Thinking On Paper

You Will Be A Pampered Aristocrat Uploading Your Augmented Brain To A Virtual World

Imagine a world where there are multiple versions of you. A world where you can upload your consciousness into a humanoid or a virtual world and go about two days.. Take it further. What if there were hundreds of you, all living out separate dreams and realities... and then merging back, splicing your memories together into the one you? In this episode, we Think On Paper with Anders Sandberg about where AGI, brain emulation, and human augmentation could take humanity. And the obstacles and challenges that await us when we get there. We start with a simple idea: you’re already augmented. Your phone, your notes, your habits, they’re all extensions of your mind. But as we push further, into digital minds and brain uploads, the questions get harder. If you copy your consciousness, are you still you? And what happens when those copies start living different lives? From there, we zoom out. AGI, global coordination, and the possibility that smarter systems might run the world better than we can… while quietly reducing our role in it.  And finally, space. Civilization moves off planet. Can we avoid taking our political division and inequality with us? And who owns the moon, what happens when asteroid economies replace ours? We had too much fun doing this interview, we hope you enjoy it as much. And if you do, please subscribe and share with your boss, sister, wife or best friend.  Cheers, Mark & Jeremy. 🎧 Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] 📺 Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/toptechpodcast/] 🏠 Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] 🏠 Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] To suggest guests or sponsor the show, please email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz] -- Chapters (00:00) Augmentation and Human Potential (08:09) The Impact of Mobile Technology on Humanity (11:51) Accountability in AI Agents (18:25) The Role of Empathy in Human-AI Interaction (25:35) AGI vs. Alien Life: A Comparative Analysis (27:36) Consciousness and Brain Emulation (35:52) The Future of Uploaded Minds (40:33) Exploring Parallel Realities and Memory Merging (45:16) The Future of Human Collaboration and Organizations (46:24) AI's Role in Managing Global Systems (51:23) The Dual Economy: Human vs AI Management (57:43) The Complexities of Space Ownership and Governance (01:05:18) The Future of Space Exploration and Human Expansion (01:17:49) The Impact of Space Race on Human Progress (01:21:43) The Role of Nations and Corporations in Space Exploration (01:24:22) Experimenting with New Forms of Governance (01:26:18) NASA's Future in the Age of Innovation (01:28:41) The Potential for Breakaway Movements in Space (01:30:16) Trust and Coordination in Space Governance (01:34:18) The Future of Fusion Energy (01:42:15) The Value of Time and Life Extension (01:48:06) Reinventing Identity in Extended Lifespans (01:52:03) The Future of Humanity and Technology

Carissa Véliz - Prophecy: Why Sam Altman And Jensen Huang Are Selling You A Future

Carissa Véliz, Oxford philosopher and author of Prophecy, Thinks On Paper about why predictions are never facts, why tech CEOs predict a future they want you to buy, and how to take back ownership of your own life. When Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and Jensen Huang tell us what AI will do to jobs, society, and the future, are they making predictions, or selling products? Carissa Véliz argues it's the latter.  In this conversation we dig into self-fulfilling prophecies, the illusion of safety that algorithms sell us, what Seinfeld teaches us about predictive algorithms, and why Epicurus might be a better guide to the AI age than the Stoics. We ask if Polymarket should be banned, is democracy at risk and wonder how books can save us.  Carissa Véliz is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford. Her new book Prophecy is out now. -- 📺 Watch On YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhm4Ojfn4mE&t=411s]: 🎧 Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] 📺 Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/toptechpodcast/] 🏠 Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] 🏠 Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] To suggest guests or sponsor the show, please email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz] -- CHAPTERS   (00:00) Intro (01:00) What is the good life?  (02:00) Why knowing yourself matters more than strategy  (04:44) The analog world vs the digital world  (06:45) How prophecies exploit our need for security  (08:47) Why ancient Rome banned predicting the emperor's death  (10:11) The illusion of safety that AI sells us  (12:27) When predictions work, and when they don't  (15:00) Altman, Amodei, Huang: predictions or sales pitches?  (28:29) How to resist prophecies as a busy person  (29:53) Prediction markets, Polymarket, and democracy  (31:49) TikTok, algorithms, and the Molly Russell case  (36:08) "Engagement algorithms are cocaine in food"  (40:54) Self-fulfilling prophecies as the perfect crime  (43:44) Why comedy is the enemy of prophecy  (46:59) What Seinfeld teaches us about predictive algorithms  (52:16) Karikó and the Nobel Prize we almost missed  (53:40) Increase your serendipity  (56:13) Why Epicurus beats the Stoics

US AI Diplomacy Descends Into Cartoon Chaos

The AI meme war between the US and Iran has evolved into an absolute shit show. If you thought it was awful a few weeks ago, you ain't seen nothing yet. AI-generated Lego propaganda videos were a curiosity. Sometimes funny, often violent, always troublesome and never diplomatic, they quickly gained millions of views across social media... because social media. The White House Twitter (X) account was responsible for the US videos. An Iranian media company called Explosive Media, the Iranian. America, either put off by the global consensus that it was losing the war, or bored, switched their AI models to tax season (with equal ineptitude). Iran, losing the guns and missiles part of the war, has changed tact. Explosive Media turned up the heat. And was duly banned from YouTube. Which could of unleashed the beast. Now Iranian embassies are posting them on Twitter (X) and US creators are using the same format to mock it all with Lego.. Just watch it yourself. And let us know what you think. -- 🎧 Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] 📺 Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/toptechpodcast/] 🏠 Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] 🏠 Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] To suggest guests or sponsor the show, please email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz] -- -- TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Explosive Media (00:38) US Bowling Iran (01:52) Trump's Mask (03:20) Blockade, Blockade (06:28) Drunken Hegseth (08:00) Truth

Who Owns The Moon? We're About To Find Out

Who owns the Moon? China? The USA? Nobody, everybody? We're about to find out. The Outer Space Treaty was signed in 1967 and has about as much chance of holding any country to an agreement as Thinking on Paper has of hitting the most downloaded technology podcast on Spotify. When 80% of space investment is defence and national security is wrapped up in orbit and every satellite is spying on China, it's hard to keep a straight face when NASA officials say space is a collective commons. But we do our best because we're optimists and we're reading Space to Grow by Matthew Wienzierl and Brendan Rosseau and it's fantastic and you should read it.   Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/MVBxjZCGfxY [https://youtu.be/MVBxjZCGfxY] -- Chapters (00:00) Global Conflict and Space Resources (02:04) Human Nature and Space Exploration (03:28) The Economics of Asteroid Mining (05:53) Legal Frameworks for Space Mining (11:05) The Space Resource Exploration Act (13:01) International Reactions to Space Mining Legislation (17:19) Philosophical Perspectives on Space Ownership (20:14) The Role of National Security in Space (20:40) The Role of Government in Space Innovation (21:34) National Security and the Space Industry (23:10) Weaponization of Space: A New Era (24:47) The Prisoner's Dilemma in Space Cooperation (26:40) Humanity's Moral Compass in Space Exploration (27:03) The Future of Humanity in Space

China Beats The USA To #1 In Top 10 Space Investment Of 2026

They're Chinese and crashing rockets. That's about all we know about the space company with the biggest financial backing of 2026. There are plenty of US companies, so don't worry about the space race. Stoke Space, Sierra Space and Cesium Astro have scored hundreds of millions on the back of government security contracts. In fact, the ten largest funding rounds total over $3.7 billion. And it's only April. As well as defence, encrypted GPS alternatives and space-based weather platforms being used by Formula One to tell drivers if the track is wet or not feature. As do satellite communications and reusable rockets But the biggest surprise sits at the top of the list: Beijing-based iSpace China claimed the single largest raise at $729 million. The Top 10 In Full iSpace China — $729M Sierra Space — $550M (Series C) Vast Space — $500M (Series A) Cesium Astro — $470M Axiom Space — $350M Stoke Space — $350M PLD Space — €210M (Series C) Tomorrow.io — $175M Xona Space — $170M (Series C) StarCloud — $170M -- 🎧 Listen to every podcast⁠ [https://www.thinkingonpaper.xyz/] 📺 Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/toptechpodcast/] 🏠 Follow us on ⁠X⁠ [https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod] 🏠 Follow Jeremy on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremygilbertson/] To suggest guests or sponsor the show, please email: hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz [hello@thinkingonpaper.xyz] Chapters (00:00) Starcloud (00:52) Xona Space (03:27) Tomorrow IO (06:01) PLD Space (08:00) Stoke Space (10:18) Axiom Space (12:29) Cesium Astro (14:50) VAST Space (19:02) Sierra Space (21:47) I-Space (Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology Ltd.)