Endemic Pathogens Are Making You Crazy And Then Killing You: Toxoplasmosis Spotlight

In February 2022, Jim Keller organized a scientific anarchism event in Woodside, California. Scientific anarchism, a term borrowed from the controversial philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend, concerns the way science is performed in the laboratory, and the way that ideas are generated, refuted, and incorporated into the accepted scientific body

Scientific & Philosophical Anarchy with Justin Murphy- March 2022

Science, philosophy and doing whatever you want. Other Life Show - Recorded March 2022

Why Our Belief Systems Create Misperceptions- Published in The European, Nov 2014

Should we be shocked that people believe irrational things? Not really. We bombard children with information before we teach them how to think critically. It’s a daily mass murder of malleable mindsets. Since I can remember, I’ve contemplated that perhaps I might just be an imposter, some sort

Our Inability to Plan Strategically- Published in The European, May 2015

We would do better for the world spreading critical reasoning tools than raising endless sums of capital to be fluttered around. Last month, I was asked to present at a Silicon Valley conference focused around ‘Strategy’. This gave me hope, as strategy seems to be one of the most under-appreciated

The Death Of My Father- Diary March 2021

They asked me if I wanted to see the body. I wasn't sure what they meant. There was my father- who a few days before I had been shouting at to try and fight harder- crumpled, small, wrapped up in a white sheet. The rigor mortis of his limbs aggressively

Land Of The Free?- Published in IM-1776, Jan 2021

America was built on freedom. A freedom that descends from painstakingly crafted documents that defined an objective: to protect the individual from systems that could encroach their natural rights. These ideas were put forward by minds lost to the myths of history. The Federalist Papers were written by pseudonymous polymaths

Your Walden Moment- Unpublished, June 2017

Did you ever read Thoreau’s Walden? In the book, Thoreau lays out his 2 year adventure cutting himself off from society and living in woodland owned by his mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s an amazing tale of seclusion, self-sufficiency, introspection and personal growth. It's definitely worth reading. One

Viva Las Vegas? Published in The Spectator, May 2020

The West is dying and we are killing her. We’re proud to destroy our own freedoms and repackage failure as democratic progress. We champion our rolling-out of red tape, the bureaucratic creep that strangles a nation’s liberty. The American Dream has been replaced by mass-packaged mediocrity porn, encouraging

Joining Intel- Published on Medium, May 2019

In February 2019, I joined Intel as Senior Director for Strategic Technology Initiatives. Here’s why I joined: * The role of hardware. After five years of focusing on artificial intelligence and software in VC, it appeared to me that all tech progress (and potentially then *all* scientific progress) fundamentally depends

Epistemological Anarchism- Diary, Feb 2022

My aunt died on Valentines Day. I knew it because I couldn't sleep. I stayed up the whole night having heart palpitations. I texted my close friends to tell them I was having an anxiety attack, for no apparent reason. The same thing had happened two years back, the night

Marvin Minsky Didn’t Live To See Artificial General Intelligence. You Might Not Either. - Unpublished, January 2016

As we mourn the loss of Marvin Minsky, one of the founding fathers of Artificial Intelligence, let us look at the significance of what he started. AI is an undertaking that should be considered one of the most significant attempts to improve the human condition. Yet, much more of today’

The Hazy Blur Between Parody and Reality In The New Technological Era- Unpublished Essay, August 2018

‘We can get you the capital by end of day’ was just one of the many emails that the Rocket AI team had received after unveiling a website about their new startup. Launching in 2017, Rocket AI claimed to be the new global leader in neurologically-inspired applied machine learning, building

Love and Beauty in a Time of Machine Intelligence- Published in The European, Jan 2015

Why we find beauty where we least expect it. Last year at a conference titled Transhumanist Visions, I presented on a question that had perplexed me for the last few years- the idea of whether a futurist technological age - some sort of singularity era - was aesthetically beautiful.  As

6am- Published in The Idealist Magazine, Nov 2015

It’s an appropriate time to write about sleep. 6am in San Francisco, the morning light jabbing in like lightning bolts through the blinds of my bedroom bay windows. The sound of early risers in nearby houses, opening shutters, closing doors, going to work, again, again. It’s the time

The Grandest Vision For Humanity- Wedding Speech, 2014

Wedding speech for Miranda and Ruby, Berkeley Planetarium, March 2014 The universe is complex and beautiful. When we listen to stories of humanity, life and death, we can’t fathom the complexity of the narratives of all those who have lived before us, of all those who will live after

Finance: An Industry Based on Psychology- Published on Medium, November 2015

Can Bayesian causal maps improve investor decision making? Contents PART 1 1. Holding Venture Capital in the Wrong Regard 2. Testing Old Assumptions in Venture Capital 3. LPs Need to Not Outsource by Necessity 4. Why Investment is a Psychological Game 5. Investment from First Principles- the Need for Systematic

Leveraging Compute Talk- Columbia University, November 2019

With access to data and compute allowing for demonstrable breakthroughs in machine learning, what role does Moore’s Law play for those working in software? How does data science and machine learning contribute to Moore’s Law continuation? What does technology progress look like in practice?

The Future Doesn’t Care About Your Start-Up- Published on Medium, July 2014

Venture Capitalists of the future need to resemble the Philosopher-Kings of the Past. How do we find a way to ensure and safeguard a positive advancement for humanity whilst fulfilling short-term financial incentives? Innovation and venture capital in a world of global risks Throughout a philosophy degree, you’re confronted

Rocket AI: 2016’s Most Notorious AI Launch and the Problem with AI Hype- Published Medium, December 2016

It’s 3 AM on a warm Thursday night in December, a usually quiet street in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona is bustling with activity, as a cohort of 200 artificial intelligence researchers leave in single-file out of a sprawling yellow mansion. The police count heads as the researchers film

Dangerous Minds- The Risk of Belief Systems. Published in The European, November 2014

On the dichotomy between belief and action. As a species, we are faced by global threats and potential existential risks. An existential risk, as defined by Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom, is a situation that would either annihilate Earth-originating intelligent life or permanently and drastically curtail its potential...one where

First Of The First- Diary, Jan 1, 2022

The first of the year. There were too many sequins tonight. I don't like crowds. I like music when it's so heavy that my heart vibrates. I want to feel like I'm dying. I am. I should sleep more. I want to go to Cheesecake Factory. I'd like Ross Ulbricht

Diary Excerpt, 1998, 9 years old

Dear Diary, I am on holiday. When I get back to school, my teacher will ask us what we did over the holiday period. I will tell them 'I was captured and held hostage in a prison of large houses that surrounded a square ditch of water that humans swam

The Eternal Party- Published iD Magazine, May 2015

What happens when you mix Dan Bilzerian, Steve Aoki, and a giraffe? This is not the beginning of a joke, but rather a recount of an unlikely trio that unexpectedly hosted a party at Dan’s mansion in Beverly Hills last week. I came with my good friend Maria Konovalenko,

The Crossing, Sci-Fi Novel Extract, Published in The Idealist 2014

She came to me, her arms outstretched with their sharp coldness, reminiscent of industry. I touched the shine of her steel, mesmerized by the reflection of the light. I was falling again, tantalized by all that she represented and all that she promised. She had picked me up at the

Thinking About Love- Published in The European, June 2015

Weddings are usually special occasions, but a few months ago, two friends of mine celebrated their union in a less-than-usual fashion. The ceremony took place inside a local planetarium where guests were reminded of the vastness of the cosmos. A philosophically and altruistically motivated couple they asked a few of