Video

Singularity University: Random Video Highlights from GSP11

by Socrates

It has been two and a half weeks since I returned home from Singularity University and the post-SU blues that previous graduates have warned us about is beginning to hit me hard. So, I am hoping that my regular blog readers will excuse my indulging in nostalgic reminiscing about my friends from GSP11. The following video collage is a little tribute to both my classmates from GSP11 and all the people who made it all happen. In the first clip SU students are going literally into the brain: PhD candidate Rachel Kalmar showing us slices and talking about the inner workings of the human brain. The British contingent, consisting of Antony Evans and David Garofalo, look over in a critical and calm manner while Lucy Rogers and Francesco Mosconi get clearly excited by the thought of handling someone’s brain. But it is [...]

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Singularity University Lectures: David Rose on Entrepreneurship

by Socrates

David Rose is not only the track Chair for Finance, Economics and Entrepreneurship at Singularity University but is also an Inc 500 CEO, serial entrepreneur and an early stage venture investor, sometimes described as “the father of Angel Investing in New York”, “top dog in tech” and “the Patriarch of Silicon Valley”. Today I am posting David Rose’s Singularity University lecture on entrepreneurship for it was among the best I’ve heard on the topic. It is a presentation full of knowledge, wisdom and experience but also humor and style. A true hypomaniac, David speaks about the meaning of entrepreneurship, the importance of thinking differently and the ecstasy and satisfaction of going successfully against the grain while not forgetting to stress the sacrifices of being an entrepreneur and the agony and common occurrence of failure. Who is David Rose? David S. Rose is [...]

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Singularity University Tours Autodesk

by Socrates

Autodesk is among the most notable sponsors, supporters and big time friends of Singularity University. At the same time, it is also a very cool company in its own right with many of its cutting edge 3D design technologies used in a variety disciplines from industrial design to special effects in blockbuster movies such as AVATAR. The videos below were shot when me and my classmates from Singularity University GSP11 visited the Autodesk demo office and showroom in San Francisco. Hope you enjoy the video tour as much as I did filming it. The first clip shows several SU students from GSP11 talking to SU academic adviser Jonathan Knowles via his tele-presence robot. During our conversation we talk about Scottish kilts, email spam, 3d printing and, most interestingly, the story behind how Autodesk became a Singularity University sponsor. (Thank you Jonathan!) [...]

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Deus Ex: The Eyeborg Documentary

by Socrates

It has been some time ago that I first posted the Deus Ex: Human Revolution original trailer about the stunning video game from Eidos. The clip is so visually captivating that I am forced to re-watch it every once-in-a-while and ponder the myriad of profound issues that it touches on. Even more so, a reader of this blog once told me that it was seeing the Deus Ex trailer for the first time that made him aware of transhumanism and consequently pushed him to devote his life to studying it. Enter Rob Spence. Those who missed my interview with Rob should know that he is known as the Eyeborg - a self proclaimed cyborg who lost an eye in an accident and replaced it with a wireless video camera. Rob is a wacky documentarian and recently joined forces with the gang [...]

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Google’s Self-Driving Robocar at Singularity University

by Socrates
Thumbnail image for Google’s Self-Driving Robocar at Singularity University

Today the first 3 hours of lectures at Singularity University started with a workshop on robotic cars such as Google’s autonomous self-driving vehicle. We were pleasantly surprised when Brad Templeton - our awesome Networks and Computer Systems faculty chair, secretly brought one of the prototype cars on campus. Of course, for your benefit, I couldn’t help it but take a couple of short videos. The first one shows a few Singularity University students mobbing Google’s autonomously self-driven vehicle. The second video is a demonstration of the Lidar navigation and traffic control system i.e. the way that the car perceives the world around it. The third one is a 1 min video of the robocar exterior. You can see the roof-mounted lidar system used for traffic guidance and orientation. (For those video tech geeks of you who are about to ask me - the videos [...]

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Singularity University Video Tour

by Socrates
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After posting a few pictures from my first 4 days at Singularity University I received emails asking for video. So, when I saw that last Sunday afternoon the NASA Ames campus was nearly deserted, and most SingularityU students were either out or still recovering from the previous night’s big birthday bash in San Francisco, I seized the opportunity and went around filming some video around campus. It was a very bright and beautiful Sunday afternoon, though the wind did interfere very notably with the audio. Anyway, my narrative is still audible and I hope you find it interesting. Enjoy my Singularity University Video Tour: Part 1: NASA Ames Campus Part 2: Singularity University Main Building and Lecture Hall Part 3: Computer Lab and BBQ Area

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Legacy, Ark and the 3rd Letter: The Dark, Post-Apocalyptic Sci Fi Films of Grzegorz Jonkajtys

by Socrates
Thumbnail image for Legacy, Ark and the 3rd Letter: The Dark, Post-Apocalyptic Sci Fi Films of Grzegorz Jonkajtys

Last night I randomly discovered the amazing short sci fi films of Grzegorz Jonkajtys. The three movies, that Grzegorz has posted on Vimeo in full, vary in length, style and execution. What is common is that all are situated in a post-apocalyptic setting and, in my opinion, all are strangely mesmerizing with their own unique dark beauty. Legacy is the shortest of the 3 films. At 2 minutes and 24 seconds it manages to pack not only some cool special effects but also a powerful warning message.   Ark is another post-apocalyptic animated film. The plot is set up against the background of a global virus outbreak which has forced the remaining survivors to build huge Ark ships and escape to the seas in search of uninhabited land. At 7 min long the movie packs a moving musical score as [...]

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Hey (Computer) Dude, Where Did You Park My Car?

by Socrates
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In America on average there are about 5 paved parking spaces for each car on the road. That is roughly about 1,000 square feet per car adding up to millions of square miles of black, asphalt-covered, sun-heat-absorbing, rain-water-drain-preventing, parking lots, which sit unused most of the time. The fact that overall on average cars get more allocated space than most big city dwellers raises a number of ethical and other concerns. Yet the problem is bigger than that. Just some of the other negative consequences are loss of productive farm-land, local climate warming and its consequent big-city heat-waves. (For example, if Los Angeles were to paint its flat-roofed buildings, parking lots and streets white, there would be an estimated decrease in temperature of about 5 °F (i.e. about 2.5 °C), which in turn will reduce heat-wave severity and related deaths, [...]

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