In the event you’re interested by rising tech, it’s more durable to think about a cooler job than Allison Duettmann’s. She’s the CEO of the Foresight Institute, a suppose tank based in 1986 that’s dedicated to advancing science and tech that’s arguably undervalued — fields like nanotechnology, house exploration, and harnessing cryptography to construct safer AI.
Allison Duettmann is speaker on the AI Stage at Consensus 2024, in Austin, Texas, Might 29-31.
Duettmann lives on the planet of Huge Future Concepts. She’s the coauthor of “Gaming the Future: Applied sciences for Clever Voluntary Cooperation”; she’s the founding father of Existential Hope (with a mission of “Considering Huge for Optimistic Futures”); and she or he’ll be becoming a member of Consensus 2024 on the inaugural AI Summit to share insights on what’s legitimately helpful on the planet of AI+Crypto, and what’s simply hype.
In a latest Zoom interview, we cowl the staggering upside of nanotechnology, dig into how crypto may assist the event of AI, and we could have by accident simply birthed a billion-dollar token.
Interview has been condensed and evenly edited for readability.Let’s begin with a curveball. With some tech that appears essential to you, however doesn’t get a number of press: Nanotechnology. If we crack the code of nanotech, what’s an instance of a use case? How would the world be completely different?Allison Duettmann: Principally, it will revolutionize your entire means during which we produce issues. So, sure, particular person purposes are thrilling. However extra usually, it’s nearly like we’re nonetheless producing issues on this tremendous stone-agey means. We take the assets now we have and try to strap them collectively.
But when we may get far more exact [through nanotech] about what forms of assets we use within the manufacturing course of… Like, at the moment, we’re working at a completely improper degree. We’re producing a lot waste within the course of of manufacturing.
Think about a 3D-printing methodology, for instance, however on a tiny molecular scale. So that you’d have huge features on that entrance. Nanotech may have actually fascinating implications on {hardware} for computing, and actually fascinating purposes in longevity know-how.
How so?
For cryonics, for instance, you want nearly molecular nanotechnology for the revival of sufferers — corresponding to on the drug supply degree or the nanobots in your bloodstream perspective. Then there’s additionally innovation from an environmental perspective; carbon drawdown can be enabled by way of molecular nanotechnology, or waste removing within the biosphere.
Given the huge upside, why hasn’t there been extra growth in nanotech?
One factor that is so fascinating about nanotech is that for anybody particular person software, there’s most likely a better solution to do it. But when we had this sort of basic objective, excessive throughput nanotechnology, then you possibly can be utilizing that for a lot of completely different fields.
So there’s by no means one incentive to develop it for a person actor. That’s why progress has been so sluggish. It’s nearly like this public good that when it’s created, it might trigger these revolutions throughout completely different industries. However for any particular person software, there’s by no means a novel creative to develop it.
That’s so fascinating. I say this solely principally in jest… it feels like a very good candidate for a crypto challenge. As a result of it’s one thing which may take an enormous crowd to capitalize, with the advantages conferred to a bigger neighborhood. Is there a NANO token?!
Nicely…
If not, let’s begin one, Allison!
Sure, now that we’ve stated it, the Nano DAO.
[Both laugh.]
No, however I feel in all seriousness, it suits very well. There are various individuals within the Foresight neighborhood which might be additionally in crypto and care a bunch about nano. Numerous the early sci-fi nano concepts match very well with the philosophy of crypto.
Okay let’s speak about crypto and AI. What do you see as probably the most promising, authentic ways in which blockchain may help with the event of safer or higher AI?
I suppose I might say there are three buckets. One can be the safety facet of issues, the place the Web3/crypto house has a number of expertise with failing quick if you do not have safe methods constructed.
As a result of lots of the methods within the permissionless or immutable areas — when you do not construct them appropriately — there could also be a million-dollar bounty connected to them. So I feel this spirit of constructing security and having an nearly unintentional vetting course of is a vital mindset, as we construct up AI methods.
And the second?
The second is on the facet of, how can we leverage applied sciences that the crypto house can also be engaged on, to construct AI methods that we might need from a human perspective?
Are you able to give an instance?
So, there could also be extra privacy-preserving purposes which might be potential as we draw extra on the cryptography areas. They could allow us to supply higher purposes, for instance, for human well being and in finance, leveraging cryptographic applied sciences. And we could possibly use cryptographic applied sciences to assist us create higher, very superior AI methods.
And what’s the third and last bucket?
The governance facet of AI. So, you’ll be able to presumably use cryptographic applied sciences to show that you just’re following sure security benchmarks or requirements. Relatively than having to share the entire data that’s presumably proprietary, you’ll be able to solely share data that’s wanted to show you’re hitting sure security benchmarks.
Nice, and I do know we’ll unpack all of this extra on the AI Summit. Talking of, what are you most wanting ahead to at Consensus this 12 months?
I’m actually wanting ahead to discovering what the state of crypto and AI has actually come to at this level. I come at it from the foundational analysis facet of issues or extra on the form of cryptography and safety facet of issues. However I additionally know that many individuals have been actually constructing onerous within the Web3 and AI house. So, I am actually to see which of my hypotheses — or which of different individuals’s hypotheses — have come out. Who’s constructing what proper now? And the place are there potential synergies throughout completely different merchandise? I’m excited to see what’s occurring in that house.
You and me each. See you at Consensus.
