AI, Super Reality & The Cognitive Age, 24 Books, A Mindfulness Meditation, & A Poll
Ed 8 | The grftf Newsletter
Hi friends -
The media and social media inundate us with negativity about how the world is going.
Don’t buy into it! Yes, there’s tons of uncertainty, change, and chaos. But we are well-positioned to make the future a great place for humans.
We can focus on the dying world or get on with building a better one to replace it.
It’s up to us.
Enjoy this week’s edition.
Misha
What you’re getting this week:
Ep 8 of The grftf Podcast - AI, Super Reality, & the Cognitive Age
24 Books for Your 2024 Reading List
Last chance to join BECOME A WEB3 LEADER
A 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation
Latest from The grftf Podcast
Ep 8 | AI, Super Reality, & the Cognitive Age
In this episode, I’m joined by visionary thinker, John Nosta. It’s a fascinating conversation about the future of AI and its impact on humanity. John shares his vision of a 'Super Reality' where AI enables us to see and understand the world in dimensions beyond our human senses. He discusses the future possibilities brought by AI technology, especially Large Language Models (LLMs), and why he believes AI is the 'third window' into humanity, following the telescope and microscope.
ABOUT JOHN NOSTA:
John Nosta is a thought leader at the intersection of technology, science, medicine, and innovation. He’s the founder of NOSTALAB, a globally recognized innovation think tank, where he defines, dissects, and deliberates global trends in technology.
Ranked among the leading global influencers in innovation and technology, he has been honored with titles ranging from “most admired” to “top disruptor” in various fields including technology, innovation, life sciences, and the pharmaceutical industry.
He’s a popular speaker across the globe, where he presents vibrant and insightful perspectives on the future of innovation. His focus on guiding companies, NGOs, and governments through the dynamics of exponential change is complemented by his keen understanding of the diffusion of innovation into complex systems, particularly in technology, AI, and LLMs.
His writing contributions are frequent and influential, with over 500 articles published in Fortune, Forbes, Psychology Today, Bloomberg, and prestigious peer-reviewed journals like The American Journal of Physiology, Circulation, and The American Journal of Hematology.
Earlier in his career, John co-authored significant research in cardiovascular physiology, focusing on cell volume regulation, acute myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death.
He has held key positions at major agencies like Ogilvy CommonHealth, including roles such as Chief Creative Officer, Chief Strategic Officer, and Unit President.
Now Here’s Ep 8:
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24 Books for Your 2024 Reading List
1. Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet
by
If you want to understand the most powerful technology in the world and learn how use it to succeed in the future.
2. Our Next Reality: How the AI-powered Metaverse Will Reshape the World
by Alvin Wang Graylin, Louis Rosenberg, Neal Stephenson (Foreword)
Why immersive eyewear and interactive AI agents could make our world a magical place or deeply compromise our humanity.
3. The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma
by Mustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar (Contributor)
Why AI will create immense prosperity but bring unprecedented risks and how we might contain them while we have the chance.
4. Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
by Ethan Mollick
What it means to think and work together with smart machines, and why it's imperative that we master that skill.
5. Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence
by Kate Crawford
What it takes to make AI, how it centralizes power, & what is at stake as massive tech companies reshape the world.
6. Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines
by Joy Buolamwini
Why AI should be for the people and by the people, not just the privileged few.
7. Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
by Yuval Noah Harari
The complex relationship between information and truth, bureaucracy and mythology, wisdom and power from the Stone Age to AI.
8. Virtual Society: The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience
by Herman Narula
Learn why the metaverse offers a new universe of ideas that offers users unprecedented opportunities to create, explore and find meaning.
9. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
by Ben Horowitz
Mandatory reading for every leader.
10. Without Their Permission: The Story of Reddit and a Blueprint for How to Change the World
by
A must-read if you want to build something new or change the world.
11. Smart Rivals: How Innovative Companies Play Games That Tech Giants Can't Win
by Feng Zhu, Bonnie Yining Cao
How to create new competitive advantages by offering product features and benefits that tech giants and other competitors cannot match.
12. How Infrastructure Works: Inside the Systems That Shape Our World
by Deb Chachra
A path for transforming and rebuilding our shared infrastructure to be not just functional but also equitable, resilient, and sustainable.
13. The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform the Way We Buy, Sell, and Create
by Steve Kaczynski, Scott Duke Kominers
Learn how NFTs can be used to build highly engaged and intensely loyal communities around products and brands.
14. God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning
by Meghan O'Gieblyn
What it might mean to be authentically human in the age of artificial intelligence.
15. The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain Is Different and How to Understand Yours
by Chantel Prat
Learn why no two brains are alike, who individual differences in brain functioning are pervasive and are fundamental to defining what is “normal.”
16. The Learning Game: Teaching Kids to Think for Themselves, Embrace Challenge, and Love Learning
by Ana Lorena Fábrega
Practical tools to design a new approach to learning―leave behind the game of school and prepare your kids for the game of life.
17. Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture
by Kyle Chayka
A timely history and investigation of a world ruled by algorithms, which determine the shape of culture itself.
18. The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology
by Nita Farahany
Learn how neurotechnology is forcing us to rapidly take control of our cognitive freedom and right to self-determination.
19. 8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World
by Jennifer D. Sciubba
Required reading for business leaders, investors, and anyone who wants to understand what our future looks like.
20. The First Generation: The Past, Present and Future of Humanity’s Relationship with the Environment
by Hannah Ritchie
Rethink almost everything you know and learn what we must focus on so we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations.
21. The Future of Geography: How the Competition in Space Will Change Our World (Politics of Place)
by Tim Marshall
An essential read about global power, politics, and the future of humanity.
by Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
Answers to every question about space you’ve ever wondered about, and many you’ve never considered.
23. 50 Quantum Physics Ideas You Really Need to Know
by Joanne Baker
From Schrodinger's cat to Einstein's theory of relativity, energy conservation to speed of light—a complete introduction to the most important quantum physics concepts in history.
24. To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery
by Neil deGrasse Tyson , Lindsey Nyx Walker
For science junkies and fans of astrophysics, an enlightening adventure into the farthest reaches of the cosmos.
Last Chance to Join BECOME A WEB3 LEADER
Web3 is the technology on which the future is being built.
My BECOME A WEB3 LEADER course is where the leaders of the future are minted.
It’s time to take your game to the next level. Join me for Cohort 8.
It will be three potent days — February 14, 15, 16 — of immersion in new ideas, world-changing technology, and brilliant people
Last chance to apply here: Become a Web3 Leader by Misha da Vinci
A 10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation
Read Write Own is a gamechanger. Looking forward to reading the other books on this list. Thank you!
loved this!