Advancing technology for the long-term benefit of life.
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Mission
Foresight Institute supports the beneficial development of high-impact technology to make great futures more likely. We focus on science and technology that is too early-stage or interdisciplinary for legacy institutions to support.
For instance:
- Molecular Machines to better control matter
- Biotech to reverse aging
- Computer Science to secure human AI cooperation
- Neurotech to support human flourishing
- Spacetech to further exploration
+30 years of Foresight
Principles
We believe that the best things happen at the intersections. This is why our community is:
- Interdisciplinary: our programs further collaboration across molecular nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computing, that is not incentivized in academia, startups, or institutions.
- International: our community collaborates across local clusters through a mix between regular virtual seminars and in-person meetings around the world.
- Intergenerational: through close collaborations between junior fellows and senior scientists with 35-year Foresight experience, we cultivate a long-term outlook on flourishing futures
Updates
New podcast episode!
Samo Burja | Civilization: Institutions, Knowledge and the Future
Our civilization is made up of countless individuals and pieces of material technology, which come together to form institutions and interdependent systems of logistics, development and production. These institutions and systems then store the knowledge required for their own renewal and growth.
We pin the hopes of our common human project on this renewal and growth of the whole civilization. Whether this project is going well is a challenging but vital question to answer.
History shows us we are not safe from institutional collapse. Advances in technology mitigate some aspects, but produce their own risks. Agile institutions that make use of both social and technical knowledge not only mitigate such risks, but promise unprecedented human flourishing.
This episode of the podcast investigates this landscape, evaluates our odds, and tries to plot a better course.
Samo Burja is a sociologist and the founder of Bismarck Analysis, a firm that analyzes institutions, from governments to companies. His research work focuses on the causes of societal decay and flourishing. He writes on history, epistemology and strategy.
twitter.com/SamoBurja
medium.com/@samo.burja
samoburja.com
Listen here: foresight.org/podcast/
foresight.org
Welcome to the Foresight Institute’s podcast! Since 1986, Foresight has been advancing technologies for the long-term benefit of life and the biosphere. We focus on three areas: molecular machine na...
Zhu Xiaohu, Center for Safe AGI | Ontological anti-crisis and AI safety
Zhu speaks about the nature of ontological crisis – a state of reality shift for either human or machine. He then transitions into the ontological anti-crisis, and how to use such a phenomenon to increase safety for artificial general intelligence.
foresight.org/salon/ontological-anti-crisis-and-ai-safety/
Zhu Xiaohu, Center for Safe AGI | Ontological anti-crisis and AI safety - Foresight Institute
foresight.org
Zhu speaks about the nature of ontological crisis – a state of reality shift for either human or machine. He then transitions into the ontological anti-crisis, and how to use such a phenomenon to in...
Announcing the MapsMap Challenge!
Could we be making more progress, faster? Are there problems to solve or capabilities to gain that are “unlocks” for the next steps of civilization? Let’s find out!
Sonophilia Foundation, Ocean Protocol, Foresight Institute and Planetary Holdings announce The MapsMap Challenge. The $30k prize will be awarded for creating an app to open source collaboration on maps of problems through crowdsourcing and crowdfunding.
Some will use the app to collaborate on domain-specific problems, such as matters.global’s problem maps, or Foresight Institute's domain-specific Tech Trees. Others will incentivize desirable trajectories through the problem spaces, as described in Trent McConaghy’s Starships & Tokens, or Balaji Srinivasan's Tech Tree.
Over time, the app should reveal undervalued areas for progress, how they interrelate, and allow funding pathways through the space. Unlocked by a new kind of open source infrastructure to crowdsource problems and capabilities across domains, and collaborate on solutions.
Submit your proposal via Devpost by March 1, 2022: mapsmap.devpost.com.
Visit our website for more information: mapsmap.org/
Join our Discord channel for our AMAs and community: discord.gg/R3n72RYy6F.
JUDGES
Allison Duettmann (Foresight Institute)
Andy Zmolek (matters.global)
Amir Banifatemi (X Prize)
Eric Anderson (Planetary Holdings)
Trent McConaghy (Ocean Protocol)
Seda & Matthias Röder (Sonophilia Foundation)
Balaji Srinivasan (1729)
mapsmap.org
Could we be making more progress, faster? Are there problems to solve, or capabilities to gain that are "unlocks" for the next steps of civilization?
New seminar summary!
Christine Lemmer-Webber | Randy Farmer | Re-Decentralizing Networked Communities
Christine and Randy describe how the current schema of social media has failed us. Networked communities have become centralized around a few large entities which are prone to failure. Poor incentives drive toxic behavior and more regulation will only reinforce the dominance of the current paradigm. The Spritely Institute outlines their plan for a new mechanism of interaction and community formation on the internet.
foresight.org/salon/christine-lemmer-webber-randy-farmer-re-decentralizing-networked-communities/
foresight.org
Christine and Randy describe how the current schema of social media has failed us. Networked communities have become centralized around a few large entities which are prone to failure. Poor incentives...
Are you interested in driving early-stage progress in biotech, molecular machines, computing, neurotech, and space for flourishing futures? Help us get our fundraising rocket to the moon!
You choose how: We gratefully accept your donations on this #GivingTuesday. We take crypto, too!
foresight.org/2021-progress-and-fund-great-futures-in-2022/
