About Dr Waseem Akhtar

Dr Waseem Akhtar is a Dublin based educator and academic. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from University College Dublin (UCD) and an MBA in Higher Education Management from the Institute of Education (IOE) at University College London (UCL). He is Head of Computing Science Faculty in Griffith College Dublin. Waseem is also known for his in-depth discussions on cutting edge research and emerging ideas with researchers and thought leaders from around the world, and for his engaging public lectures and presentations where he frequently explores multidisciplinary ideas by fusing diverse research topics. Waseem is also a radio broadcaster.

“The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds” with Professor Christopher Mason

We are the only known species that understands species go extinct. We also understand that climate calamity, apocalyptic war, or the demise of the sun in a few billion years will all inevitably bring life on Earth to an end. So it is extremely important we do whatever we can to avoid extinction. We have a moral obligation to prevent extinction, and we have a responsibility to act as life-form shepherds—not just for our species, but for all species on which we rely, as well as those yet to come. This may involve finding a new home planet, developing innovative ways to undertake long haul space journeys. This may also involve re-engineering life and human genetics for travelling to, and for surviving on other worlds. Dr Christopher Mason argues in his provocative and engaging book “The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds” that we have a moral duty to do just that. In this episode of Bridging the Gaps I speak with Dr Christopher Mason and we discuss his inspiring vision of the next 500 years of spaceflight and human exploration.

Dr Christopher Mason is a professor of genomics, physiology, and biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Director of the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction. He is a geneticist and computational biologist who has been a Principal Investigator and Co-investigator of 11 NASA missions and projects.

We start by discussing the moral obligation, moral duty that we must protect our species against extinction and to ensure that life continues. We discuss the impact of living in hard and unfamiliar environment of space on the human body and talk through the findings of “the Twin Study” which examines the impact of nearly a full year in space on astronaut Scott Kelly, using his identical brother Mark as control. We then discuss moral and ethical dimensions of engineering life and making changes in human genome and undertaking genetic modifications of humans. We review the 500 years plan that Dr Chris Mason presents in this book and go through various phases of this plan. We talk about engineering of genomes, cellular engineering, synthetic biology and preparing humans for long haul space flights. We discuss in detail how CRISPR tool works and what it enables us to do. We also discuss feature and functional re-engineering of the human genome by borrowing features and functions from other species. We once again touch upon moral, ethical, and social implications of re-engineering life and try to imagine a future full of variety of life forms evolved through directed and iterative re-engineering of life, coming from the same source that is human.

Complement this discussion with The End of Astronauts”, Robotic Space Exploration and Our Future on Earth and Beyond with Professor Martin Rees and then listen to “Nano Comes to Life”: DNA NanoTech, Medicine and the Future of Biology with Professor Sonia Contera

By |May 19th, 2022|Biology, Future, Physics, Podcasts, Research|
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“The Joy of Science” with Professor Jim Al-Khalili

Can living scientifically empower us to navigate the complexities of today’s complex and unpredictable world? Can the joy of critical thinking and the effectiveness of the scientific method assist us in making better decisions? Can living a more rational life help us navigate modern life more confidently? In his new book “The Joy of Science” acclaimed physicist Jim Al-Khalili invites readers to engage with the world as scientists have been trained to do. He shows how the fundamental principles at the heart of scientific thinking, as well as the scientific process, are profoundly relevant to the perplexing times we live in and the tough choices we make. In this episode of Bridging the Gaps, I speak with professor Jim Al-Khalili and we thoroughly discuss very interesting and deeply intriguing ideas that he presents in this book.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He is a prominent author, broadcaster and one of Britain’s best-known science communicators.

I start our discussion with the question that how the discipline of science should be perceived. We acknowledge that there are many ways scientific work is carried out in many different disciplines. We discuss the issue of “relative truth” and how biases held by individuals impact their opinions and distort their view and lead them to their own version of truth. We explore how science deals with the issue of relative truth. We probe how the scientific method enables us to continue researching in the presence of uncertainty. We investigate the impact of misinformation and disinformation on the disciple and cause of science. We also touch upon how rational humans can become; can we think rationally only up to certain point. We discuss in detail how scientific information should be presented to policy makers that should enable and empower them to make better decisions and to make the right choices. Finally, I ask Professor Jim Al-Khalili to tell us about his research in the field of open quantum systems. This has been a fantastic discussion.

Complement this with Asking Better Questions for Creative Problem Solving, Innovation and Effective Leadership with Hal Gregersen and then listen to On Public Communication of Science and Technology with Professor Bruce Lewenstein

By |May 13th, 2022|Biology, Future, Information, Knowledge, Physics, Podcasts, Research, Technology|
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“Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans” with Professor Melanie Mitchell

Recent developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence are fascinating as well as terrifying; there are extravagant promises as well as frustrating setbacks; there is great progress in narrowly focused AI applications, and there is lack of progress in the field of Artificial General Intelligence. In this episode of Bridging the Gaps I speak with professor Melanie Mitchell and we discuss the history, recent successes, huge expectations and emerging fears and frustrations in the field of Artificial Intelligence. We discuss fascinating and intriguing research that professor Melanie Mitchell discusses in her book “Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans”.

Melanie Mitchell is a professor of complexity at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. Her research focuses on genetic algorithms, conceptual abstraction, analogy-making and visual recognition in Artificial Intelligence Systems. Professor Mitchell originated the Santa Fe Institute’s Complexity Explorer project, an online learning resource for complex systems.

We begin our discussion by reviewing the history of this fascinating field and by discussing initial claims and hype that emerged at the start. We then discuss the transition from rule-based AI systems to machine learning approaches. We look into the successes of AI in narrowly defined task-based systems; we discuss the anomalies that emerge when the data is mildly changed. We then discuss the future development in this field and the challenges involved in making any meaningful progress towards Artificial General Intelligence and creating common sense in AI systems. The challenge of creating common sense seems similar to the challenge of finding and understanding dark matter in the field of physics, we discuss this. We look into the profound disconnect between the continuing hype and the actual achievements in AI, what the field has accomplished and how much further it has to go. We also discuss the approach of conceptual abstraction and incorporating analogy-making in AI systems. This has been a fascinating discussion about this ambitious and thought-provoking field.

Complement this discussion with “Artificial Intelligence: Fascinating Opportunities and Emerging Challenges with Professor Bart Selman and then listen to “2062: The World That AI Made” with Professor Toby Walsh

By |May 1st, 2022|Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Information, Podcasts, Research, Technology|
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