All the way back in November 2019, our organization held a conference. The topic: "The Future of Us". We brought 100+ attendees and 26 guest speakers for a weekend gathering at Princeton University. This weekend was a time of community, learning, and imagining. We brought together voices from all spheres: science, technology, economics, sociology, politics, philosophy, and more.
During The Future of Us conference, we picked nine of these powerful voices, namely nine of our guest speakers, to talk about fascinating ideas, disciplines, and possibilities of the future. Although these discussions happened long before COVID-19 swept in, these ideas, from the future of automation and the human condition to existential risk and the dangers of AI, are still relevant. As humans, we tend to innovate, and we tend to do it well. But, as we innovate, we expose all of humanity to increasing risks. If we're not careful in prudently managing those risks, then we are in for a dark future. But, after listening to these nine interviews, I think you'll feel a bit optimistic.
We are delighted to bring you this special content from The Future of Us conference. These podcast episodes are accessible to everyone, especially those who did not attend the conference itself. We hope that by listening to our speakers directly, you will get a better sense of what we do and why we do it.
Anders Sandberg: philosopher, futurist, and long-time friend of the Envision Conference. Click here to listen to Anders' interview.
Ben Zion: transhumanist, politician, and candidate for President of the United States. Click here to listen to Ben's interview.
Dan Elton: transhumanist and expert on AI for medicine/public health. Click here to listen to Dan's interview.
Francesca Ferrando: professor at NYU, philosopher, and scholar of the posthuman. Click here to listen to Francesca's interview.
Kai Landre: contemporary artist, musician, and enthusiast of space and the cosmos. Click here to listen to Kai's interview.
Phil Torres: philosopher and expert on existential risk. Click here to listen to Phil's interview.
Robin Hanson: professor at George Mason University, economist, and multi-disciplinary thinker. Click here to listen to Robin's interview.
Sures Kumar: designer at Google and digital artist. Click here to listen to Sures' interview.
Aubrey de Grey: biomedical gerontologist, co-founder and chief scientist of the SENS Research Foundation. Click here to listen to Aubrey's interview.
For more information on our 2019 guest speakers, please refer to the speakers list at this link.
If you want to experience Envision firsthand, please stay tuned for information regarding the Envision Conference for 2020.