the impact of sex robots on marriage?

 086: Discussion of Malicious Uses of AI | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:26:21

A team of 26 authors just published a fascinating new report on the malicious uses of AI. Inspired by the structure and content of this report, we decided to do a podcast overview of the various ways AI might be misused in the near future. Many discussions of AI tend to focus on either unintended […]

 085: Grab Bag of Short Topics | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:04:09

In today's episode we tried an experiment. Lacking topics that we felt were big enough for a whole episode, we instead discussed a lot of little topics including self driving cars, the philosophy of David Deutsch, cryptocurrency in the Marshall Islands, a new paper on AI dangers, durable goods increasingly becoming services, Walmart scanning robots, and the dynamics of status in the internet age. We hope you enjoy!

 084: Discussion of Conversational AI and Digital Currency | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:06:19

In today's episode, we discuss Google's new conversational AI, known as Duplex. Although impressive as a tech demo, this new technology has not received the warmest of receptions. We discuss the various ethical and possibly criminal implications of robots that can convincingly fool humans over the phone. Next, we discuss a possible shift to a fully digital currency. Though cryptocurrency is a hot topic at the moment, we do not expect that a real digital currency is likely to resemble today's cryptocurrency. A likely digital currency would probably be centralized under government control and have resulting advantages and risks.

 083: Discussion of Moore’s Law and Optimism vs. Pessimism | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:02:35

We discuss Moore's law and how it undergirds most futurist predictions, and what that means now that it appears to be coming to an end. We cover the benefits of predictable gains for software developers versus the low hanging opportunities to optimize. We then cover the abstract idea of optimism vs. pessimism in argumentation and posit that a desire to inspire or negatively motivate to prevent leads to insincere argumentation.

 082: Discussion of Subvocal Recognition and Domestic Robots | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:01:28

In today's episode we dive into the implications of two recent news stories.  The first involves an exciting new tech demo that came out of the MIT Media Lab for a device called the AlterEgo. The AlterEgo combines subvocal recognition with bone conduction tech to create the external appearance of computer-aided telepathy. Does this technology have a future, and if so, what form will it take? The second news story involves the announcement by Amazon of plans to enter the domestic robotics space. With very few actual details to go over, we indulge in our typical wild speculation about the kinds of home robotics that might see use in the near future, and whether the concept of ephemeralization can be meaningfully applied to home appliances. We close out the episode by registering our predictions (hint: Alexa-roomba) of what we expect to see from Amazon's eventual product.

 081: Discussion of Facebook and Privacy | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:05:07

In today's episode we wade into the ongoing societal conversation around social media and privacy that has been taking place in the wake of the recent Facebook scandal. But before getting started we do some follow up on previous discussion topics: existential risk and self driving cars. Next, after a quick rehash of the Cambridge Analytica data breach, we discuss ways to think about privacy and data and consider some of the pros and cons of government regulation in this area.

 080: Discussion of Self Driving Cars and Body Scanning | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 47:24

For the first time ever, today's episode was recorded and uploaded on the same day, with no editing. As part of our push to get more content out quicker, we are taking steps towards a live radio format. On this podcast, we discuss coverage of the recent Uber self driving car accident. What does the tone of the coverage suggest about peoples fears and willingness to adopt this new technology? Later, we discuss the imminent rise of full body scans, and their potential usefulness as clothing models, fitness trackers, VR avatars, and even fodder for bizarre art.

 079: Discussion of AI Risk | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:15

We discuss AI risk argument through two recent articles, one written by sci fi author Ted Chiang and one by Steven Pinker, both of which dismiss the strongest version of the arguments as put forth by Nick Bostrom and others, in this episode. Is insight the same as morality, as Chiang seems to think? Does Steven Pinker even understand the basics of Bostrom’s claims? Does the foom argument need to be true to worry about AI risk? And at the end, a bit of fun (before we’re all turned into paperclips).

 078: Discussion of Black Mirror and Altered Carbon | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:08

As part of our new casual discussion series, we do two mini reviews of recent science fiction TV shows. Jon shares his critiques of the the first episode of the new season of Black Mirror, while Ted offers his impressions of the new show Altered Carbon. Although we found some things to appreciate, in general we are not fans of these shows. We suggest reading Crystal Nights or Peripheral instead. Or maybe watching Rick and Morty.

 077: Robin Hanson on The Elephant in the Brain | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:34:05

Today we are rejoined by professor and friend of the podcast Robin Hanson. Robin has just co-authored a fascinating new book called The Elephant in the Brain. This book examines our hidden motives, and while it has nothing directly to do with the future, it does have significant implications for policy and institutional design. Robin is also an accomplished futurist (as exemplified by his other excellent book Age of Em) and so were able to press him on the possible future implications of his thesis and come up with some interesting answers.

 076: What Happens When We Design Babies? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:19:38

In this episode we discuss the prospect of designer babies. As genetic engineering and reproductive technologies continue to advance, parents are likely to gain unprecedented control over their offspring. We discuss some of the near term prospects for germ line engineering and speculate about the degree of manipulation that might be possible in the near term. But perhaps more importantly, we discuss some of the ethical and policy implications of such advances. Will designer babies pave the way for a healthier and happier society or are we in for a more dystopian outcome?

 075: What Happens in a World of Perfectly Fakeable Audio and Video? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:03:50

Impressive demos promise that new technologies will democratize the kind of high-end audio and video fakery we usually associate only with blockbuster films. In this episode Jon and Ted extrapolate on that idea: what happens when many things can be faked, and everyone knows it? We discuss previous eras of forgery and modern forensics, posit an arms race to fake and spot fakes, and talk about the very real dangers of even momentarily misleading a diplomat or military officer -- but also how much fun this ability will be for comedians and satirists. Finally we imagine how much better Nigerian Prince scams are going to get.

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