As we enter 2024, Foresight Institute extends warm wishes to our global community of scientists, researchers, and visionaries. This past year has seen remarkable advances across biotechnology, nanotechnology, neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.
We're grateful for your continued support in our mission to advance beneficial technologies and create positive futures. In the coming year, we look forward to hosting more technical workshops, expanding our fellowship program, and bringing together leading minds at Vision Weekend events across the globe.
Thank you for being part of our journey toward creating flourishing futures through transformative technologies. Here's to a year of breakthrough discoveries and meaningful progress.
Upcoming Events
Vision Weekend Puerto Rico 2025
In case you had to miss Vision Weekend San Francisco earlier this month, mark your calendars for our next gathering. Get ready for something special - Vision Weekend is expanding beyond San Francisco and Europe to the historic streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico from February 21-23, 2025. Join us for three days of breaking tech silos and planning flourishing futures against the backdrop of pastel-colored buildings, scenic beaches, and lush forests.
This edition’s "Paths to Progress" bring together leaders exploring:
Long-term History & Flourishing Futures
Longevity, Rejuvenation, Cryonics
Molecular Machines, Computing, APM
Neurotech, BCIs & WBEs
Cryptography, Security & AI
Energy, Space, Expansion
Funding, Innovation, Progress
Beyond the main conference track, join us for unconferences, mentorship hours, curated 1-1s, tech demos, prize awards - and stay for the fun with satellite gatherings, a special cyberfuture meets salsa night, beach party, and surprise island adventures.
Bringing together voices like Yuri Deigin (YouthBio), Joey Krug (Founders Fund), Mark Lutter (Charter Cities Institute), Christine Peterson (Foresight Institute, David Furman (Buck Institute), Michael Andregg (Fathom Radiant), Frances Haugen (Social Media Transparency Advocate), David Brandman (UC Davis), Emma Rose Bienvenu (Evertas), Jacob Schwartz (PPPL), and many more leading minds in tech and science.
Want to present your own path to progress? All participants can propose unconference topics, demos, or art exhibits through the onboarding form after registration.
Dr. Serge Egelman, Dr. Alisa Frik, Conor Gilsenan, and Prof. Eyal Peer
Our 2025 Norm Hardy Prize for advances in usable security has been awarded to Dr. Serge Egelman, Dr. Alisa Frik, Conor Gilsenan, and Prof. Eyal Peer. Their winning research, "Protect Me Tomorrow," explored how commitment nudges and reminders can effectively encourage users to take important security actions like changing compromised passwords. The team's work demonstrated that offering users the option to delay security tasks, combined with well-timed reminders, significantly increases overall compliance without reducing immediate action rates. This breakthrough in usable security builds upon Norm Hardy's vision of creating inherently secure systems that users can operate intuitively and effectively.
The VW USA edition brought together our brightest minds in a powerful demonstration of how community and collaboration can accelerate scientific innovation. From packed keynotes to intimate discussions, every moment reflected the passionate engagement of participants working to shape tomorrow's breakthroughs.
Our photo gallery captures the essence of these connections: a full house during the thought-provoking Paths to Progress keynotes, animated lunch discussions on Securing Civilization under the warm sun, and intimate tea service conversations sparking new ideas. A particular highlight was the "Funding X" session, where leaders including Adam Marblestone (Convergent Research), Ben Reinhardt (Speculative Technologies), Annette Finsterbusch (National Science Foundation), Tom Kalil (Renaissance Philanthropy), and Cate Hall (Astera) shared innovative approaches to funding scientific moonshots and turning visionary ideas into reality.
Molecular Systems Engineering Platform Launch & Nanomachines Workshop Highlights
Revisit the groundbreaking moments from our Molecular Systems Engineering Platform Launch & Nanomachines Workshop through this highlight video. Watch as leading researchers and innovators came together to explore the frontier of molecular engineering, showcasing the collaborative spirit that's advancing our understanding of nanoscale systems and their transformative potential.
Foresight Updates
Foresight Institute's Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Niamh Peren, has been appointed as a Senior Fellow for the United Nations' AI for Developing Countries Forum for 2025, where she will contribute to shaping inclusive and beneficial AI deployment strategies across developing nations.
Seminars
Hope Drop #33: Allison Duettmann & Beatrice Erkers | A Vision of Existential Hope for the New Year
Join Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers in a unique episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, where they interview each other about reimagining futures grounded in hope. The conversation explores compelling ideas like moral circle expansion, the potential of neurotech to enhance cross-species empathy, and the value of envisioning 2045 through worldbuilding. They discuss how technological advances could foster deeper understanding across species and drive global cooperation, while sharing recommended resources from Peter Singer's work on moral progress to Vitalik Buterin's thoughts on techno-optimism. Listen to their discussion about creating futures worth striving for.
Dioxycle, a pioneering carbon utilization company developing technologies to convert industrial emissions into sustainable chemicals, is seeking a Head of Brand & Communications in San Francisco. This role will establish Dioxycle as a recognizable brand within chemical and climate tech industries. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience and deep understanding of decarbonization. Learn more at jobs.lever.co/Dioxycle/16ff4b9b-28fb-4b3f-8562-bae1b3b395b6
The Future of Life Foundation is seeking directors for new projects and agendas focused on steering transformative technology toward beneficial outcomes. They are offering a $5,000 bounty to anyone whose referral leads to a successful hire. To learn more about the open positions and their mission to mitigate extreme large-scale risks, visit flf.org
Thanks for reading Foresight Institute! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
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December 2024 Newsletter
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Happy New Year!
As we enter 2024, Foresight Institute extends warm wishes to our global community of scientists, researchers, and visionaries. This past year has seen remarkable advances across biotechnology, nanotechnology, neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.
We're grateful for your continued support in our mission to advance beneficial technologies and create positive futures. In the coming year, we look forward to hosting more technical workshops, expanding our fellowship program, and bringing together leading minds at Vision Weekend events across the globe.
Thank you for being part of our journey toward creating flourishing futures through transformative technologies. Here's to a year of breakthrough discoveries and meaningful progress.
Upcoming Events
Vision Weekend Puerto Rico 2025
In case you had to miss Vision Weekend San Francisco earlier this month, mark your calendars for our next gathering. Get ready for something special - Vision Weekend is expanding beyond San Francisco and Europe to the historic streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico from February 21-23, 2025. Join us for three days of breaking tech silos and planning flourishing futures against the backdrop of pastel-colored buildings, scenic beaches, and lush forests.
This edition’s "Paths to Progress" bring together leaders exploring:
Long-term History & Flourishing Futures
Longevity, Rejuvenation, Cryonics
Molecular Machines, Computing, APM
Neurotech, BCIs & WBEs
Cryptography, Security & AI
Energy, Space, Expansion
Funding, Innovation, Progress
Beyond the main conference track, join us for unconferences, mentorship hours, curated 1-1s, tech demos, prize awards - and stay for the fun with satellite gatherings, a special cyberfuture meets salsa night, beach party, and surprise island adventures.
Bringing together voices like Yuri Deigin (YouthBio), Joey Krug (Founders Fund), Mark Lutter (Charter Cities Institute), Christine Peterson (Foresight Institute, David Furman (Buck Institute), Michael Andregg (Fathom Radiant), Frances Haugen (Social Media Transparency Advocate), David Brandman (UC Davis), Emma Rose Bienvenu (Evertas), Jacob Schwartz (PPPL), and many more leading minds in tech and science.
Want to present your own path to progress? All participants can propose unconference topics, demos, or art exhibits through the onboarding form after registration.
Get your early bird tickets here
Prizes
Norm Hardy Prize Winners
Our 2025 Norm Hardy Prize for advances in usable security has been awarded to Dr. Serge Egelman, Dr. Alisa Frik, Conor Gilsenan, and Prof. Eyal Peer. Their winning research, "Protect Me Tomorrow," explored how commitment nudges and reminders can effectively encourage users to take important security actions like changing compromised passwords. The team's work demonstrated that offering users the option to delay security tasks, combined with well-timed reminders, significantly increases overall compliance without reducing immediate action rates. This breakthrough in usable security builds upon Norm Hardy's vision of creating inherently secure systems that users can operate intuitively and effectively.
Learn more here.
Past Events
Vision Weekend USA
The VW USA edition brought together our brightest minds in a powerful demonstration of how community and collaboration can accelerate scientific innovation. From packed keynotes to intimate discussions, every moment reflected the passionate engagement of participants working to shape tomorrow's breakthroughs.
Our photo gallery captures the essence of these connections: a full house during the thought-provoking Paths to Progress keynotes, animated lunch discussions on Securing Civilization under the warm sun, and intimate tea service conversations sparking new ideas. A particular highlight was the "Funding X" session, where leaders including Adam Marblestone (Convergent Research), Ben Reinhardt (Speculative Technologies), Annette Finsterbusch (National Science Foundation), Tom Kalil (Renaissance Philanthropy), and Cate Hall (Astera) shared innovative approaches to funding scientific moonshots and turning visionary ideas into reality.
Molecular Systems Engineering Platform Launch & Nanomachines Workshop Highlights
Revisit the groundbreaking moments from our Molecular Systems Engineering Platform Launch & Nanomachines Workshop through this highlight video. Watch as leading researchers and innovators came together to explore the frontier of molecular engineering, showcasing the collaborative spirit that's advancing our understanding of nanoscale systems and their transformative potential.
Foresight Updates
Foresight Institute's Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, Niamh Peren, has been appointed as a Senior Fellow for the United Nations' AI for Developing Countries Forum for 2025, where she will contribute to shaping inclusive and beneficial AI deployment strategies across developing nations.
Seminars
Hope Drop #33: Allison Duettmann & Beatrice Erkers | A Vision of Existential Hope for the New Year
Join Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers in a unique episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, where they interview each other about reimagining futures grounded in hope. The conversation explores compelling ideas like moral circle expansion, the potential of neurotech to enhance cross-species empathy, and the value of envisioning 2045 through worldbuilding. They discuss how technological advances could foster deeper understanding across species and drive global cooperation, while sharing recommended resources from Peter Singer's work on moral progress to Vitalik Buterin's thoughts on techno-optimism. Listen to their discussion about creating futures worth striving for.
Community Updates
Master your public speaking skills through the Ewing School's 10-month Mastermind program focused on communication and persuasion - learn more at ewingschool.com/mastermind-2025 or contact maryrose@ewingschool.com.
Dioxycle, a pioneering carbon utilization company developing technologies to convert industrial emissions into sustainable chemicals, is seeking a Head of Brand & Communications in San Francisco. This role will establish Dioxycle as a recognizable brand within chemical and climate tech industries. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience and deep understanding of decarbonization. Learn more at jobs.lever.co/Dioxycle/16ff4b9b-28fb-4b3f-8562-bae1b3b395b6
The Future of Life Foundation is seeking directors for new projects and agendas focused on steering transformative technology toward beneficial outcomes. They are offering a $5,000 bounty to anyone whose referral leads to a successful hire. To learn more about the open positions and their mission to mitigate extreme large-scale risks, visit flf.org
Thanks for reading Foresight Institute! This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Share