Bryant McGill's Blog, page 14

Quantum Supremacy, AI, and Humanity’s Accelerating Crossroads with insights from Julia McCoy

On December 9th, while much of the world was focused on AI advancements like OpenAI’s launch of Sora and the expanding capabilities of GPT models, **Google quietly unleashed a game-changer**. Their new quantum computing chip, named **Willow**, emerged without the usual media fanfare, but its significance cannot be overstated. In Julia McCoy’s words, “We are living through what scientists, physicists, engineers, and AI researchers have been striving toward for over five decades.” The launch ...

The New Revival: Nostalgia, Cultural Engineering, and the War for the Future

### Self selection as Natural SelectionHistory is a garden where ideologies are sown like seeds. These seeds sprout into beliefs, customs, music, jobs, and lifestyles, creating cultural ecosystems. The gardeners—those who hold power—decide which crops are nurtured and which are weeded out. They water these narratives with media, fertilize them with cultural reinforcements, and shield them from disruptive ideas like a farmer warding off invasive species. But what happens when the garden is de...

Understanding the War for Agency: Your Future through Self-selection as Natural Selection

### Self-selection as Natural SelectionAfter I published *Voice of Reason* and began building a global audience, I did something the system found deeply problematic: I started incrementally explaining in live streams how technology works and illuminated what the future might hold And it's impact to literally millions of people. This wasn't speculation; it was reasoned extrapolation rooted in decades of studying cutting-edge tech, humanities, and cultural shifts. I became a hybrid of Carl Sag...

The Weizmann Institute of Science and the SAMPL Lab

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is renowned not only for its groundbreaking scientific research but also for fostering a vibrant culture of creativity and intellectual engagement. This dynamic environment is enriched by initiatives that blend science with the arts, as well as platforms that encourage critical thinking and community interaction.One such initiative is the "Culture at Sela" program, housed in the Michael Sela Auditorium. This program offers a diverse array...

Beer bio-reactors: brewing, biomes, and emergence in the human gut-brain axis (second brain)

In the vast tapestry of human history, few technological endeavors rival the ingenuity and biological significance of brewing. The practice of brewing beer, guided by the German Beer Purity Law (*Reinheitsgebot*) and refined over millennia, stands as humanity's oldest large-scale bio-reactive process. It is a living testament to iterative refinement, microbial mastery, and deep symbiosis between human physiology and the microbial world. This interplay suggests the possibility of emergent pheno...

Real Life-Extension Chronicles: Pets as Consciousness Preservation Companions

## PLUG IN YOUR PUGHi. This is Bryant. It may surprise my readers, but in 1999, as a lifelong cybernetics enthusiast and a fervent transhumanist, I took a profound step into the speculative realm of life extension. I received my intake package from Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a pioneering organization that promised to preserve my brain in the event of catastrophic injury or death. The idea was straightforward yet profoundly audacious: my brain would be cryogenically frozen, awaiting a f...

How Tech Is Breaking the Rules of Biology with Emily Chang

### A Posthuman EraFrom IVG to artificial wombs, virtual twins, and digital eternity, these technologies push us toward a **posthuman** reality where the boundaries of life, identity, and mortality blur. I find myself both awestruck and apprehensive. While these innovations hold the potential to alleviate suffering and expand human possibilities, they demand careful reflection to navigate their ethical and societal impact.At the heart of it all, we must ask: Are these advancements enhancin...

Wilding Minds: The Rise of Heterogeneous Behavioral Interfaces and The End of Limiting Conformity

### Have You Ever Wanted to Be One-of-a-Kind? In a world where individuality is often reduced to a brand, a niche, or a fleeting sense of personal distinction, the desire to be truly unique—to live as an original—is a quiet yearning that many feel but seldom know how to achieve. As we step into an age defined by artificial intelligence, the tools to manifest individuality are no longer aspirational but attainable. AI is on the cusp of redefining not just how we communicate but who we are, ...

Ah, the Dream of a Purely Analog, Miniaturized Turing Machine or Computational Device Wristwatch

Ah, the dream of a purely analog, miniaturized Turing machine or computational device is a tantalizing one—particularly for those who revel in the elegant fusion of mechanical ingenuity and analog complexity. While such a device might not yet exist in the realm of practical watchmaking, there are fascinating precedents in history and speculative design that hint at the possibility.### **Historical and Analog Inspirations**1. **The Antikythera Mechanism** Often considered the first kno...

IYKYK—And If You Don’t, You Might be Living in a CRAPPY Bio-region...