Category: Uncategorized

What if Earth’s first microbes weren’t homegrown, but carefully planted by an ancient alien civilization? In this exploration of directed panspermia, we dive into one of science’s most fascinating questions: could intelligent beings seed lifeless planets with the building blocks of life?

Join us as we investigate the possibility that Earth itself might be a cosmic garden, and explore humanity’s potential role as future universe gardeners. Can we seed other planets with life, and should we?

To help me answer these questions, I reached out to Asher Soryl, who recently coauthored a paper with Anders Sandberg on directed panspermia. The paper is forthcoming in Acta Astronautica, and you can contact Asher to get an advance copy.

Many people believe artificial general intelligence will be developed in the next 3 to 4 years. If this is true, the decisions made by the Trump administration could be critical in shaping how transformative AI is deployed, how safe it is, and key arms race-style dynamics. Trumps position and actions on AI really matter. In this video, I covered updates from the last few weeks on DeepSeek and Trump’s position on AI.

While relevant Metaculus predictions haven’t shifted dramatically (median AGI timeline moved slightly closer to 2026), I’d argue that the nature of how we might reach AGI has become riskier. The removal of safety testing requirements and the emphasis on beating China could pressure even traditionally cautious AI labs to move faster than we’d like.

Explore the mind-blowing ethical challenges of transforming Mars into a habitable planet! 🔴➡️🌍

Is terraforming humanity’s next great adventure or a massive moral minefield? In this video, we dive deep into:

⭐ The potential benefits of creating a “backup planet” for humanity

⭐ Massive resource trade-offs and opportunity costs

⭐ Unexpected ethical considerations about introducing life to Mars

Whether you’re a space enthusiast, ethical thinker, or just curious about humanity’s future, this video unpacks the complex questions surrounding Mars terraforming.

Can we really terraform Mars and turn the it into a home for humans? Elon Musk says yes.

What does Elon want to do and what are the challenges? In this video, we explore the science behind transforming Mars into a habitable planet – from using orbital mirrors and nanorods to creating oceans and atmospheres. In this video, I break down the real possibilities and challenges of making Mars our second home.

12 years ago, I was extremely depressed. In this video, I talk about my story of how I came to find my life purpose and go from depressed to top of my class by dedicating myself to improving the world as much as possible.

I now live on $45,000 AU (after tax and adjusted for inflation from 2016) a year and donate the rest to charities that make a real impact. In this video, I’ll explain why I chose this path, how it’s brought me true happiness, and how I still live comfortably.

Consider taking the Giving What We Can pledge—no matter the amount, it can make a big impact! Try the Giving What We Can trial pledge.

Exciting news! I’ve partnered with a professional video editor for my latest video on the space probe Hera. I hope you enjoy it with the improved production quality (hopefully, but not too hard considering I’m not an editor)!

ESA’s Hera mission, launching on the 7th of October 2024, will investigate the aftermath of NASA’s DART asteroid deflection test on Dimorphos. This video explores Hera’s objectives, including detailed crater imaging and internal structure mapping using CubeSats, and explains why asteroid deflection technology is crucial for planetary defense.

In this video, learn about the various asteroid deflection methods, the challenges of understanding asteroid structures, and how Hera’s findings could shape future space exploration and Earth protection strategies.

I wanted to know how radioactive my neighbourhood is, so I got a Geiger-Müller and tested it. In this video, I explain what a GM counter is and talk about radiation exposure.

The GM counter I used in this video was a FS-5000 model.

Thank you again to EA Funds for supporting this channel with a grant. Onwards and upwards!

Have you ever wondered how astronauts stay safe in the event of a failed launch? That’s where the launch escape system comes in. These come in three flavours, solid rocket motor, liquid rocket motor, or ejector seat. In this video, we’ll talk about how these work, and show you some live examples using the spaceflight simulator Reentry.

LES’s that we cover: Mercury, Apollo, Soyuz, Shenzou, SpaceX’s crew Dragon capsule, Boeing’s Starliner, Blue Origin’s New Shephard, Gemeni, and Vostok. We also cover why the space shuttle didn’t have an LES, and what it had instead.

Have scientists found Dyson spheres around nearby stars, proving the existence of advanced alien civilisations? You’d be forgiven for thinking they did, given the headlines recently. While it’s premature to say this is what we’ve discovered, the reality is pretty interesting anyway.

In this video, I discuss what Dyson spheres are, what they might be used for, and what these recent studies actually found. I explore other concepts like the Kardashev scale, Matrioshka brains, and interstellar travel.

In this video, I summarise some of the arguments for and against thinking the future will go well (assuming no extinction event occurs), and discuss how to think about prioritisation of reducing extinction-risk vs focusing on generally improving the longrun future for longtermists. I discuss some key writings on this topic, such as Nick Bostrom’s Astronomical Waste, Joe Carlsmith’s Actually Possible: Thoughts on Utopia, and Jacy Reese Anthis’ The Future Might not be so Great.