Listen Now to Gabrielle challenging the AIs

This show takes the cake when it comes to more unusual content for us.  It started with our correspondent Gabrielle Cianfrani asking Meta.ai a ‘simple’ question before bed, “I’ve been thinking lately that we are just pure consciousness experiencing itself, what do you think about that?” And Meta.ai did a decent job in answering, “What a profound and intriguing perspective! The idea that we are pure consciousness experiencing itself is a philosophical and metaphysical concept that has been explored in various spiritual and philosophical traditions. This notion suggests that our essence is not solely bound to our physical bodies or minds, but rather we are an expression of a universal, all-encompassing consciousness.”

Gabrielle naturally, took the AI to task, nudging it to go even deeper, by responding, “I think that any time I am not present, truly present, that I am not pure consciousness experiencing itself. I believe that it is consciousness playing a game, a theater, an act. I think that past and future create suffering because they take us away from The only thing that we really know is real which is this moment right now.” How did Meta respond to that? Tune in!  Enjoy..

Gabrielle and the AIs kick around Reality itself.

 

Listen Now to 64 Future Now Podcast

Our very own Taylor Barcroft gives us the update on the latest from Apple, with particular focus on the new M4 processor based iPads. These are Apple’s last offerings before their big World Wide Developer’s Conference next month, and loo quite tasty, if you find the pad format to be your fav form factor.  If you want to full blown M4-based notebook, look no sooner than the fall..  

If you ever wanted to regenerate some new relacement teeth, the time is rapdidly approaching  for you to be able to do just that.  A new approach, coming from Japan, and Bobby Wilder is on it! And while we are at it, there is new news on whale communications, and a new 18-wheeler capable engine running on Hydrogen power! Enjoy..

Machine learning aids in discovery of whale ‘alphabet’

Listen Now to Avi Esther We had the pleasure of meeting Avi Esther last month when she was in town from the UK for speaking at the Discovery Sessions, the Bay Area’s annual gathering of the psychedelic community. The topic -  “DESTIGMATIZING AMANITA MUSCARIA.”  Amanita Muscaria is that cute archetypal red mushroom with white dots. It’s psychoactive compound  is muscimol, a potent agonist (activator) of GABA, a brain neurotransmitter known for calming effects, and plays a significant role in controlling bodily functions like mood, anxiety, and sleep. It is legal in the US, except for Lousiana.

Avi  has researched it’s chemistry and biological mechanisms, Searched out myths and stories from the old world has worked therapeutically with this ancient ally. She honors the ancients of the land who worked with these entheogens alongside the science and ethical practices. We think you’ll enoy what she has to say about our old friend, Amanita Muscaria.

Avi Esther with her ally

Listen now to 63 Future Now Podcast

It appears we may have some new lifeforms on the planet, ones that can take Nitrogen from the air rather than the ground; makes sense considering that 78% of the atmosphere is Nitrogen. Scientists are fascinated, and see this as a big deal, up there with the creation of plants and animals!  Also amazing this week is our exploration of interspecies communications and its intersection with AI.  Yes, contact with critters of all kinds will soon be happening, with AI serving as a kind of Rosetta Stone between us and the myriad of other intelligences that live on this planet.  A fascinating development in trans species communications, with many unexpected twists and turns to come!  Meanwhile, we have successfully used optics for communicating for the first time with a space probe 130 million miles away, and are testing a new kind of space propulsion system that is non-reactive! Just wow!! Enjoy..

Listen Now to 62 Future Now Podcast A promising future lies in potential symbiotic relationships between our tech and nature.  A example of theat lies with the use of algae in the generation of energy from solar panels.  And…how might the climate change gas of methane be actually useful in making things better for us and our planet?  This week, the Planetary Society’s latest Solar Sail spacecraft is now in orbit, and if successful, could pave the way for easy and cheap travel to other planets..slow but steady.. We were inspired by Nina Paley’s review of the new Dune 2 movie and had to share some quotes with you. And while on the movie front, Mrs. Future had some profound things to say about the Netflix documenatry, “The Antisocial Network,” about the history of 4chan and how it led to the QAnon conspiracy theory and the January 6th riots. Nothing to think about there :-) .  We also discuss some of the big future predictions of venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, such as how expertise will soon be free and we’ll all use AI agents for getting information.  And there are our initial experiments to see how the AI’s can make $$ for us, including the use of humor.  Also  this week we enlisted the free ‘expertise’ of coffee entrepreneur Gabrielle Cianfrani in evaluating AI’s foray into coffee blending, and it’s somewhat atypical choices.  Enjoy! AI creates a new kind of coffee blend that is very tasty

Listen to Future Now #61 I couldn’t believe it when I read about a geoengineering project changing the reflectivity of clouds in our home, the SF Bay Area, in Scientific American, a mainstream science publication! Maybe there is something to all the airplane trails we see these days that will be discussed to major forums. No such luck in looking at the bigger picture of chemtrails, but there is some light on the topic that is now being discussed in the open.  In our fiest hour we also look at Udio, an audio AI program that allows you to create songs on any topic instantly, Tesla Taxi plans, extra stellar sonification, a strange gamma ray burster, and a dead star that has mysteriously come to life!   The second hour is a delightful conversation with Dave Welch, aka ‘Nordic Dave’ at Santa Cruz Voice on his and Amy’s trip to see the total eclipse of the sun last week via his Cessna 182 aircraft. Dave shares with us what it is like to fly private these days, with over 3500 small airports in the US available, many with services, and close to where you want to go.  We ask about the weather, wifi, autopilot, noise, radar, maps, other planes. Dave compares flying private today to taking cross country road trips in the 1960’s and 70’s…very enjoyable!  Later in the show, Dave delves into his passion for incredible audio, building his own amps and speakers for the best sound experiences possible. We greatly enjoyed our time with him, as you will, I’m sure. Enjoy! Nordic Dave and his Cessna 182 and the 2024 Eclipse

Listen to Future Now Podcast Hope you all enjoyed your eclipse experience, be it partial, full, or virtual!  Our fav visuals were from the ISS, where you could see the eclipse, appearing as a dark cloud-like 115 mile diameter shadow cast onto the planet’s surface, speeding across the continent, southwest to northeast.  Moving at 2400 km/h, the dark shadow turned day into night for 4 minutes or so in towns and cities it swept across, creating a visual interplay of light and dark when seen from low earth orbit.  Check it out..This clips shows two views from space, one from the space station, the other from a Starlink satellite in a higher orbit. The 2024 Eclipse as seen from the International Space Station This week Bobby is remote on the Carrizo Plain, a Central California location famous for wildflower blooms this time of year. He and Katia are in the middle of it all, surrounded by blossoming beauty and lots of crickets!  Bandwidth from there was good via his T-Mobile internet gateway, allowing us to look at the latest on a new lunar time zone, increasing Youtube comprehension speed tips, new useful AI apps, the Chile telescope and proof of the Multi/Universe, one way or another.  Oh yes, and we delve into the mystery of ‘rogue planets,’ traveling between star systems, usually in pairs. And Mrs. Future says, “check out the singing nuns at Abbey Road!” (toward the end of the show). Enjoy! The Singing Nuns at Abbey Road

59 Future Now Show Listen Here

We are still on the road this week, this time in magical Mt. Shasta, where we introduce you one of it’s residents, Mt. Shasta is rumored to house the Lemurian city of Telos within.Mary Donnelly.  A New Englander trained as an RN in pediatric oncology, she learned of Mt. Shasta via an alternative healer, and feeling she has found her true home, has never looked back.  We speak with her about her journey to mountain and the healing modalities she is now exploring.

We begin the show this week discussing some of the hot research being conducted in studying next week’s solar eclipse, including a citizen science project that will allow you to watch the eclipse live, for over an hour, via a series of telescopes networked along the eclipse’s path of totality, enjoy!

The Futures (with Bobby on iPad) interviewing Mt. Shasta innkeeper Mary Donnelly, RN

Listen to 58 Future Now Wise Democracy

This week we are on the  road in beautiful Port Townsend, Washington, visiting Jim Rough, founder of www.wisedemocracy.org and Casandra Firman, Jim’s wife and partner in updating democracy as we know it. We all know about the importance of voting, and the necessities of jury duty and national defence as citizens, but have you heard of collaborative ‘choice creation?’ Jim and Cassandra help us understand what that means and why it so important for our modern democracy to embrace. In today’s show we also explore related concepts, such as ‘to-beism’ in relation to the economy, unity through choice creation, the role of George Washington as a ‘space creator,’ building trust, and other elements in keeping our system up-to-date. Enjoy!

Meeting with Jim Rough and Casandra Firman 

Listen to 57 Future Now -

We are on a roadtrip to Seattle and doing our podcast from AirB&B’s for the next couple of shows. This week is on the road in Ashlandfrom Ashland, a cultural hotspot known for great art galleries, theaters, restaurants, and the home of the world famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  We saw the opening production of MacBeth, and Dune, part 2. 

Much to discuss and explore this week, as the future is happening now at an increasingly exponential rate, from space adventures  to musical  AI, and human behavior insights.  Enjoy!

Listen to 56 Future Now Show

Some cool stories this week, including our very own Taylor Barcroft’s admission he is a Swiftie, in the Taylor Swift sense of the word. Who knew?  Besides sharing his Swiftie passion he updates us on the latest in Apple Tech, waveforms of the word ‘water’ in many languages onboard Europa Clipperincluding what’s coming up soon, like Siri 2 this summer!   If you’ve ever wondered what Hitler sounds like if he spoke native English, wonder no more, we play you one of the AI clips that has gone viral.  This clip did inspire a political conversation on authoritarianism and US politics, which is rare for us. 

The Europa Clipper mission is coming up soon and we share with you some of the magic of this space adventure, as it is exploring a fellow water world in our very own solar system.  There is a cool plaque about water on board, and a world class poem about water, which is quite delightful!

Europa Clipper’s planned trajectory over the Jovian moon