Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author, and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the parallel computers that are the basis for the processors used for AI and most high-performance computer chips. He is now a founding partner with Applied Invention, working on new ideas in cybersecurity, medicine, and agriculture.

Kevin Kelly is the founding executive editor of WIRED magazine, the former editor and publisher of the Whole Earth Review, and a bestselling author of books on technology and culture, including Excellent Advice for Living. Subscribe to Kevin’s newsletter, Recomendo, at recomendo.com.

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Who are Danny Hillis and Kevin Kelly?

[07:56] How Danny and Kevin first met through Stewart Brand.

[09:58] The funniest person who ever opened Danny’s interview box of unusual objects.

[14:01] Danny’s transition to Disney as a Disney Fellow and Vice President of Imagineering.

[19:12] The contrast between engineering and artistic approaches to problem-solving.

[28:56] The development of parallel computing and founding Thinking Machines.

[37:15] The three criteria by which projects are chosen at Applied Invention.

[40:36] Zero-trust packet routing (ZPR) and the future of cybersecurity.

[46:46] Learning by “hanging out” with experts like Seymour Papert, Marvin Minsky, and Richard Feynman.

[59:20] Danny’s work in biotechnology and cancer research with David Agus.

[01:07:44] Staying sustainable with systems-oriented thinking in agriculture — as nature intended.

[01:16:10] Danny’s superpower.

[01:17:48] Homeschooling, education on the move, and the influence of Mrs. Wilner.

[01:22:00] The failure of Thinking Machines and other regrets/surprises.

[01:26:00] The “Entanglement” that blurs natural and technological boundaries.

[01:30:54] The current state of AI versus true intelligence.

[01:34:34] How AI may help humanity better understand its place on the intelligence spectrum.

[01:39:42] What the future looks like to a short-term pessimist/long-term optimist.

[01:50:50] The cone of silence we never heard from again.

[01:53:10] Debugging dementia and other diseases.

[01:58:05] The MRI alternative Danny’s tackling.

[02:00:51] We don’t we have a freezer version of the consumer microwave oven?

[02:01:23] Danny’s place in pinch-to-zoom iPhone innovation history.

[02:04:51] The pros and cons of patents for inventors and society.

[02:08:01] Inventors Danny finds inspiring.

[02:10:04] Danny’s cause-and-effect heresy.

[02:14:47] Quantum computing and its implications.

[02:18:34] The scientific pursuit of understanding consciousness.

[02:23:00] The question Danny asks himself before investing time in a project.

[02:25:26] Danny’s 10,000-year billboard.

[02:29:49] Parting thoughts.

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#419 Kelly Johnson: Skunk Works