Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom offers a cautionary take on artificial intelligence in his new book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. In it, he imagines what could happen if computers were to ever become smarter than humans. He tells Steve Paulson that it could have catastrophic effects, unless we start thinking about it now.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Ed Boyden, a researcher at MIT, is at the forefront of a new science that aims to map and even heal the brain with light. It’s called optogenetics, and the journal Science has called it one of the great insights of the 21st century. It’s in its early days, but the goal is to one day be able to take a disease like depression, PTSD, or epilepsy and, using bursts of light, just turn it off -- the same way you’d fix a software glitch in a computer.
Back in 1969, Marlantes was dropped in the middle of a jungle in Vietnam - at the age of 23, put in charge of the lives of 40 other young men. He was not psychologically or spiritually prepared for that or for what came after the war.
Peter Guber founded Mandalay Entertainment and Polygram Entertainment. He tells Anne Strainchamps that most people try to pitch him a business deal, not a creative vision.
Richard Ranft has collected underwater sounds of mating haddock, snapping shrimp, walruses and other sea creatures.
Joe Keenan is a novelist. He reads from his latest - "My Lucky Star" - and talks about the story with Steve Paulson.
Mark Haddon is the author of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” Haddon narrates the story from the point of view of his hero, who is a fifteen year old boy with Asperger Syndrome.
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