PyJamas Pillow Talk

My guest today is John Yang. He is a 16 year old currently building 小K.AI, a friendly chatbot that helps to create high-quality learning environments for left-behind children in rural China at scale. We discussed a wide variety of topics, including why John believes we will attain AGI in 5-10    years, his learning process, and building a non-profit AI bot by himself. Please enjoy the show.

• [2:00] John’s self-introduction
• [3:33] Forming a tribe of peers who inspire ourselves
• [8:51] Self-directed learning and meta-learning skills
• [20:25] Growing up in multiple cities, formative childhood experiences and maturing
• [29:27] Finding a balance between creativity and effectiveness
• [34:55] Validating macro frameworks
• [38:17] The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin （三體系列-劉慈欣）
• [46:50] John's argument for why AGI will be here in the next 5-10 years
• [1:08:20] What is artificial intelligence?
• [1:17:10] AI ethics and safety
• [1:20:08] 小K, and its business and technical aspects (data, model architecture)
• [1:38:00] Advice for people who want to build real skills
• [1:44:28] Managing both building and selling in day-to-day life

My guest today is Elena Hill-Artamonova. She is currently a PhD candidate for psychology at The Manchester Metropolitan University, and has Master of Science in Psychology from University of London and Master of Arts in Political Science from The University of Manchester. As a dyslexic herself, Elena is also passionate about helping other dyslexics excel academically. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:39] Elena’s self-introduction
• [1:20] Why did Elena choose to go to UK from Russia?
• [3:17] Elena’s struggles with expressing herself back in Russia
• [7:00] Our cultural background’s influence on our thinking and encouraging children to be independent thinker
• [15:42] Is the English or Russian language more beautiful?
• [16:57] How does Russia’s rich cultural history permeate through her citizens’ thinking?
• [27:55] Three cultural synthesis of Russia
• [31:25] Current state of events in Russia, view on China and geopolitics
• [43:58] The American Dream and outsiders succeeding in traditional systems
• [53:36] How did formal training in disciplines like anthropology and political science influenced Elena’s way of thinking? What was interacting with shamans like?
• [1:09:44] Elena’s experience with dyslexia and managing it to excel academically
• [1:18:04] Elena’s audio presentation of her research on dark triads and big five personality variables

My guest today is Yair Zick. He is an assistant professor in the College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Prior to that, he was an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore’s School of Computing. He was also a postdoctoral research fellow at Carnegie Mellon University from 2014 to 2016, and completed his PhD at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Please enjoy the show. 

• [1:43] Brouwer fixed-point theorem and its relevance to game theory
• [5:13] What is algorithmic mechanism design?
• [12:28] What are constraints that make division of goods really hard to solve?
• [24:57] Utilitarianism, egalitarianism and Nash bargaining solution
• [32:40] Pre-requisites for certain conditions in algorithmic mechanism design (e.g. fairness) to hold
• [37:30] Why is National University of Singapore’s former module allocation system overly complicated?
• [48:52] What is Yair’s research process like? What is sub-modular property in allocation of goods?
• [1:01:40] Optimising schedule for productivity
• [1:06:30] Current readings
• [1:14:14] Thoughts on love and marriage
• [1:19:31] Aspirations for his children and parenting philosophy

My guest today is Michael Vawter. He is the co-founder of two businesses- Robot Academy, which is a STEM education centre for kids, and Bleeps and Loops, which promotes and educates electronic music production. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:37] Michael’s self-introduction
• [1:43] What prompted Michael to take coursework in psychology, organisational studies, economics, computer science and vocal performance at college?
• [4:22] Homeschooling and its impact
• [8:29] Becoming champion of First Lego League and designing robots
• [13:04] Allocation of time for projects in different discipline
• [21:57] Morning routines
• [23:39] Productivity systems
• [25:43] Entrepreneurial projects in college
• [27:46] Quitting the first job after a year
• [32:39] Why is Michael bearish about the current VC-backed startup model?
• [34:49] Adapting business models to Covid-19
• [37:43] Modular synthesis and Bleeps and Loops
• [45:01] The social media marketing experience for Bleeps and Loops
• [48:20] Upbringing and religion
• [56:54] Learning photography
• [58:57] Balancing both inner voice and outer chatter

My guest today is Jazil Zaim. He is a member of Gen Z Mafia, and has built startups in the space of affiliate marketing, privacy-focused social media app, and is venturing into the e-commerce space. Please enjoy the show.

• [1:01] What is Gen Z Mafia? How did Jazil chance upon this online community?
• [3:28] Jazil building a new startup
• [6:25] Brick and mortar shops and ideas generation
• [13:55] Jazil’s information diet and cultivating the right community in life
• [18:09] How should people get started in using online communities?
• [20:40] Bootstrapped startups
• [28:55] Is building a company that captures the majority of a market the main goal of Jazil’s professional life?
• [33:38] Tech in a post-COVID world
• [35:46] Recent exodus of tech leaders from San Francisco
• [37:55] Projecting cities that will be startup hubs in the future
• [44:02] Will Singapore’s policies to attract foreign startup talent be effective in encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit among her citizens as well?
• [49:48] Can a person really be anything they want to be in the US?
• [55:35] Should America be split up?
• [1:01:20] How will Jazil define COVID ten years from now?
• [1:06:29] What are some particular aspects of tech that Jazil is most bullish about?
• [1:07:53] Balaji’s idea of a cloud city
• [1:09:48] Jazil’s favourite startup, founder, and person to follow on Twitter 

My guest today is Alyssa Adams. She has a PhD in Physics from Arizona State University and a Bachelors in Physics from East Tennessee State University. She is currently a CIBM Postdoctoral Trainee at University of Wisconsin-Madison and has worked as a data scientist and lab director at VEDA Data Solutions. Please enjoy the show. 

• [1:11] What is the craziest political idea that Alyssa holds?
• [2:37] Designing a government from scratch in the 21st century
• [3:40] How should we view ethics if it is just a construct by humans?
• [7:40] What are some experiences that Alyssa value more than her peers?
• [10:40] What are the phases in evolution that capture Alyssa’s imagination?
• [13:05] Are the underlying rules of life simple or complex?
• [15:31] Are we moving in the right direction in the theory of everything?
• [19:42] Is our current modelling of neutrons in deep neural networks optimal?
• [24:09] How did Alyssa’s polymathic view of the world come about?
• [28:00] What advice will Alyssa give to her younger self re: making friends?
• [32:06] Why the pronoun ‘they/them’ for Alyssa?
• [34:13] Labels in society
• [37:41] Cultivating a sense of happiness and managing depression
• [48:31] Thoughts on current scientific and religious explanation of how the universe came about 
• [56:08] Filling the gaps that may have been left behind by religion
• [1:00:15] Is Alyssa afraid of death? What makes a good life?
• [1:04:03] Measures of intelligence and creating truly intelligent machines
• [1:06:56] Ethics in creating sentient and intelligent robots
• [1:08:54] What does it mean to be human?
• [1:13:28] What is emergence?
• [1:15:45] State of artificial intelligence
• [1:18:00] Does biology provide the best framework for evolution or will humans come up with something better?
• [1:21:27] What is public data? Management of public data and future of private data
• [1:29:00] Are we living in a simulation?

My guest today is Austin Taylor. He is the host of the podcast Split The Difference, a show dedicated to bridging the political divide in US by creating a community of civil individuals who discuss current political issues. Please enjoy the show.

My guest today is Andrew Copple. He is currently a systems engineer at Boeing and a physics lover. He has a Bachelors of Science in Physics from University of Missouri-Columbia, Master of Science and PhD in Physics from Arizona State University. Please enjoy the show.

P.S.: There are some occasional construction sounds at the start of the episode, the fault is totally mine.

• [0:26] What is the most beautiful idea in physics?
• [1:34] What is dark matter?
• [8:04] Breaking physics down to a college freshman level and the journey of learning physics
• [12:06] Working on crystal synthesis in the lab
• [20:11] Nuclear fission and fusion
• [33:49] Sustainable energy, and weighing the pros and cons of each implementation (e.g. Tesla Powerwall)
• [42:32] Should the length of election cycles be changed? What will US be like moving forward after the recent 2020 Presidential Election?
• [49:48] Fear being pushed in the media
• [55:40] Cultivating a sense of critical thinking in people
• [1:00:43] Encouraging whistle-blowers to create a sense of critical thinking among people
• [1:02:31] Why are many Americans anti-mask?
• [1:04:34] What does a system engineering job entail?
• [1:06:19] Nano structures for solar panels and pivoting from academic research to working at Boeing
• [1:09:32] The current failures of US academic institutions 
• [1:16:09] How can one cultivate a love of learning? How can someone who has limited access to formal education institutions learn?

My guest today is Alan Choudhry. He is author of ‘Introduction to Societal Systems Engineering’, and has Masters of Engineering in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering respectively from McGill University. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:40] What is sustainability?
• [6:17] What technologies will form the pillar of sustainability in the future?
• [13:10] Why are governments and organisations still not calculating the full cost?
• [28:35] Thoughts on China’s economic success, what India can do better and different systems of governance
• [49:52] Solving the problem of fake media
• [53:20] Example of technology that is designed and cannot be misused
• [56:20] Resources to learn about sustainability

My guest today is Liam Clegg. He is a business process analyst at Kopin Corporation, and formerly a visiting instructor at College of the Holy Cross. He has a Master of Science in social science from Caltech. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:40] Liam’s self-introduction on his academic and work background
• [2:04] Liam’s current job as a business process analyst
• [8:47] Benefits of studying mathematics, and how it has helped with learning philosophy/Hegel
• [12:20] How does Liam’s view of economics differ from other people?
• [20:08] What is racism in the United States and why was Liam unsatisfied with the existing literature on the origins of slavery in the US?
• [45:02] Mitigating the narrative fallacy in social science research
• [50:12] Origins of American slavery
• [1:29:24] What is the root cause of racism in US today?

My guest today is Bradley Congram. He is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt, former play-by-play announcer, and a long time vegan. He has a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from Royal Roads University and Master’s Degree in Economics from University of Alberta. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:36] Why did Bradley decide to become a vegan?
• [5:50] Attending parties as a vegan
• [7:04] Making the vegan lifestyle work and cooking delicious vegan meals
• [20:16] Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene and development in Canada, learning how to learn in jiu-jitsu
• [38:04] Books on meta-learning
• [45:25] Bradley’s progression in structuring his BJJ classes
• [49:35] Getting to know the non-obvious details in BJJ
• [56:30] Thoughts on Ortega vs The Korean Zombie, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje

My guest today is Neil Sinhababu, an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore. He wrote Humean Nature and Possible Girls and has taught normative ethics and political philosophy. He majored in philosophy as an undergraduate at Harvard University and obtained a PhD in Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:40] How does Neil view the 2016 US Presidential Election?
• [3:11] Donald Trump’s history of corruption
• [4:50] US-Russia relations
• [6:55] Vladimir Putin and Russia post-Putin
• [8:33] How will Neil’s actions and thoughts change if he was immersed in Russia’s culture of falsehood?
• [9:40] Understanding US media system
• [15:02] Thoughts on tech and legacy media, and the narrative of tech vs legacy media
• [20:08] Getting a sense of Singapore’s political system
• [21:58] Politicians risking their seats and arguments for democracy
• [30:08] US-China relations, institutions, and a stable democratic world government 
• [37:46] What can unite humans in the absence of an alien invasion?
• [39:51] How have the US institutions fared in the Covid-19 pandemic? What should the institutions have done instead?
• [48:02] Thoughts on 2020 Democratic Primary
• [56:25] Neil’s broad social democratic strategy and his thoughts on billionaires’ impact on the system
• [1:04:26] Prediction for upcoming 2020 US Presidential Election
• [1:06:23] Changing the system to prevent undesirable candidates from taking power. Democrats’ knock-out vs Republicans’ submission-hold
• [1:13:58] Influencing votes in favour of Democratic Party
• [1:17:20] Does being a philosophy professor bring about the maximum utility?
• [1:20:00] Media that Neil consumes
• [1:21:46] How does Neil synthesise information and how does he know the worldview that he has is the right one?

My guest today is Christine Seow. She is a filmmaker who graduated from Wee Kim Wee School of Communications and Information at Nanyang Technological University, and was doing a one year course in Beijing Film Academy’s Directing Department until the pandemic occured. 

Her thesis film was awarded the Asian Television Awards Cash Prize and was screened at Fort Myers Film Festival 2018. Several of her documentaries was screened at Freedom Film Festival 2018, where ‘Life After Death’ won the Commendation Award. She has also directed a Viddsee Original documentary series titled ‘While You Sleep’ which won Best Documentary at the Asia Web Awards 2018. She was also involved in a narrative Toggle Original series called Perfect One, which premiered in March 2019.

As a casting associate, Christine has also worked with local renowned directors such as Anthony Chen, Kirsten Tan and Boo Junfeng. She was part of the Youth Jury & Critics Programme during the 2016 Singapore International Film Festival and wrote for SINdie, a local film critic website.

Please enjoy the show.

• [1:10] What is Christine’s first impression of a story that left an impact on her?
• [3:26] How has Christine’s definition of a story evolved over time? Moonlight and how it reflects life.
• [8:42] Will Christine want her audience to understand her message, or have their own interpretation?
• [11:20] How can we approach films as more than entertainment?
• [20:20] Did Christine choose film or did film choose her?
• [22:37] What are stories that Christine has intention to tell but the opportunity has not shown up yet?
• [25:16] How will the nature of film change if there is the ability to record all our experiences and review them?
• [31:25] Are good shots and edits sufficient to make a good film? What are some under appreciated skillsets in film-making? 
• [41:50] How can an aspiring filmmaker sharpen their skills? Recommended media

My guest today is Jacob Wedderburn-Day, CEO and co-founder of Stasher, a travel tech startup that connects travellers looking to store luggage with shops and hotels providing storage space. Prior to Stasher, he got his Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from Oxford and Master’s degree in Economics from University College London. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:28] What was growing up like for Jacob? Education and parenting
• [8:00] Does UK’s education system differ from Singapore’s?
• [12:25] Philosophy and math- foundations in logic but difference in conclusive outcomes
• [17:07] What are some good resources to self-learn philosophy?
• [20:46] Jacob’s preparation for his podcast
• [24:34] Are there ‘right answers’ in philosophy? How should we come to consensus on issues as a society?
• [32:24] What was the Brexit experience like? What will nations be like in the future?
• [42:24] Principal-agent problem and working on the problem at Stasher
• [49:41] Improving the interview process, and establishing a culture at companies
• [58:13] What made Jacob want to be an entrepreneur?
• [1:03:00] How did Stasher get its first 5, 10, 50 customers?
• [1:08:19] Jacob’s weekly/daily schedule
• [1:16:48] What are the media that Jacob consumes?

My guest today is Deanna See. I thought long and hard about how I should introduce her- but I always feel that it is too easy to pigeonhole her and that will do her injustice. She is currently a Cognitive Science and Media Studies double major at University of Virginia. She breaks the norm of a ‘science’ or ‘arts’ person, which is why I am super excited to see what she does next. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:49] Tribalism and coronavirus in the United States
• [4:44] Running a city state vs running a nation state
• [11:40] Incentive structure
• [15:50] Black Lives Matter protests and how they affect people’s view
• [21:08] Experience working at a news agency
• [27:35] Possible transition to an independent media outlet? Truths in media?
• [34:27] How has being a double major in Cognitive Science and Media Studies been for Deanna?
• [36:27] Conformism and standard career paths in Singapore vs carving out own path
• [44:22] How did Deanna spend her gap year?
• [47:29] How will Deanna describe herself?
• [48:12] Developing into the person Deanna is now. Parenting in Singapore
• [1:06:35] Looking forward to the next semester
• [1:11:11] Deanna’s early prediction for herself?

My guest today is Lim Wei Jie, co-founder and director of Foreword Coffee, a social enterprise that seeks to bridge understanding between ‘regular’ people and people with disabilities and special needs. I have a lot of respect for Wei Jie for having the heart to do a social enterprise, and to take the path less travelled as he has never been an employee after he graduated from NUS. I hope this conversation inspires the people out there who are thinking of starting their own social enterprise, but are not quite sure how. I also got Russell Lim, a good friend of mine who linked Wei Jie and I up, on the show as well. Please enjoy the show.

• [0:50] How did Wei Jie and Russell met each other in CAPT?
• [1:50] What sparked Wei Jie’s interest in community issues
• [4:20] A brief introduction to Foreword Coffee
• [6:06] The process of starting Foreword Coffee
• [8:39] Reaching out to special needs school
• [11:10] Testing out training programs for special needs individuals
• [17:24] Why most of us misunderstand what ‘special needs individuals’ really entail
• [19:30] Was there any point when Wei Jie knows Foreword Coffee will work?
• [22:19] What are the big hurdles that Wei Jie has to overcome?
• [27:00] What are other sectors that special needs individuals can contribute to? Any potential advice to employers who wish to employ special needs individuals?
• [34:37] Facing doubts at social enterprise startup competitions and the importance of the human element in creating impact
• [41:36] Is there anything that Wei Jie has changed his mind on 3 years into his entrepreneurial journey?
• [46:02] Foreword Coffee’s customer base
• [48:48] Future plans for Foreword Coffee
• [50:37] How does Wei Jie go about planning for Foreword Coffee?
• [53:26] Was this journey harder or easier than initially expected?
• [55:23] How does Foreword Coffee plan to expand beyond Singapore?
• [58:50] How does Wei Jie feel about having never been an employee after graduating from NUS?
• [1:01:56] How has stigma of special needs individuals change within Foreword Coffee’s ecosystem?

Madison is a competitive climber and has competed in 4 continents representing Canada both as a youth climber and now an Open competitor. In 2016, Madison was a part of the team that opened The Core Climbing Gym in Cambridge, Ontario; The town and gym she currently calls home.

My guest today is Siddharth Jadhav- founder and CEO at Polybee, a startup that seeks to enhance food security with automation. I first spoke to Siddharth when I was looking to get a summer internship- my first interview was very different from the usual ones because Siddharth spent a lot of time explaining the mission behind Polybee. I left the interview feeling fascinated, and I wish that whatever was shared about agriculture was more widely available to the public. This interview is an attempt to capture Siddharth’s knowledge. Please enjoy the show. 

• [0:00] Introduction
• [0:46] Background that Siddharth grew up in
• [10:54] Siddharth’s parents’ attitude towards parenting
• [14:45] Siddharth’s undergrad studies in India and first trip to Singapore
• [23:36] A quick crash course on aerodynamics, natural vs man-made flight
• [41:33] How was the idea for Polybee conceived?
• [1:02:44] Interesting challenges faced at Polybee, and their current progress
• [1:08:22] Has any idea re: running a company changed for Siddharth?
• [1:13:45] Principal-agent problem
• [1:27:41] What is a typical week like for Siddharth and how he manages his time
• [1:38:30] Recommended media

• Understanding Aerodynamics: Arguing from the Real Physics

Abelard Podgorski is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore. His primary research interests are in rationality, normative ethics, and epistemology.

• [0:25] Thoughts on upcoming Singapore General Elections 2020 and US Presidential Election. Is the US primary election hijacked?
• [8:24] Preferred candidate from the Democratic Party and why re-election of Donald Trump will lead to a disaster.
• [16:24] Is the 2016 election of Donald Trump representative of a systematic problem, and have we solved them?
• [19:53] What are systems of governments that Podgorski identifies with?
• [22:39] Why does Podgorski think that people are not morally good?
• [34:11] Why is our morality a little lower on the totem pole of our priorities?
• [39:20] How can someone learn ethics on their own?
• {42:53] Is there objective morality? Does it matter?
• [45:47] Religion and objective morality.
• [46:10] Problems with Divine Command Theory.
• [53:25] Does God exist? Religion and philosophy.
• [1:00:34] What is the strongest argument for the existence of God?
• [1:05:48] Does God have to be all-powerful, all good, and created the Universe? The Cosmological argument for God.
• [1:12:08] Why are bad arguments informative? What can they teach us?
• [1:17:13] Why are some people irrational?
• [1:24:19] Advice for people who seek work-life integration and unity in their life.