Streaming Sunshine: Space Based Solar Power, Minus the Sci-Fi - Martin Soltau, CEO Space Solar
Space Solar has a revolutionary vision to enable Net Zero and global energy security with Space-Based Solar Power.An 80 × 80 m satellite in low-Earth orbit, continuously exporting one megawatt of electricity to a ground station, is not science fiction. According to Martin Soltau, co-CEO of Space Solar, that first-of-its-kind demonstrator will fly within five years.In this conversation Mark and Jeremy Think On Paper about the engineering reality and the policy headaches behind space-based solar power (SBSP):Cassiopeia’s solar array converts sunlight to 5.8 GHz microwaves at up to 85 % efficiencyThe down-link beam peaks at ≈230 W m⁻², less than a quarter of midday sunlight, so it warms rather than cooks anything it touches.A rectenna two-to-three-kilometres wide re-converts the RF to DC with ≥ 85 % efficiency delivering “plug-ready” power around the clock.Today’s launch prices already model to < $30/MWh levelised cost of electricity; a further order-of-magnitude drop could push SBSP below $10/MWh—one-tenth the cost of nuclear baseload today.Sun-to-plug efficiency is about 18 %, versus 1–5 % for ground solar once night-time and weather are included.Regulatory and diplomatic knotsSpectrum allocation through the ITU, debris-safe autonomous assembly, and international rectenna standards are the next gating items—not new physics.Why AI caresData-centre power demand is “asymptotic,” with forecasts that AI workloads could swallow > 90 % of U.S. electricity this century. Off-grid rectennas over a server farm could bypass decade-long grid-connection queues.Failure modes worth losing sleep overBeam divergence, spectrum crowding, orbital debris and the inevitable “Death-Star” headlines—all solvable, but only with transparent public engagement. A Royal Society survey found strong public support once safety was explained.Soltau also outlines the mid-2030s scale-up to tens of gigawatts per year and why modular, robot-assembled satellites could deliver that pace faster than any terrestrial baseload technology.Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.--Learn More: https://www.spacesolar.co.uk/-- Timestamps (00:00) Disruptors And Curious Minds (01:34) Space Based Solar Satellites (05:10) The Ground Infrastructure (07:37) SBSP V Nuclear, Coal & Gas (12:05) Launch Costs (13:55) Data Centers In Space (15:36) Scaling Space Based Solar Power (18:08) Manufacturing In Space (20:25) The Eisenhower Of SBSP (23:10) The Politics Of Space Based Solar Power (28:35) Energy Is Everything (31:05) The Government Perspective --Follow and Support Thinking On Paper:PODCAST: www.thinkingonpaper.xyzINSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/X: https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod
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Antropic CEO Dario Amodei Says An AI Utopia Could Be 5 Years Away | Machines Of Loving Grace
Jeremy and Mark dissect Dario Amodei’s essay Machines of Loving Grace. Amodei is the CEO of Anthropic and predicts - if all goes right - an AI utopia where most physical and mental diseases are a memory, wealth and development is evenly distributed across the world, AI has not been hijacked by dictators and all the world's a beautiful stage.The hook? This could happen in five to ten years. Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.--Read the essay: https://www.darioamodei.com/essay/machines-of-loving-grace#fn:1--Follow and Support Thinking On Paper🎙️PODCAST: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz📸 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/X: https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod--Chapters(00:00) Machines Of Loving Grace(02:46) Dario Amodei's Definition Of Powerful AI(05:11) Speed Of The Outside World(07:24) Complexity(11:27) List Of Diseases AI Will Cure(13:46) Neuroscience And Mind(15:45) AI For Everyone?(21:33) Peace And Government(25:03) Work And Meaning(31:56) What's Meaningful?(34:27) Taking Stock--Connect the dots of AI, quantum and emerging technology and watch these videos next:
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The Universe Is Created By Conscious Seities: Federico Faggin, Irreducible (Chapter 10)
In Chapter 10 of Irreducible, Federico Faggin, Mark and Jeremy Think on Paper about the real architecture behind consciousness: The Seity. Quantum gremlins, seities want only to know. To know themselves and help the universe - The One - know itself. And the seities have been here from the beginning, because they are everything. Reality is a construction of seities and Good news ladies and gentlemen, Death isn't the end! Your consciousness lives on for eternity. Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend. --Follow and support us please:🎙️PODCAST: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz📷 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/—Chapters (00:00) Federico Faggin, Irreducible Chapter 10(02:10) Computers And Consciousness (03:31) Seities All The Way Down(10:25) Carl Jung Collective Consciousness(12:02) Quantum Freud(15:21) Robots, AI And Seities—Watch the book club on YouTube where you can get a chapter by chapter breakdown of Irreducible by Federico Faggin: https://www.youtube.com/@thinkingonpaper/videos
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The Universe Knows The Meaning Of Life: Federico Faggin, Irreducible (Chapter 9)
Consciousness, life and free will exist from the very beginning as properties of the holistic whole (The One). According to Federico Faggin, the inanimate universe didn't come first, but derives from a deeper quantum reality inhabited by seities with consciousness and free will that communicate meaning with each other. In this week's Thinking on Paper Book Club, Mark and Jeremy read Chapter 9 of Irreducible by Federico Faggin and try to understand the meaning of life, the universe and everything in it.Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.—🎙️ Podcast: thinkingonpaper.xyz 📷 Instagram: @thinkingonpaperpodcast 📕 Book: Irreducible by Federico Faggin: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195480862—Chapters(00:00) Chapter 9 of Irreducible, Federico Faggin(02:36) The Absurdity Of Classical Laws(04:26) Hilbert Space For Dummies(07:00) What Are Seities?(08:54) Science, Religion And Spirituality(11:46) Seities, Consciousness And Aliens(13:04) Conscious Units And How The Universe Understands(15:30) Are Seities Souls? (16:11) Seities And How You Have Life After Death—Key TakeawaysConsciousness is not emergent. It’s fundamentalSeities are conscious units inside a knowing universeHilbert space may be the structure of inner realitySpirituality isn't narrative. It's architectureGrowth is life. Stasis is death
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Zen And The Art of Artificial Intelligence | Ram Srinivasan
Can AI ever be aware? Can it be conscious—and if so, what would that mean for business and the future of work? In this week's show, Jeremy and Mark sit down with Ram Srinivasan, author of The Conscious Machine: From Artificial to Enlightened Intelligence, to think on paper about consciousness, Advaita Vedanta, panpsychism and why Eastern philosophy changes how we design every AI system. It might be the most important podcast on AI you listen to today. Rethinking work in an exponential age Linear mindsets can’t keep pace with automation. We explore how to direct AI toward human flourishing, not just efficiency.Trust as the new currency From autonomous agents to AI-native organizations, credibility, values and wisdom are the foundations of any lasting advantage.Please enjoy the show. And share it with a curious friend.--Links & Resources Ram Srinivasan: https://www.ram-srinivasan.com/ The Conscious Machine: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4R9NJ53 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramsrinivasanmit/Follow Thinking on Paper Podcast: www.thinkingonpaper.xyz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkingonpaperpodcast/ X: https://x.com/thinkonpaperpod--Timestamps (00:00) Exploring the Future of Work and AI (00:53) The Intersection of Consciousness and Technology (03:44) Advaita Vedanta: Understanding Consciousness (06:40) Materialism vs. Non-Dualism in AI (14:25) The Shift from Knowledge to Wisdom (16:29) Post-Labor Economics and AI’s Role (19:01) Building Trust in AI Agents (21:46) The Currency of Trust in Business (26:35) The AI-Native Workplace: A New Era (30:37) Navigating Trust and Critical Thinking in AI (33:16) Human-Centric Technology: The Future of Work (35:33) What Should Humans Be?--Watch Next Kevin Kelly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awZ5LRX8o6o&ab_channel=ThinkingOnPaper
About Thinking On Paper: A Technology Podcast For Curious Minds
Hosted by Mark and Jeremy, Thinking On Paper is a weekly conversation asking the big questions:
What kind of world are we building?
What does it mean to stay human in the age Of AI?
How do we raise kids who can think critically and stay curious?
Grab a front-row seat as CEOs, founders, outliers and artists unpack the “why” behind everything from AI and quantum computing to space manufacturing, bio-engineering and clean energy.
New conversations every Thursday • Book Club episodes every Monday
Follow now and slow down the future.
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