Hello friends, I hope you’re having a great weekend!
The past week, while reading this interesting book (Balaj is an interesting figure in tech, someone described as one of the biggest “lateral thinkers” in the VC community) and I stumbled upon a quote that actually got me thinking:
“We haven’t made the emotional case for technology.
The assumption behind sci-fi like Black Mirror is that the present is okay, but technology could make the future dystopian.
But perhaps the present is dystopian and technology is our only hope for a positive future.”
I strongly resonate with this perspective, perhaps because I am an optimist by nature. Although it's sensible to be cautious about the risks of technology and the limitations of science, I feel that there is an overly negative narrative around science and tech developments. And I often wonder why that’s the case, especially as I felt this negative narrative has further aggravated after all the Covid months controversies.
I feel that we often overlook the fact that, for the vast majority, technology has been a tremendously positive force for humanity. Potentially one of the biggest forces. And in this post I talk about technology for simplicity but I actually also include science in the broader term in this definition.
I do believe that, as Marc Andreseen argues in this really interesting post, it’s time for us to share a Techno Optimist Manifesto.
There is a lot of interesting perspectives on this topic, and I am subscribed to a very cool newsletter where the author shares Weekly Doses of Optimism. With the same spirit I wanted to share in today’s post 3 things that got me very curious to learn more, but also super excited about the pace of scientific and tech innovation we’re living.
The universe might not be expanding at a constant rate, after all;
Scientists edited the a pig’s kidney through gene editing technologies (CRISPR) and successfully transplanted it in a human patient;
A tetraplegic patient plays chess using “the force” thanks to Neuralink brain implant.
Universe Differential Expansion
Recent observations using the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes have deepened our understanding of the universe's expansion, known as the "Hubble Tension". These telescopes have recently observed the universe expanding at different rates, which challenges our current understanding of cosmology and suggests the universe may not be expanding uniformly as previously thought.
Hubble has been crucial in measuring the rate of the universe's expansion, a task it has been refining for over three decades. The "Hubble constant," which quantifies the expansion rate, shows discrepancies when compared to predictions from the early universe's conditions as measured by the Planck satellite. These discrepancies might suggest new physics are needed to fully understand the cosmos's expansion dynamics.
These insights were able only thanks to the incredible technology developed in the James Webb's telescope. Using its sharp infrared capabilities to observe Cepheid variables, which are key cosmic milepost markers, the observations confirm that Hubble's measurements are accurate, ruling out measurement errors and implying that the variation in expansion rates may be a real phenomenon needing further exploration.
This ongoing mystery highlights the complexity of our universe and suggests that there may be fundamental aspects of physics that are not yet understood. Further research and observations, especially from upcoming telescopes like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, are expected to provide deeper insights.
Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant: A Breakthrough in Xenotransplantation
The world’s first successful transplant of a gene-edited pig kidney into a human marks a significant milestone in medical science, particularly in the field of organ transplantation and genetic engineering. This pioneering surgery was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital and involved a 62-year-old patient, Rick Slayman, who suffered from end-stage kidney disease due to chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
The kidney, provided by eGenesis—a biotech firm co-founded by Harvard Medical School geneticists—underwent 69 specific genomic edits using CRISPR-Cas9 technology. These modifications aimed to remove pig genes that could cause immune reactions and add human genes to improve compatibility with the human body. Additionally, the gene-editing process included deactivating porcine endogenous retroviruses to prevent any potential infection in the human recipient.
The successful outcome of this transplant is pivotal not just for the patient but also for the field of xenotransplantation, which could potentially address the critical shortage of human organs available for transplantation. Currently, over 100,000 people in the U.S. are on the waiting list for an organ transplant, with kidneys being the most commonly needed. The gene-edited pig kidney transplant offers a promising alternative to human organ transplants, potentially saving many lives that are lost due to the scarcity of suitable human donors.
This breakthrough also underscores the potential of gene editing technologies to revolutionize treatment options for patients suffering from various severe and life-threatening conditions. The success of this procedure could pave the way for more widespread use of xenotransplantation, not just for kidneys but potentially for other organs as well, significantly reducing wait times and improving survival rates for patients worldwide.
This is a field that I am super fascinated by (I recently wrote a dedicated post on gene editing technologies here).
Neuralink's Brain-Computer Interfaces
Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk, recently achieved a significant milestone by enabling a tetraplegic patient to play chess using only his thoughts, facilitated by a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant. This groundbreaking development not only showcases the potential of Neuralink's technology but also represents a new frontier in assistive technology for individuals with severe physical disabilities.
Noland Arbaugh, the first human recipient of Neuralink's brain implant, has been a quadriplegic since a diving accident in 2016 which left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. The implant, a sophisticated piece of technology, translates his brain activity into computer inputs, allowing him to perform tasks such as moving a cursor on a screen or playing chess, simply by thinking about the actions. This has provided Arbaugh with a newfound ability to engage in activities that were previously impossible due to his physical limitations. The video is really cool, in case you’re curious.
The implant operation itself was described as straightforward by Arbaugh, highlighting the ease of the procedure and the lack of cognitive impairments post-surgery. He was able to leave the hospital just a day after the surgery, a testament to the procedure's minimal invasiveness. Arbaugh expressed that while the technology is not perfect and still requires further development, it has significantly enhanced his quality of life.
This development by Neuralink is part of a broader effort within the field of neurotechnology to develop interfaces that can restore independence to individuals affected by a variety of neuromuscular diseases and injuries. As this technology progresses, it could lead to more widespread applications for BCIs, including enhancing human cognitive capabilities or integrating artificial intelligence with human consciousness.
The techno optimist Manifesto
As anticipated at the beginning of the post I really believe we need to foster a positive narrative toward science and technology, highlighting the incredible times we’re living and the opportunities that scientific development are creating for humanity. I wanted to use these 3 cases of recent break-throughs to prove the point that things are moving at an incredible speed in so many diverse fields that are relevant for human development that is hard to keep track. But we should live, in my opinion, these times with excitement and optimism, rather than being scared by what could go wrong (which looks like is what is taking the majority of the real estate on public conversations).
We are told that technology takes our jobs, reduces our wages, increases inequality, threatens our health, ruins the environment, degrades our society, corrupts our children, impairs our humanity, threatens our future, and is ever on the verge of ruining everything.
We are told to be angry, bitter, and resentful about technology.
We are told to be pessimistic.
And while Andreseen puts it in a slightly more political way than I would like to, I think there’s a very strong case to be made about how science and tech has been demonised in the last years. Steering clear of these controversies, I am convinced that it’s crucial to reintroduce a positive discourse on technology and progress. We need an Optimist Manifesto:
Technology is the glory of human ambition and achievement, the spearhead of progress, and the realization of our potential.
For hundreds of years, we properly glorified this – until recently.
I am here to bring the good news.
We can advance to a far superior way of living, and of being. We have the tools, the systems, the ideas.
We have the will.
It is time, once again, to raise the technology flag.
It is time to be Techno-Optimists.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Giovanni