The Free Software Paradigm and the Hacker Ethic

This dialogue is preceded by an introduction about Richard Stallman and the power of “code”, by Lawrence Lessing, as well as a detailed biography of Richard revised by himself. In the conversation following this, Stallman analyzes the origin and validity of the ‘hacking’ and ‘hack’ concepts and the differences between ‘hackers’ and ‘crackers’. He then describes in detail the concept, dimension, forms of creation and the development of software code, especially free software and its implementation framework. He later reflects on and outlines his vision of the relationship between the use of technology and ethics, and about ethical hackers. He also talks about the good and bad behavior of companies and, in this context, his criticism of Corporatocracy. Afterward, he describes concepts about how the creation of software code works compared with other creative arts, such as literature. He goes on to analyze the mechanisms for how ideas are patented in the industrial world, in particular the case of software development. He finally talks about why his vision of free software remains valid and how it should be dealt with during education.

Order in Cyberspace Can Only Be Maintained with a Combination of Ethics and Technology

John Perry Barlow starts the dialogue explaining the reasons that led him to draw up and disclose his Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, in Davos. He then discusses why he believes that people who use the term ‘intellectual property’ have got the wrong idea about it, and puts forward his ideas about frontiers in general and in particular the electronic frontier. He deliberates on whether the Economy of Ideas is capitalist, socialist or Marxist, and whether it should be supervised by someone or not. He also explains why cyberspace has still not been dominated by any world power, and explores the contradiction of why the differences between the rich and the poor have increased considerably since the onset of the global Internet revolution, what the cause of this is, and what has happened to all the hopes placed in the Internet by the underprivileged. Finally, he talks about how the structure of local cultures in cyberspace and their relationship with the global culture of the Internet is evolving.

The Challenge of Climate Change

In this conversation, Nobel Prize winner Mario J. Molina reflects on the ethical side of science. He explains how several decades ago, together with the scientist F. Sherwood Rowland, he predicted that human activity was endangering the ozone layer. They discovered the mechanisms which could bring about the destruction of the layer due to the continuous release of industrial compounds, such as the so-called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), into the atmosphere. Professor Molina relates how the issue with the ozone layer was the first example of a problem on a truly global scale for science and, as such, had to be tackled, because without the ozone layer, life on our planet would not have evolved as we know it. Education and training are proving a great help with how the present challenge of stopping or mitigating the daunting problem of global warming should be approached. In the dialogue, different courses of action for persuading both decision-makers and the public are proposed. It is however proving rather difficult to achieve and something which, according to Professor Molina, is also related to education.

From Casimir Forces to Black-Body Radiation: Quantum and Thermal Fluctuations

This dialogue with physicist Alejandro W. Rodríguez is in two parts. The first part, which took place in the MIT campus, reflects on how theory has been overtaking experimentation in recent developments in science. It also addresses the subject of the Casimir forces and their effects by using devices which benefit from them in everyday life. Later, Alejandro explains why the vacuum is not empty; and, what are the "virtual photons". In the second part, Alejandro explains his current research in the Department of Electrical Engineering of Princeton University, focusing on the black body; and quantum and thermal processes of electromagnetic fluctuations at the nanoscale, where the rules of quantum mechanics now hold sway. He is now studying quantum fluctuations and how the forces and energy exchanged between objects work. This all-important area is the current driving force for development in the field of thermovoltaic energy and thermal panels for capturing light; an area with a revolutionary potential capable of changing the existing relationship of humans with energy, technology and the environment, in other words, with the planet.

Touching the Soul of Michelangelo

The restorer-scientist, Gianluigi Colalucci, starts this dialogue explaining the difference between an artist or creator and a restorer. He then describes the emotions he felt and the importance played by touch in his restoration work of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, and what spiritual trace he encountered beneath their surface. Next, he explains the differences existing today between the concepts of 'Restoration' and 'Conservation', which is followed by a reflection on the concept of ‘original’ and how it is interpreted differently in the Eastern and Western worlds. Later, he argues why both the artist and the restorer should clear up their doubts before beginning to work, and finally explains the reasons why a work of art is for everyone and is part of the human condition.

We Want Robots to See and Understand the World

Antonio Torralba, member of MIT CSAIL, opens the dialogue by describing the research he performs in the field of computer vision and related artificial intelligence (AI). He also compares the conceptual differences and the context of the early days of artificial intelligence—where hardly any image recording devices existed—with the present situation, in which an enormous amount of data is available. Next, through the use of examples, he talks about the huge complexity faced by research in computer vision to get computers and machines to understand the meanings of what they “see” in the scenes, and the objects they contain, by means of digital cameras. As he explains afterward, the challenge of this complexity for computer vision processing is particularly noticeable in settings involving robots, or driverless cars, where it makes no sense to develop vision systems that can see if they cannot learn. Later he argues why today’s computer systems have to learn “to see” because if there is no learning process, for example machine learning, they will never be able to make autonomous decisions.

Mind, Brain, and Behavior

In this dialogue, the Harvard neuroscientist, Alvaro Pascual-Leone initially reflects on the importance of ‘unlearning’ and forgetting. He then gives a detailed explanation of, and how he carries out, transcraneal magnetic stimulation (TMS) and how he uses this technology to fight diseases, as well as explaining his experiments on inattentional blindness. He then discusses how the brain acts as a hypothesis generator and whether the brain, the mind and the soul are different things or not. Later reflect on the questions: Is the mind and what we are a consequence of the brain’s structure? Do changes in the brain change our reality? And why are a person’s dreams important? Then he explains how freewill and decision-making work from the brain, and relates his vision of intelligence and where it may be generated from, explaining the differences between the mind and the brain. He finally reflects on what is known so far about the brain’s “dark energy” and the way we are continuously being surprised by the wonders of the brain's plasticity.

“Affective Computing” Is Not an Oxymoron

In this dialogue, the scientist Rosalind W. Picard from MIT Media Lab begins by explaining why the expression "Affective computing" is not an oxymoron, and describes how they are trying to bridge the gap between information systems and human emotions in her laboratory. She details how they are attempting to give computers and digital machines better abilities so that they can “see” the emotions of their users, and outlines what a machine would have to be like to pass the Turing ‘emotions’ test. Rosalind goes on to describe why emotion is part of all communication, even when the communication itself might not explicitly have emotion in it, arguing that consciousness also involves feelings that cannot be expressed and why emotional experience is an essential part of the normal functioning of the conscious system. Later she outlines her research in affective computing, where they managed to measure signals using a sensor that responds to some human emotion or feelings, and explains how technology can become a sort of ‘affective prosthesis’ to help the disabled, and people with difficulties, in understanding and handling emotions.

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

Henry Jenkins, former professor of humanities, MIT, is one of the leading science authorities in the analysis of New Media. Today, he is Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at USC. In this dialogue, Jenkins explains how technology is transforming the traditional view of humanities. He outlines his vision of convergence culture in his book, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. He explains why he thinks the idea of copyright is an aberration. He goes on to relate the causes for conglomerates losing control of media flows and how to deal with this situation. He describes the new logic framework under which our current participatory culture is run. He defines himself in this dialogue as a critical utopian trying to demonstrate how to harness the great power that changes taking place in new media have on people. Emphasizing the ‘new social skills’, which bring about new forms of ethics, interactions, politics, types of economic activities and legal culture, in the clash between the new digital media and the old mass media.

The Laws of Thermodynamics Tell You What Is and What Is Not Possible

Avelino Corma, the distinguished research chemist explains why scientific discovery is difficult. He then explains how ‘molecular recognition’ is achieved in nanochemistry, how molecular design and creating nanoreactors with zeolites is carried out in the laboratory to trap nanoparticles and make them react selectively, and what is meant by the ‘sociology of nanoparticles’. The relationship of chemistry with brain function or genome evolution is also considered. He then reflects on the role of chemistry from ancient times, when the discovery and synthesis of ammonia enabled the development of agriculture and societies, to the world as we know it today. The reason why chemistry is a fundamental discipline for balancing our ‘energy basket’ is also discussed, particularly with regard to achieving sustainable development of our planet.