Time to Eat the Dogs

3I/ATLAS, SETI, and the Controversy Over How We Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Jason Wright talks about 3I/ATLAS, the controversy surrounding it, and the way the search for life in the universe is beginning to change. Wright is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University. He's the director of the Penn State Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center. He is also the author of The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Theory and Practice.

Gems, Science, and Empire

17th century traders who traveled the sea routes between India and Southeast Asia were interested in spices, but they were also interested in gemstones, objects of desire, commercial value, and increasingly, scientific fascination. Claire Conklin Sabel talks about the gem trade in South and Southeast Asia, and the way this trade was impacted by European traders in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sabel is a historian of early modern earth science and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna. She is working on her a book project, Rare Earth: Gemstones, Geohistory, and Commercial Geography c. 1600-1750.

Artificial General Intelligence, Part II

Part two of my interview with Julian Togelius, who talks about the history of machine learning, the quest for Artificial General Intelligence, and the difficulties AI researchers have in defining exactly what intelligence is. Togelius is an associate professor of Computer Science at New York University. He is the author of Artificial General Intelligence, published recently by MIT Press. 

Artificial General Intelligence, Part I

In the first of two episodes, Julian Togelius talks about the history of machine learning, the quest for Artificial General Intelligence, and the difficulties AI researchers have in defining exactly what intelligence is. Togelius is an associate professor of Computer Science at New York University. He is the author of Artificial General Intelligence, published recently by MIT Press.

Replay: Inventing the World

Meredith Small talks about the city of Venice and its importance to the history of travel and exploration. Small is professor emerita at Cornell University. She’s the author of Inventing the World: Venice and the Transformation of Western Civilization