PyJamas Pillow Talk

My guest today is John Yang. He is a 16 year old currently building 小K.AI, a friendly chatbot that helps to create high-quality learning environments for left-behind children in rural China at scale. We discussed a wide variety of topics, including why John believes we will attain AGI in 5-10    years, his learning process, and building a non-profit AI bot by himself. Please enjoy the show. Show Notes [2:00] John’s self-introduction [3:33] Forming a tribe of peers who inspire ourselves [8:51] Self-directed learning and meta-learning skills [20:25] Growing up in multiple cities, formative childhood experiences and maturing [29:27] Finding a balance between creativity and effectiveness [34:55] Validating macro frameworks [38:17] The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin （三體系列-劉慈欣） [46:50] John's argument for why AGI will be here in the next 5-10 years [1:08:20] What is artificial intelligence? [1:17:10] AI ethics and safety [1:20:08] 小K, and its business and technical aspects (data, model architecture) [1:38:00] Advice for people who want to build real skills [1:44:28] Managing both building and selling in day-to-day life Mentions 小K.AI The Knowledge Society Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My guest today is Elena Hill-Artamonova. She is currently a PhD candidate for psychology at The Manchester Metropolitan University, and has Master of Science in Psychology from University of London and Master of Arts in Political Science from The University of Manchester. As a dyslexic herself, Elena is also passionate about helping other dyslexics excel academically. Please enjoy the show. Show Notes [0:39] Elena’s self-introduction [1:20] Why did Elena choose to go to UK from Russia? [3:17] Elena’s struggles with expressing herself back in Russia [7:00] Our cultural background’s influence on our thinking and encouraging children to be independent thinker [15:42] Is the English or Russian language more beautiful? [16:57] How does Russia’s rich cultural history permeate through her citizens’ thinking? [27:55] Three cultural synthesis of Russia [31:25] Current state of events in Russia, view on China and geopolitics [43:58] The American Dream and outsiders succeeding in traditional systems [53:36] How did formal training in disciplines like anthropology and political science influenced Elena’s way of thinking? What was interacting with shamans like? [1:09:44] Elena’s experience with dyslexia and managing it to excel academically [1:18:04] Elena’s audio presentation of her research on dark triads and big five personality variables   Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My guest today is Yair Zick. He is an assistant professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Prior to that, he was an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s School of Computing. He was also a postdoctoral research fellow at Carnegie Mellon University from 2014 to 2016, and completed his PhD at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Please enjoy the show.  Show Notes [1:43] Brouwer fixed-point theorem and its relevance to game theory [5:13] What is algorithmic mechanism design? [12:28] What are constraints that make division of goods really hard to solve? [24:57] Utilitarianism, egalitarianism and Nash bargaining solution [32:40] Pre-requisites for certain conditions in algorithmic mechanism design (e.g. fairness) to hold [37:30] Why is National University of Singapore’s former module allocation system overly complicated? [48:52] What is Yair’s research process like? What is sub-modular property in allocation of goods? [1:01:40] Optimising schedule for productivity [1:06:30] Current readings [1:14:14] Thoughts on love and marriage [1:19:31] Aspirations for his children and parenting philosophy Mentions Brouwer fixed-point theorem Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  

My guest today is Michael Vawter. He is the co-founder of two businesses- Robot Academy, which is a STEM education centre for kids, and Bleeps and Loops, which promotes and educates electronic music production. Please enjoy the show. Show Notes [0:37] Michael’s self-introduction [1:43] What prompted Michael to take coursework in psychology, organisational studies, economics, computer science and vocal performance at college? [4:22] Homeschooling and its impact [8:29] Becoming champion of First Lego League and designing robots [13:04] Allocation of time for projects in different discipline [21:57] Morning routines [23:39] Productivity systems [25:43] Entrepreneurial projects in college [27:46] Quitting the first job after a year [32:39] Why is Michael bearish about the current VC-backed startup model? [34:49] Adapting business models to Covid-19 [37:43] Modular synthesis and Bleeps and Loops [45:01] The social media marketing experience for Bleeps and Loops [48:20] Upbringing and religion [56:54] Learning photography [58:57] Balancing both inner voice and outer chatter Mentions Michael Vawter's website/Instagram Michael’s essay on individualism OmniFocus Ken Wilber's Integral Theory Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My guest today is Ryan McEntush. He has worked at 3 YC startups- Teleport,  Front, and GetAccept. Ryan also interned at Morgan Stanley in his freshman year. He holds a Bachelors in Economics from UC Santa Barbara and writes at his personal blog, A Cruising Voyage.  Show Notes [0:32] Making sense of the storming of Capitol and Twitter’s ban of Trump [8:42] Predictions for social media in the future [14:00] Who should decide what should be moderated? [20:21] Should big tech firms be broken up into smaller ones? [23:20] Is there an optimal size for human organisations? [27:29] What will an overhaul of the existing systems in US look like? [29:54] Should we be bullish or bearish about the future of US? The global geopolitical scene [42:00] Thoughts on the tech exodus from San Francisco (The tech exodus from San Francisco is overrated

My guest today is Jazil Zaim. He is a member of Gen Z Mafia, and has built startups in the space of affiliate marketing, privacy-focused social media app, and is venturing into the e-commerce space. Please enjoy the show. Show Notes [1:01] What is Gen Z Mafia? How did Jazil chance upon this online community? [3:28] Jazil building a new startup [6:25] Brick and mortar shops and ideas generation [13:55] Jazil’s information diet and cultivating the right community in life [18:09] How should people get started in using online communities? [20:40] Bootstrapped startups [28:55] Is building a company that captures the majority of a market the main goal of Jazil’s professional life? [33:38] Tech in a post-COVID world [35:46] Recent exodus of tech leaders from San Francisco [37:55] Projecting cities that will be startup hubs in the future [44:02] Will Singapore’s policies to attract foreign startup talent be effective in encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit among her citizens as well? [49:48] Can a person really be anything they want to be in the US? [55:35] Should America be split up? [1:01:20] How will Jazil define COVID ten years from now? [1:06:29] What are some particular aspects of tech that Jazil is most bullish about? [1:07:53] Balaji’s idea of a cloud city [1:09:48] Jazil’s favourite startup, founder, and person to follow on Twitter  Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My guest today is Alyssa Adams. She has a PhD in Physics from Arizona State University and a Bachelors in Physics from East Tennessee State University. She is currently a CIBM Postdoctoral Trainee at University of Wisconsin-Madison and has worked as a data scientist and lab director at VEDA Data Solutions. Please enjoy the show.  Show Notes [1:11] What is the craziest political idea that Alyssa holds? [2:37] Designing a government from scratch in the 21st century [3:40] How should we view ethics if it is just a construct by humans? [7:40] What are some experiences that Alyssa value more than her peers? [10:40] What are the phases in evolution that capture Alyssa’s imagination? [13:05] Are the underlying rules of life simple or complex? [15:31] Are we moving in the right direction in the theory of everything? [19:42] Is our current modelling of neutrons in deep neural networks optimal? [24:09] How did Alyssa’s polymathic view of the world come about? [28:00] What advice will Alyssa give to her younger self re: making friends? [32:06] Why the pronoun ‘they/them’ for Alyssa? [34:13] Labels in society [37:41] Cultivating a sense of happiness and managing depression [48:31] Thoughts on current scientific and religious explanation of how the universe came about  [56:08] Filling the gaps that may have been left behind by religion [1:00:15] Is Alyssa afraid of death? What makes a good life? [1:04:03] Measures of intelligence and creating truly intelligent machines [1:06:56] Ethics in creating sentient and intelligent robots [1:08:54] What does it mean to be human? [1:13:28] What is emergence? [1:15:45] State of artificial intelligence [1:18:00] Does biology provide the best framework for evolution or will humans come up with something better? [1:21:27] What is public data? Management of public data and future of private data [1:29:00] Are we living in a simulation? Mentions Open-endedness: The last grand challenge you’ve never heard of – O’Reilly Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My guest today is Austin Taylor. He is the host of the podcast Split The Difference, a show dedicated to bridging the political divide in US by creating a community of civil individuals who discuss current political issues. Please enjoy the show. In addition, please support the non-profit project asCENT browser extension by signing up to know when we are releasing it! Show Notes [1:04] What is the story behind the background that Austin uses for his podcast? [2:10] Austin’s childhood and how it has shaped his current worldview [5:20] How can we bridge the divide that may have arisen from religion? [12:04] How has the history of slavery impacted the culture that Austin was brought up in? How can we overcome racism? [20:37] Connecting with each other against the backdrop of white nationalism [24:32] What were the factors that have left certain groups of white people behind? [30:31] Andrew Yang and UBI [33:08] How can one cultivate a sense of critical thinking? Is there any top-down policy that can help to cultivate critical thinking among citizens? [35:46] What was Austin’s first recollection of his interest in politics? [38:15] Has there been a change in the narratives of the media as a whole, and within each political party since the 2020 Presidential Election? [42:50] What is the future of US media? [46:04] Is the current duopoly in the US political system beneficial? [53:19] Who are Austin’s favourite and least liked politicians? <li style

My guest today is Andrew Copple. He is currently a systems engineer at Boeing and a physics lover. He has a Bachelors of Science in Physics from University of Missouri-Columbia, Master of Science and PhD in Physics from Arizona State University. Please enjoy the show. P.S.: There are some occasional construction sounds at the start of the episode, the fault is totally mine. Show Notes [0:26] What is the most beautiful idea in physics? [1:34] What is dark matter? [8:04] Breaking physics down to a college freshman level and the journey of learning physics [12:06] Working on crystal synthesis in the lab [20:11] Nuclear fission and fusion [33:49] Sustainable energy, and weighing the pros and cons of each implementation (e.g. Tesla Powerwall) [42:32] Should the length of election cycles be changed? What will US be like moving forward after the recent 2020 Presidential Election? [49:48] Fear being pushed in the media [55:40] Cultivating a sense of critical thinking in people [1:00:43] Encouraging whistle-blowers to create a sense of critical thinking among people [1:02:31] Why are many Americans anti-mask? [1:04:34] What does a system engineering job entail? [1:06:19] Nano structures for solar panels and pivoting from academic research to working at Boeing [1:09:32] The current failures of US academic institutions  [1:16:09] How can one cultivate a love of learning? How can someone who has limited access to formal education institutions learn? Mentions Dr Michio Kaku Real Engineering Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My guest today is Alan Choudhry. He is author of ‘Introduction to Societal Systems Engineering’, and has Masters of Engineering in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering respectively from McGill University. Please enjoy the show. Show Notes [0:40] What is sustainability? [6:17] What technologies will form the pillar of sustainability in the future? [13:10] Why are governments and organisations still not calculating the full cost? [28:35] Thoughts on China’s economic success, what India can do better and different systems of governance [49:52] Solving the problem of fake media [53:20] Example of technology that is designed and cannot be misused [56:20] Resources to learn about sustainability Mentions Introduction to Societal Systems Engineering by Alan Choudhry and Dr Dieter Feldmann Connect If you like to find out more about me, please find me on my personal website at www.pohjie.com, or connect with me on Twitter (@pohjie_pj). Outro Thank you for listening to this episode. If you like this episode, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this episode with 1-3 friends. I started this podcast with the intention of having awesome conversations with interesting people, and having your support means a lot. Thank you. Music credits Shades of Spring by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4342-shades-of-spring License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/