Month: September 2025

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AI and the Universe

How are you feeling about AI lately? Excited? Anxious? A bit bewildered? If you’re like most of us, you’re probably riding a rollercoaster of emotions. That’s completely normal. After all, we’re witnessing the birth of a technology wave that’s set to rival the discovery of the steam engine or the rise of the internet. As a technologist, I find myself marveling at the possibilities. But I also understand the concerns, questions and especially change at this scale. It can feel unsettling.

Today, I want to explore what this is all about, why it matters, and what practical steps we can take.

What is AI, really? Artificial intelligence isn’t just about building clever machines or automating tasks. At its heart, I believe AI is humanity’s bold quest to extend our minds. It is the ultimate tool for understanding ourselves, our world, and the universe beyond. Imagine a technology that doesn’t simply crunch numbers but helps us solve mysteries that have stumped us for generations. The grand purpose of AI is to accelerate discovery, deepen insight, and help every one of us flourish through knowledge.

Will that happen? Is this happening? Absolutely! We’re already seeing AI move from science fiction to real science. It is impacting everything from disease diagnosis to energy production, from weather prediction to artistic expression. Here are some examples that I recently came across that inspired me. Warning here, this is very nerdy content, so feel free to skip to the end if you are so inclined.

  • Solving Biology’s Biggest Puzzle: For decades, predicting a protein’s structure from its amino acid sequence was one of biology’s toughest challenges. This is essentially a problem of physics and chemistry, predicting a stable 3D structure from a 1D amino acid sequence. This painstaking experimental work could take a PhD student their entire doctorate to solve for a single protein. AlphaFold’s AI cracked this puzzle in seconds, transforming structural biology, accelerating advanced drug development, and bringing deeper insight into disease. Its latest version, AlphaFold 3, extends this impact by modeling complex interactions between proteins, RNA, and DNA. This breakthrough suggests a paradigm shift.  While physics can be described by elegant mathematics, biology’s immense complexity may be best understood through AI. It may even unlock the mystery to truly decode life.
  • Taming the Hottest Matter in the Universe: Deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) has been applied to control high-temperature plasmas that are hotter than the sun, within tokamak fusion reactors. Plasma is highly unstable, requiring a controller to predict its behavior and adjust massive superconducting magnetic fields within milliseconds. The AI system created a controller able to contain and hold the plasma in specific shapes for record amounts of time, successfully addressing a bottleneck in fusion research.  By learning to balance magnetic fields in real time, AI edges us closer to abundant, clean energy.
  • Modeling Intuitive Physics and Dynamics: Video generation models like Google’s Veo demonstrate an ability to reverse-engineer physics from passive observation (e.g., watching YouTube videos). They accurately model complex dynamics such as liquids, specular lighting, and materials flow. This capability suggests these models are learning an underlying structure, or a “lower dimensional manifold” of the very nature of all creation and our reality. That’s mind-blowing! It is fundamental to building generalized understanding and may even unlock the mysteries of our universe.
  • Advancing Quantum Chemistry and Materials: AI is learning to approximate solutions to Schrödinger’s equation, enabling us to simulate the quantum behavior of electrons with remarkable efficiency. This breakthrough is vital for materials science, as it makes it possible to model the properties of large, complex materials that were previously too costly or computationally intensive to study with traditional methods.
  • Accelerating Algorithmic Innovation: Systems like AlphaEvolve, which blend large language models (LLMs) with evolutionary computing, are already evolving and improving algorithms, finding, for example, faster solutions to complex problems like matrix multiplication. This marks a leap toward intelligent systems that can generate and optimize their own tools. They are evolving themselves. It’s amazing to witness. Yes, I know, also terrifying!

The ultimate aim of creating powerful AI is to build tools that help us. It allows us to better understand the universe and accelerate science to the maximum. If successful, I believe this technology will usher in an era of radical abundance and lead to the profound transformation of the human condition.

Picture a world where disease can be cured mostly in computers, where clean energy is limitless, and where anyone can explore vast new knowledge with the help of an intelligent partner. AI is guiding us towards a time where scarcity, of knowledge, health, and opportunity, can be truly challenged. It’s not about replacing people. It’s about augmenting our potential, surfacing new connections, and igniting a new golden age of discovery. The mission is not to hand over control, but to embrace this power for all humankind. 

As AI continues to reshape our world, I believe we have a responsibility to meet this moment with adaptability, humility, and genuine curiosity. We should be experimenting with new tools, asking bold questions, and venturing beyond familiar boundaries. The most exciting breakthroughs emerge where creativity, technology, and storytelling intersect, so let’s embrace collaboration across disciplines and learn from one another. Above all, let’s serve as ethical stewards, ensuring these innovations benefit everyone, not just ourselves. And as we explore, let’s stay connected to our passions and strengths, blending them with new opportunities to grow, make a difference, and shape a future we can all be proud of.

AI is here, the revolution is real, and the mission is bigger than any one team or company. Let’s approach this with wonder, humility, and courage. Let’s steward this technology toward outcomes that inspire hope and serve the flourishing of all people.

 What will you learn next? What new ideas can you bring? What story do you want to help tell? The future may be unpredictable, but together, we can make it magical.

Let’s build, learn, and dream!

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Rewire for Hope

This post is a bit heavy. If you need to skip it, I won’t mind. I will understand. But if you do read on, I hope you’ll stay with me to the end.

Let’s be honest: things feel pretty bad right now. We have problems. Many people are hurting, frustrated, or scared. Conflicts are erupting in every direction. There are disasters, wars, and pain across the globe. Social media is perpetually buzzing with anger, violence, shocked emotions, and unmitigated outrage. Nothing good is happening, or ever will, it seems. It feels like evil has infected the planet like a parasite and is sucking the life out of us.

Do you ever feel that way? If so, you’re not alone.

I don’t know if you realize it, but it turns out that we are designed to focus on the negative. We fixate on threats, real or imaginary. We tell stories about doomsday and relish revisiting trauma, bad news, and disasters, over and over. This is our natural bias. It’s part of how we’re made.

But why?

Well, I’m sorry to say, it’s because we are human.

Simply put, it helped our ancestors survive. It meant we needed to amplify threats more than rewards. After all, it makes sense: overlooking a predator would be lethal! Forgetting a pleasant sunset or delicious treat wouldn’t matter, but avoiding a treacherous enemy could be a matter of life or death. Our brains have an asymmetrical “negativity bias” to survive. Specifically, the brain’s amygdala (linked to emotion, fear, and threat detection) is highly sensitive and processes negative stimuli much faster than positive ones. Studies show that negative experiences are even encoded in memory more intensely than pleasant ones. That’s why insults stick longer than compliments, and why we prefer to talk about the evil lurking in the clouds of uncertainty rather than the hope of the untapped horizon.

I suppose I could end here. We are built to worry and fret. It’s survival. Optimism is cake without calories and nothing good will come of it. Sorry, everyone. You are doomed. Was that what you were expecting? Ha! Well, I see a ray of hope starting to form on your face, and you don’t even know why. It’s because you know the truth.

Here’s where the story changes, and it’s why I wanted you to read to the end. It turns out that we have more power over ourselves than we give ourselves credit for. It’s true. We hold in our hands the ability to choose. Our natural, survival-tuned human wiring is merely an autopilot that, left unattended, can lead us to despair. But the truth is, we can absolutely take control. Every one of us is equipped with that override. That’s right, you can flip off the autopilot and take the wheel.

In a world full of negativity, doom-scrolling, and reactivity, we can choose a different path. Let’s strive to be the ones who bring light to the darkness, who offer kindness in the face of adversity, who choose to overcome evil with good, and who meet hardship with hope. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be easy or popular. The autopilot is strong. And this doesn’t mean ignoring struggle or pretending everything is perfect. It’s about being proactive and intentional in our approach. It’s about believing in the magic that we hold in our own hands, to bring out the best in ourselves and each other. It’s about making this a better world.

We have the power to inspire, uplift, and transform lives. Let’s use that power to make a positive impact, not just for ourselves, but for each other, right here, right now. Let’s choose to be the change we want to see in the world. Let’s choose to be the ones who bring joy, who bring hope, and who bring light to ourselves and those around us. I believe in each and every one of you, and I know that, together, no matter what’s happening in the world, we can make a positive difference.

Overcome evil with good.
Choose kindness.
Choose compassion.
Choose to be the spark that ignites a brighter future for us all.

We need it, and the world needs it… now more than ever.

Thank you for being here and helping us make a brighter world!

References & Further Reading

  • Daniel Kahneman — Thinking, Fast and Slow (on the brain’s “autopilot” systems)
  • Baumeister et al., “Bad Is Stronger Than Good,” Review of General Psychology (2001)
  • Viktor Frankl — Man’s Search for Meaning (on hope amid suffering)
  • Romans 12:21 — “Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
  • Desmond Tutu — “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

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Unleashing Impossible Dreams

When Fred first stepped into the world of television, he was surrounded by a medium filled with slapstick, noise, and mindless distraction. Executives told him children’s programming had to be loud, fast, and flashy to work. But he believed something different. He believed children deserved to be listened to, respected, and gently taught about feelings, kindness, and community.

His calm, caring approach seemed impractical, even foolish, compared to what was “working” in the industry. But he cared. He wanted to make a difference. He was willing to do more than others thought was wise. And in doing so, Fred Rogers built one of the most trusted and enduring voices in American life. His story reminds us that real impact often comes from daring to go against the grain.

Claude T. Bissell once put it this way:

“Risk more than others think is safe.
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.”

Those words aren’t just inspirational; they’re a roadmap to bold leadership and meaningful work. They are a call to action. Each line pushes us past comfort, beyond convention, and against the current. It says leadership requires energy. It pedals when others just coast. It swims when others float. It defies gravity. It takes the path few dare to take and challenges the rules others refuse to defy. It does the impossible.

Like Fred Rogers, Walt Disney embodied this as well. At a time when most people saw amusement parks as noisy, dirty carnivals, Walt imagined something radically different: a place where families could step into a world of imagination, where Main Street never faded and where fairy tales came to life. He dreamed of creating not just rides, but experiences filled with storytelling, fanciful delight, and an optimistic future.

People laughed at him. They called the project “Disney’s folly.” It was too expensive, too ambitious, too impractical. But Walt didn’t settle for what was safe or what seemed possible. He risked everything, dreamed bigger than anyone thought reasonable and out of that dream came Disneyland, one of the most successful and beloved ventures in history.

Decades later, Steve Jobs carried that same spark. His vision of “a thousand songs in your pocket” sounded impossible, until the iPod transformed not just music, but entire industries.

Every breakthrough begins with someone willing to risk, to care, to dream, and to expect more.

What is your dream? What obstacle is standing in your way? Perhaps there is some fear or trepidation holding you back. Perhaps you have grown comfortable floating down the river of life, and you’ve tucked away your dreams as frivolous follies. Maybe you’ve resigned yourself to expect little, so your hopes are never disappointed. But is that where you want to be?

If you had a magic wand or unlimited power, what impossible thing would you change? What impact would you want to make on your team, your life, your family, or the world? What would you pursue? What would you build or reimagine? And what would you be willing to risk to get there?

Can I offer this observation? The wand is in your hand. You are more powerful than you even know. Use it for good!