Episode 125: The Ascent of Information

Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast

Guests: Dr. Caleb Scharf & Dr. Stuart Bartlett One thing—perhaps the thing—that sets humans apart is the way we encode information in our environment. In his book "The Ascent of Information," Caleb Scharf, Director of Astrobiology at Columbia University, coined a new name for this externalization of data. It's the "dataome"—like the "biome" because this information can be seen as a living system in its own right. On this exciting episode of Strange New Worlds, Mike is joined by Dr. Scharf as well as astrobiologist and artificial life researcher Dr. Stuart Bartlett to discuss how the concept of the dataome interfaces with themes in Star Trek. Why is AI such a prevalent villain in the Trek universe? Will we ever become the Borg? What can we learn about biology by creating synthetic life? "The Ascent of Information," by Caleb Scharf: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621175/the-ascent-of-information-by-caleb-scharf/ Follow us on Twitter! Mike: https://twitter.com/Miquai Caleb: https://twitter.com/caleb_scharf