In this episode, we talk with Constance Li, founder of Sentient Futures, an organization working to make sure AI and other emerging technologies improve the lives of animals rather than harm them.

We touch on:

• The enormous scale of animal suffering today, and why AI could either worsen or improve it depending on the decisions we make.
• Using computer vision and sensors to monitor animals and optimize for their welfare rather than just productivity.
• The research that’s being done to use AI to communicate with animals and what it’s already telling us about their well-being.
• Other sentient beings that could be impacted by emerging technologies, like artificial minds and biocomputing.

Timestamps:

0:00 Cold open

1:57 Why AI and animals is an overlooked combination

4:46 The staggering scale of factory farming

8:26 How a physician became an animal welfare advocate

10:19 What Sentient Futures does day-to-day

11:38 What "AI for animals" actually means

14:23 Why the organization was renamed Sentient Futures, and the question of AI moral patients

18:08 The biggest misconceptions about AI for animals

20:26 What is precision livestock farming?

24:46 Best and worst-case scenarios for AI in farms

27:46 Communication across species: promise and limitations

35:56 Genetic welfare and using genetics in farms

43:34 What a best-case scenario for AI and animals looks like in the next 5–10 years

47:11 The biggest hurdles: funding and attention

48:39 How to get involved with Sentient Futures

50:44 What gives Constance hope

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode, we talk with David Eagleman, a professor of neuroscience at Stanford, bestselling author, and science communicator. We discuss how AI and other technologies can help us become better humans – wiser, kinder and more empathetic, not just more productive. We get a neuroscientist’s take on how human and artificial intelligence interact, including:

• How to use AI to better understand other people and improve our relationships.
• Using debate AIs in schools to make younger generations better at critical thinking and grasping both sides of an argument.
• Is AI making our lives too easy by removing the friction we need to learn?
• Technologies that could expand what’s possible with our brain, from mind uploading to brain-to-brain communication.

Timestamps:

0:00 Cold open

1:38 How David Eagleman became a neuroscientist

4:46 How malleable is the brain?

6:29 Can AI make us better humans? The Reddit debate bot experiment

11:00 AI relationships and becoming better at dating real people

14:24 Using AI to hear his late father's voice again

18:26 Mind uploading and digital immortality

23:27 What technology could make us more kind and empathetic

24:04 How AI could revolutionize debate education and critical thinking

28:30 Why AI needs a "tough love" mode to help us grow

30:17 Does AI making life easier rob us of useful friction for learning?

34:21 Why brain-to-brain communication probably won't help us understand each other

37:29 Could neurotechnology let us experience the world as another species?

41:58 The current state of neuroscience and where it's heading

48:05 How to get started if you're inspired by this conversation

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode, we talk with Marc Canal, Senior Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, and co-author of the book A Century of Plenty. We unpack what a hundred years of data tells us about human progress, and map out the steps to an ambitious scenario we can build by the end of the century.

We discuss:

• How much the world has actually changed since 1925: from one in five children dying before age five in Spain, to life expectancy growing by 40 years globally.
• What it would take to make today’s Swiss living standards the world’s floor by 2100 (while richer countries grow far beyond it), from energy efficiency to birth rates and geopolitics.
• How data shows economic growth is actually good for the climate and for human happiness.
• Why achieving a prosperous world currently depends more on our collective belief that progress is possible than on resource constraints.
• How you can thrive in an AI world, where 57% of work hours can be automated, by leaning into the “messy” jobs.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Cold open

1:54 - Why the McKinsey Global Institute wrote “A Century of Plenty” 

5:20 - What was the world like in 1925? 

10:04 - The most surprising stats from 100 years of progress

16:03 - Defining the “empowerment line” vs. the poverty line

19:30 - Projecting 2100: can we make Switzerland the global "floor"? 

22:26 - The 5 conditions for achieving a world of plenty

26:14 - Can we grow the economy without sacrificing the environment?

28:23 - Economic growth vs. climate change: mitigation and adaptation 

34:05 - What are the biggest challenges to the “progress machine”? 

36:30 - The demographic crisis, and solving falling fertility rates

45:20 - Will AI speed up human innovation?

48:21 - Geopolitics: is the world really de-globalizing? 

52:30 - The crisis of hope: why are we so pessimistic?

56:26 - How different nations reach the frontier of progress

58:49 - Building a new culture of growth

1:01:09 - Does economic progress actually make us happier?

1:05:39 - How you can help make a century of plenty probable

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode we talk with SJ Beard, researcher at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and author of the book “Existential Hope”.

Some of the topics we discuss:

• How to shift our focus from "preventing the end of the world" to actively building a future worth living.
• Why aiming for a “happy ever after” state of the world might be dangerous, and why improving the world one generation at a time is less likely to backfire.
• Relying on our own sense of “the right thing to do” as a practical guide to make the world better.
• Why decisions about AI and global risk need input from a broad mix of people and their real-world experiences, not just experts at the top.
• Why building AI with compassion and curiosity about human values may be safer than giving it a rigid list of rules to follow.

Timestamps:

[01:31] SJ’s background in philosophy and existential risk

[02:02] Why write a book on existential hope?

[04:43] Defining existential hope, and its relationship with existential risks and existential anxiety

[11:09] Human agency without the guilt

[13:59] Why there are no truly "natural" disasters

[16:49] Why we shouldn’t try to build a perfect utopia

[19:05] Protopia: is iterative improvement enough?

[22:19] Defining progress: what does it mean to "get better"?

[26:13] Protopia vs. viatopia: setting goals and achieving a great future

[29:48] Existential safety as a collective project

[35:06] Using participatory tools to make global decisions

[36:32] Making existential hope reasonably demanding

[40:06] Can we achieve systemic change in a tech-focused world?

[46:00] Concrete socio-technical projects for AI safety

[49:02] Aligning AI by building its character

[51:45] The importance of history in building a good future

[54:24] Key 17th-century ideas that are shaping modern society

[58:20] Cultivating "humanity as a virtue"

[01:04:37] Lessons from nuclear near-misses: the example of Petrov

[01:09:20] The trade-offs of a humanistic, bottom-up approach to decision-making

[01:12:16] Literacy vs. orality: how ideas become simplified

[01:16:45] Meme culture and the transmission of deep context

[01:18:48] How writing the book changed SJ’s mind

[01:21:38] SJ Beard’s vision for existential hope

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode, we talk with Anastasia Gamick, co-founder of Convergent Research, about how to raise our level of ambition for what science can actually achieve.

Convergence Research incubates Focused Research Organizations: small, startup-style teams that build critical “public good” tech, which both academia and for-profits ignore.

We discuss:

• What makes a research project truly high-impact in view of an AI world
• Concrete examples of these projects: maps of brain synapses, software that’s provably safe, drug screening, good data for AI-powered scientific research, and more
• How to prioritize defensive technology, such as biosafety tools, instead of just pushing every frontier as fast as possible
• How young scientists can find the work that matters most for the future

[00:00] Cold open

[01:52] Introducing Anastasia Gamick and the mission of Convergent Research

[02:44] Defining Focused Research Organizations (FROs) and their unique characteristics

[09:46] Backcasting from 2075: what research to prioritize now to prepare for the intelligence age

[19:08] The four types of projects Convergent decides not to fund

[25:35] Biological and ecological dark matter: why we need better datasets for AI science

[28:28] Why academia and industry aren’t incentivized to build tech capabilities for the public good

[29:32] Defining “moonshot projects”: how boring drug screening creates massive downstream impact

[32:56] The future of neuroscience: capturing videos of synapses firing

[35:46] How the FRO model is catching on internationally

[36:25] Steering vs. accelerating: selecting defense-dominant technology

[41:22] Increasing human agency and how scientists can choose high-impact research areas

[46:51] The evolution of scientific funding and the role of new philanthropy

[48:05] Finding existential hope in the community of future-builders

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute, joins the podcast to discuss The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, his book exploring his philosophy of progress centered around human life and wellbeing. 

In our conversation, we dive into the core arguments of the manifesto:

• How we are more in control of our lives than ever before
• Why we should reframe the goal of “stopping climate change” into “controlling climate change” and work toward installing a “thermostat for the Earth”
• The value of nature and its interaction with humanity
• Allowing ourselves to celebrate human achievement and industrial civilization
• The concept of “solutionism”, as a kind of optimism that acknowledges risks while keeping a proactive attitude towards solving problems
• Why two common fears around the slowing of progress – that we could run out of natural resources or new ideas – are actually unfounded
• The possibility that AI represents a transformation as significant as the Industrial Revolution or the invention of agriculture
• How to rebuild a culture of progress in the 21st century, from reforming scientific institutions to creating new, non-dystopian science fiction

Chapters:

[00:00] Cold open

[01:30] Intro: Jason Crawford and the Techno-Humanist Manifesto

[04:10] Defining progress as the expansion of human agency

[06:16] How to use our newfound agency to live a meaningful life

[10:07] Climate control: installing a “thermostat” for the Earth

[13:26] Anthropocentrism and the value of nature

[19:41] Ode to man: celebrating human achievement

[20:53] Solutionism: believing in our problem-solving abilities to tackle risks

[26:26] Why pessimism sounds smart but misses the solution space

[31:29] The myth of finite natural resources and the power of knowledge

[34:27] Why we are getting better at finding ideas faster than they get harder to find

[39:03] The Intelligence Age: a new mode of production

[41:19] Amplifying human agency in an AI-driven world

[43:09] Developing a healthy relationship with AI and attention

[46:28] The culture of progress and why we soured on the future

[50:10] Building the infrastructure for a global progress movement

[53:54] A 20-year vision for progress studies in the mainstream

[57:33] High-leverage regulations for progress: from nuclear to supersonic flight

[58:57] Jason Crawford’s existential hope vision

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In our conversation, we discuss how her favorite utopian literature influenced her views on a well-designed society. But we also explore practical ideas on how we could improve our systems:

• Tax autonomy: Why giving states and cities the power to collect their own taxes would allow them to fund the specific services their citizens actually want.
• A la carte federations: A model where cities and states choose to join specific agreements, like a "fishing EU" or a "healthcare EU," instead of being forced into one large, centralized government that manages every aspect of life.
• The Mondragon model: What we can learn from a massive network of worker-owned cooperatives in Spain that provides its own unemployment insurance and university.
• Who should control AI: Why giving voting authority to the employees who write the code (rather than investors or nonprofit boards) might be the best way to prevent unethical shortcuts.
• Singapore’s land model: How the government acts as a landlord to fund public services, allowing for lower income taxes while still providing universal social support.
• Fixing the Internet: How to use personal data and AI to make us wiser, rather than letting algorithms push us toward fast fashion and political radicalization.

Chapters:

• Cold open (00:00:00)
• Introducing Elle Griffin (00:01:27)
• How writing a novel turned into a research project (00:02:27)
• Elle’s current work: From print pamphlets to "We Should Own the Economy" (00:04:21)
• The setup of Elle’s upcoming utopian novel (00:05:06)
• From gothic literature to utopian literature (00:06:30)
• Three classic utopian novels and their recurring lessons (00:15:42)
• Building a "future Asia" through mythology and technology (00:22:02)
• What if US States had the same autonomy as EU countries? (00:23:49)
• "A la carte" federalism: moving toward a modular government (00:28:11)
• The Mondragon model: a blueprint for worker-owned economies (00:32:54)
• Why the smallest government is the best government (00:36:18)
• The global monoculture and the rise of micro-cultures (00:44:29)
• Who should control AI? The case for employee-led governance (00:53:02)
• Fixing the Internet and using AI to make us wise, not just efficient (01:01:06)
• Why Victor Hugo’s "Les Misérables" is the ultimate masterpiece (01:06:14)
• An existential hope vision for the future (01:08:09)

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In our conversation, we explore the importance of our choices in the quest to make AGI a force for good. Andrew explains what AGI might look like in practical terms, and the consequences of it being trained on our culture. He also claims that finding the “best” values AI should have is a philosophical trap, and that we should instead focus on finding a basic agreement about “good” vs. “bad” behaviors.

The episode also covers concrete takes on the transition to AGI, including: 

• Why an advanced intelligence would likely find killing humans “mean.”
• How automated computer security checks could be one of the best uses of powerful AI.
• Why the best preparation for AGI is simply to build helpful products today.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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We also dive into the genesis of Anna's own podcast, The Hope Axis, and her frustration with the prevalent "complaint culture" and regressive narratives in wealthy societies. 

The conversation also touches on these questions:

• Why should communities be given a clear "job" to increase their longevity?
• How can we achieve diversity of thought in tight-knit groups?
• Why is constantly networking (with a finite-game approach) detrimental to human well-being?
• What does it mean to be a "realistic optimist"?
• How can we architecturally ensure that future AI serves groups and supports humans as social creatures, rather than further enabling solitary, hyper-addictive entertainment?

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode, Isabelle explains how nuclear became one of the most misunderstood technologies of the last century, why fears about waste, safety, and proliferation are often overstated, and what the data actually shows about nuclear relative to fossil fuels, hydropower, and renewables. She also talks about her unusual path to becoming the first “nuclear influencer,” why she thinks communication and aesthetics matter just as much as engineering, and why abundant, cheap energy is central to improving global living standards.

Beyond nuclear itself, the conversation touches on broader questions:

• Why are young people increasingly pessimistic about the future?

• What explains the rise of degrowth thinking in wealthy countries?

• How does meaning shift in a world where technology automates more of life?

• And what would it take for the U.S. and Europe to build again at the pace of China?‍

This special episode was recorded at the 2025 Progress Conference. Enormous thanks to Roots of Progress for organizing the event, and to Lighthaven for providing the podcast studio.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Sam Bowman, editor of Works in Progress, joins us to explore how smarter cities, faster transit, and abundant energy could unlock human potential on an unprecedented scale. We discuss why restrictive zoning laws keep millions from opportunity, how beauty and design shape public attitudes toward progress, and why rediscovering growth could restore optimism in the West.

Sam also shares what he’s learned from success stories around the world, from Houston’s neighborhood-led zoning reforms to Madrid’s low-cost metro expansion, and why he believes rebuilding belief in progress is just as important as building the future itself.

This special episode was recorded live at the 2025 Progress Conference, hosted by our friends at Roots of Progress. We’re grateful to them for bringing together so many thinkers reimagining how humanity can keep moving forward—and for making conversations like this one possible!

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Jacques Carolan, Program Director at the UK’s ARIA (Advanced Research and Invention Agency), joins us to talk about the next wave of precision neurotechnology; new tools that let us see and influence brain activity with far greater accuracy. We explore how ultrasound might gently stimulate mood circuits without surgery, how gene therapies could switch off seizures before they start, and how “living electrodes” could one day repair damaged brain tissue.

Jacques also explains ARIA’s bold approach to funding high-risk science, what he’s learned from patient engagement, and why he believes the next decade will transform how we understand and care for the brain.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Microbiologist Amy Proal, co-founder of the PolyBio Research Foundation, joins host Allison Duettmann to discuss how persistent pathogens could drive inflammation, aging, and many chronic illnesses, and why our current “autoimmunity” model might be missing the root cause.

They explore PolyBio’s groundbreaking work collecting rarely studied tissue samples, the link between viruses and Alzheimer’s, the rise of long COVID, and simple tools, like clean indoor air, that could prevent future pandemics. Amy also outlines an optimistic vision: strengthening, not suppressing, the immune system to build a healthier, more resilient civilization.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Ken also reflects on Frankenstein, Philip K. Dick, the challenge of translation, and why technology is “the mind made tangible.”

Ken's new book is now available to buy: https://www.amazon.com/All-That-Seem-Julia-Novel/dp/1668083175/ref=sr_1_1?crid=YQBXYV3NPYRQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qZEp-FJsQjZ1DeI_1aU9dUCHVQLskKq0l80APpXt8lY._8ZY1FJprDwz6sXFyMqa538OZaQZx-_KzsBkHjRww1g&dib_tag=se&keywords=ken+liu+all+that+we+see+or+seem&qid=1758810447&sprefix=ken+liu+all%2Caps%2C326&sr=8-1

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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We discuss David’s work on post-AGI civilizational equilibria and the widely discussed paper Gradual Disempowerment. David reflects on why liberalism may not hold up in a world where humans are no longer needed, how UBI could be Goodharted into absurdity, and what it would take to design institutions that protect humans even when incentives don’t.

We also cover:

- Forecasting the long-term future using LLMs trained on historical data

- Robin Hanson’s idea of futarchy (governance by prediction markets)

- Asymmetrical but beneficial relationships between humans and AI

- Uploading, cultural legacies, and the possibility of “worthy successors”

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Nathan shares his insights on everything from the near-term transformations in education and healthcare—like AI-driven antibiotic discovery and personalized learning—to the grand, long-term visions of curing all diseases and becoming a multi-planetary species.

We dive deep into crucial concepts like Eric Drexler's "comprehensive AI services" as a model for safety through narrowness, the transformative power of self-driving cars, and how we can collectively raise our ambitions to build the future we actually want.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Fin challenges the idea that a great future will emerge automatically if we just avoid the worst-case scenarios. Using the analogy of a grand sailing expedition, he explores the complexities of navigating towards a truly optimal world, questioning whether our current moral compass is enough to guide us.

The conversation dives into the concept of "moral catastrophes"—profound ethical failings, like industrial animal farming, that could persist even in technologically advanced futures. Fin also tackles the complex challenges posed by digital minds, from the risk of accidental suffering to the creation of "willing servants." He argues for the power of "moral trade" as a tool to build a more pluralistic and prosperous world, and explains why we should aim for a "Viatopia"—a stable and self-sustaining state that makes a great future highly likely.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Sam reframes our relationship with computing, arguing that code is one of history's most powerful "tools for thought," standing alongside the alphabet and paper in its ability to augment human intellect. He delves into the fascinating history of this idea, from Don Swanson's concept of "undiscovered public knowledge" in scientific literature to the modern potential of AI to connect disparate ideas and accelerate discovery.

The conversation also explores the democratization of creation through "vibe coding," the power of thinking of an app as a "home-cooked meal," and the critical importance of humility as our technological systems become too complex for any single person to fully understand—a theme from his previous book, Overcomplicated. Sam connects these ideas to the ever-changing nature of knowledge itself, drawing from his first book, The Half-Life of Facts.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Pablos argues that for decades, our brightest minds have been focused on apps and ads while ignoring the fundamental industries that civilization depends on: energy, manufacturing, shipping, and food. He makes the case for "deep tech"—everything but software—and explains why now is the perfect moment to deploy our "software toolkit" to reinvent these stagnant, trillion-dollar sectors.

From computer-controlled sailing ships and factory-built nuclear reactors buried a mile underground, to the simple genius of a better milk jug that can double a farmer's income, Pablos shares mind-bending examples of technology that truly matters. He also offers a grounded take on AI, explaining why computational modeling for disease control is more impactful than AGI hype, and delivers a powerful vision for a future where energy abundance ends global conflict and automation frees humanity to focus on what makes us thrive: care, community, and connection.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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Andrew shares the incredible journey that led him from chemical engineering to the forefront of the AI for Science revolution. He gives us a look under the hood at Future House's flock of specialized AI agents, like Crow, Finch, and Owl, and reveals how they recently accomplished in just three weeks what could have taken years: identifying an existing drug as a potential new treatment for a common cause of blindness.

But the conversation doesn't stop at the successes. Andrew offers a sharp critique of the current methods for evaluating AI, explaining what’s wrong with benchmarks like "Humanity's Last Exam" and why the ultimate test is real-world discovery. He also makes a compelling case for completely reinventing the slow and inefficient scientific publishing system for an era where machines are both the producers and consumers of research.

Andrew is also fundraising for the Frontiers Society at IPAM to advance this work. If you’d like to support, you can donate here: IPAM Donation Page.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode, Beatrice speaks with Andrew Miller, mobility expert and author of The End of Driving, about the transformational promise, and very real risks, of autonomous vehicles. They explore why driverless tech isn’t just about hardware or software, but about regulation, land use, curb management, jobs, and values.

From robo-taxis in San Francisco and driverless trucks in Texas, to curb chaos, job displacement, and how we reclaim space from parked cars, this episode goes far beyond the hype. 

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

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In this episode, Beatrice Erkers talks with Jim O'Shaughnessy, founder of O'Shaughnessy Ventures and author of What Works on Wall Street, about his third act: backing creators, thinkers, and innovators across publishing, film, AI, and investment. They dive into the cultural power of storytelling, what it means to be “AI-first,” and why cognitive diversity and personal agency are key to navigating a rapidly changing world.

Jim shares his existential hope for the next 30 years, explores how to make AI work for everyone, and offers a call to action for people with ideas: get in the arena. Along the way, we cover self-driving cars, tutoring AIs, philosophical simulations, and why beautiful books still matter.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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In this conversation, scientist and writer Michael Nielsen joins Beatrice Erkers to explore the idea of “hyper-entities”, future artifacts that reshape our capabilities and the verbs we use to describe them. They discuss how science fiction, public goods mechanisms, and open science feed into real-world innovation, and how imagination and design shape the trajectory of civilization.

Michael reflects on dual-use technologies, from quantum physics to cryptography, and explains why deep truths about the universe often come bundled with both promise and peril. They also dive into "tools for thought," kindness as a moral technology, and why exploration, however illegible, is crucial for progress.‍

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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From her work at Google X and Facebook’s moonshot labs to her current mission at Openwater, Jepsen has spent decades at the frontier of tech and health. Now, she’s building a future where scanning the body for disease is as simple as putting on a hat — no radiation, no giant machines, no $1M price tag.

We explore:

• Why light could be the key to affordable, real-time medical diagnostics
• How her device works — and what it might replace
• What it takes to challenge the medical-industrial complex
• Her vision for global healthcare access and early detection

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On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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Ed shares his journey from a generalist interested in how technology shapes culture to co-creating initiatives like "Project Hieroglyph" with celebrated sci-fi author Neal Stephenson. He argues that our collective imagination is often stuck in dystopian loops or unable to escape the status quo, hindering our capacity for large-scale, positive change. By bringing together storytellers, scientists, and artists, we can craft "technically grounded, hopeful stories about futures we might actually want to live in."

In this conversation, we explore:

• The fundamental role of imagination and narrative in how we understand the world, make decisions, and even perceive reality.
• Why science fiction can be a powerful tool for foresight, societal deliberation, and inspiring innovation (the "hieroglyph" concept).
• The importance of moving beyond easy apocalypses to explore "protopian" futures where things are actively getting better, and the challenge of crafting compelling narratives of social change.
• How reflecting on classic tales like Frankenstein can inform our approach to scientific creativity, responsibility, and the societal implications of new technologies like AI.
• The potential resurgence of the humanities in an AI-driven world and why critical thinking and a rich self-imagination are crucial for collaborating with new technologies.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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Niklas discusses why asking the right questions is crucial for navigating our future, especially as AI challenges our self-perception and introduces new forms of complexity. He discusses the "soft narcissism" in AI development, the distinction between AI and AGI, and why we should view current AI not as a mirror, but as a strange, exotic artifact whose full capabilities we are still underestimating.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The critical relationship between progress and complexity, and why managing this dynamic is essential for societal growth (including the "Red Queen effect").
• Why current AI developments feel different from past tech hypes.
• The potential for AI to revolutionize scientific discovery.
• How AI could accelerate its own diffusion.
• The need for curious regulators, mechanisms for change, the challenges of agentic AI, and how cultural biases might affect our approaches to regulation.
• The Solow Paradox and the Gartner Hype Cycle as frameworks for understanding technology adoption.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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David shares his journey and his vision for a future where custom-built "molecular machines," an idea once explored by thinkers like Eric Drexler, could repair our bodies, clean up pollution, and create sustainable materials. He explains how breakthroughs in AI are supercharging this field, but also why human ingenuity and collaborative science are still essential to unlocking these revolutionary possibilities.

In this conversation, we explore:

• The incredible power of designing brand-new proteins for groundbreaking medicines, environmental cleanup, and creating novel materials.
• The exciting prospect of "molecular machines": tiny engines built from proteins to perform complex tasks, inspired by early visions of nanotechnology.
• How AI is accelerating scientific discovery, and what it takes to translate these digital designs into real-world solutions.
• David’s "communal brain" philosophy for fostering innovation and his advice for anyone wanting to solve big, meaningful problems.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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David is known for founding the field of quantum computation and, alongside Richard Jozsa, creating the first quantum algorithm that solves problems exponentially faster than classical methods. He’s also the originator of constructor theory—a bold framework aiming to redefine the foundations of physics.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why beauty and explanatory power are central to scientific progress—and how they guide us toward better theories.
• The challenges and promise of aligning AI with human values, and how critical thinking plays a key role.
• How education systems could be redesigned to foster creativity, curiosity, and deeper understanding.
• The case for optimism—not as wishful thinking, but as a rational stance grounded in our capacity for error correction and improvement.

This episode was originally published in April 2023.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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David is best known for The Hedonistic Imperative, a manifesto arguing that biotechnology can—and should—be used to eliminate all forms of suffering in sentient life. As a leading voice in transhumanism and bioethics, he challenges us to think beyond what we’ve accepted as “natural.”

In this conversation, we explore:

• The scientific and ethical case for ending suffering—across humans and non-human animals.
• How cognitive enhancement could reshape consciousness, creativity, and compassion.
• Whether radical life extension is a moral imperative—and what it means for future generations.
• The role of technology in creating a future that’s not just free from harm, but full of flourishing.

If you’ve ever questioned the limits of the human condition—or wondered what a truly compassionate future could look like—this episode will stretch your thinking in surprising ways.

Full transcript, list of resources, and art piece: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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In this episode, we speak with Steven Pinker, professor of psychology at Harvard and bestselling author of Enlightenment Now, for a data-driven check-in on the state of progress.

We discuss:

• How the big-picture trends in longevity, pollution, literacy rates, and more show that the world is getting better.
• How the structure of news consistently creates pessimism about human progress.
• What has genuinely gotten worse in recent years (war deaths, democratic backsliding) and what forces are driving it.
• How progress is not automatic, but possible if we strive for it.
• How we can continue advancing towards an even better future, including abundant clean energy and the abolition of war as an institution.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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This podcast is for anyone curious about how powerful technologies—AI, biotech, neurotech, nanotech, and more—can help create futures that are not just survivable, but radically better than today.

You’ll hear in-depth, idea-rich conversations with the people shaping those futures.

Follow now—new episodes dropping soon.

On the Existential Hope Podcast hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite scientists, founders, and philosophers for in-depth conversations on positive, high-tech futures.

Full transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.