Technical Workshop, Fellowship Call, Vision Weekend & More - Foresight Institute
HAPPENING AT FORESIGHT INSTITUTE
August is coming to an end, and we would like to share with you some of what has been happening in the past month, and what exciting things are coming up!
Events: Foresight’s Crypto, security & AI workshop, Vision Weekend US & FR
Get involved: Foresight is accepting applications for our 2023 Fellowship Cohort, and submissions are still welcome for The Longevity Prize.
New seminar summaries have been produced in our groups on Molecular Machines and Space Tech.
Media: Check out the launch of Shielded Transactions podcast with Andrew Miller, and Allison featured on an up-and-coming podcast on optimistic technology.
Vision Weekends FR & US
Our Vision Weekends are the annual member festivals of Foresight Institute. Held in two countries, over two weekends, top talent across biotechnology, nanotechnology, neurotechnology, computing, and space are encouraged to burst their tech silos, and plan for flourishing long-term futures.
Vision Weekend Europe | November 18-20: at Chateau du Feÿ, Villecien, a laboratory for the future disguised as a stunning 17th century castle, 90 minutes outside of Paris.
Vision Weekend US | December 2 – 4: at the Internet Archive in San Francisco and Sunday’s afternoon sessions at the Bird House Villa in the Berkeley Hills.
See the full speaker list & buy your tickets here.
Crypto, Security & AI Workshop
This two-day event invites top researchers, builders, and funders in computing, cryptography, cryptocommerce, security and AI to explore undervalued areas for progress. In addition to benefiting from tech transfer across fields, and forming lasting collaborations with other leading engineers, entrepreneurs, and funders around immediate goals, this workshop may unlock novel, fundable paths for long-term progress in the field.
Find the full speaker list, schedule, and ticket applications here.
2023 Foresight Fellowship applications are open!
Are you working on a project that is too ambitious for legacy funders to support? Do you care about advancing technologies for beneficial long-term futures? Scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in longevity, molecular machines, neurotech, computing, and space; we want to support you! Apply to become a 2023 Foresight Fellow: no mandatory activities; we work hand in hand with you to support you! Apply here.
What is the most promising but underappreciated or obscure area of longevity science we should pursue?
The Longevity Prize is a series of prizes to honor and accelerate progress in longevity and rejuvenation. Its aim is to generate an avalanche of proposals, experiments, and collaborations on undervalued areas. Find out more and submit a project here:
https://www.longevityprize.com/
New Seminar Summaries!
The meetings from our Space and Molecular Machines groups this month are available and can all be found here:
Pete Worden, Breakthrough Foundation | Foresight Space Group
Steve Jurvetson, Future Ventures | Virtual Visit of Space Gallery
Community News
Job posting: Roots of Progress is looking for a CEO to run the organization, while I focus on research and writing in progress studies. Our initial focus will be on a “career accelerator” for public intellectuals in progress studies. More details in this announcement: https://rootsofprogress.org/seeking-a-ceo
Briefly, we’re looking for someone with management experience, strong execution skills, and passion for the progress mission. Exec experience preferred, founder/CEO/ED a plus. Nonprofit experience could be a bonus but not required.
Anyone interested can email ceo@rootsofprogress.org
Job posting: The Future of Life Institute (FLI) is looking for a Director of U.S. Policy, based in Washington D.C., Sacramento, or San Francisco.
Click here for more information & application: https://futureoflife.org/job-postings/
New Foresight Team Member! Our new Chief Science Communicator: Niamh Peren is a change maker. Best known for founding the environmental movement Tino Pai Aotearoa/ Thumbs Up New Zealand, Peren successfully led her government petition through the corridors of power toward legislation. Read more here.
“Regranting, But For X-Risk Bounties/Prizes”
TLDR: At Nonlinear, we think bounties/prizes are underutilized. We’re trying an experiment to decentralize prize funding in the same way FTX decentralized grantmaking.
What would you do if you were a “prize regrantor” with $50,000 to fund your best x-risk prize ideas? If that excites you, apply here.
Are you a grantmaker with half-finished prize ideas? Let us know – we can help. Our vision: we connect you with a “prize developer” to flesh it out. You fund it, they help you finish it.
In Media
In our premier episode of Shielded Transactions podcast, Andrew Miller, Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Associate Director of the IC3 and a board member of the Zcash Foundation discusses his research interests in computer security, and on the design of secure and private decentralized systems and cryptocurrencies.
Allison Duettmann, Foresight CEO, joined Pod of Jake to talk about life & death, philosophical thoughts on aging, technology, the development of humanity & the work of the Foresight Institute.
Foresight joined Future Forum this month to inspire existential Hope! This meeting brought together a lovely group of visionaries. Allison spoke on the importance of Existential Hope, and strategies for mitigating risks. Learn more about the conference here.
Fellow Updates
The Foresight Fellowship is a one-year program committed to giving change-makers the support to accelerate their bold ideas into the future. Here’s what our fellows have been up to.
Eleanor ‘Nell’ Watson is an interdisciplinary researcher in emerging technologies such as machine vision and A.I. ethics. She has just published a bioinformatics paper on simulationally validated treatments for covid (SARS-CoV-2), which includes the first in-silico model of the viral endodomain. Read here.
Simon Krause is a chemist interested in dynamic properties of porous framework materials on different lengthscales. See his recent publication on integrating molecular motors in a covalent organic framework here.
Philipp Koellinger chairman of the DeSci Foundation and co-founder of DeSci Labs. Here are the news from our side (DeSci Labs):
Bounty Board: DeSci Labs officially released a bounty board for community members to help contribute to the project.
DeSci Boston: DeSci Labs is going to be presenting the Nodes product at DeSci Boston on September 18th.
DeSci Gitcoin Round: DeSci Labs is helping to organize the Gitcoin DeSci round happening in September. Go take a look at the different projects that have been listed. More will be added on a rolling basis.
Philipp on Reproducibilitea: This talk features Philipp and his thoughts on how DeSci Labs can facilitate reproducible research
Liang Feng, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern, discovered a new chemical concept at the nanoscale called mechanisorption. His research, which includes over 50 peer-reviewed publications, could help the development of “life-like” materials for applications ranging from chemical separation to computing to energy storage. He was recently featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 2022.