Hi!

I'm working on human superintelligence via bci/acc. Details: Artificial superintelligence is coming soon. We need a competitive substrate. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are the most pragmatic path. Therefore, we need to accelerate BCI capabilities and take them to the masses. That is, bci/acc. How do we make it happen? We’ll need cognitive-enhancement killer apps for the consumer, to grow market demand, which in turn drive BCI evolution. The net result is human superintelligence. bci/acc draws on today’s technologies without requiring big scientific breakthroughs. It’s solarpunk 🌞👨‍🎤: optimistic and perhaps a little gonzo. And it could be a grand adventure for Humanity. We're incubating bci/acc inside Ocean Protocol. Our work combines neurotech, AI, data engineering, and protocols.

Bio (Short)

I've been programming since I was a kid. I've worked on creative AI (1997-2008), AI to drive Moore's Law (1998-2014), early NFTs (2013-2016), decentralized AI (2016-now), and bci/acc (2024-now). I learn, build, and write aiming for high impact. My goal is for humans to have agency in a world of artificial superintelligence.

Bio (Longer)

I started my career by doing AI research for national defense in 1997 & 1998, while still an undergraduate. My supervisor was Dr. Henry Leung (PhD under Geoff Hinton). Here's the papers: [1][2].

Then, in my first startup (ADA), we explored the relation between human creativity and AI-based machine creativity. We started work on ADA in 1998; Synopsys acquired ADA in 2004.

I extended that work in my PhD at ESAT-MICAS, KU Leuven, Belgium from 2004-2008. My supervisor was Dr. Georges Gielen (PhD under Willy Sansen). I found a way to reconcile machine creativity with existing engineering knowledge. Here's the book: [PDF][Springer version].

In my second startup (Solido), we leveraged AI to help drive Moore's Law, which was under threat due to high manufacturing variations. Here's the book: [PDF][Springer version]. Now, Solido software is used for most modern chip designs. We started work on Solido in 2004; by 2010 we were profitable; Siemens acquired Solido in 2017.

My third and current startup has been about blockchain applied to art, data, AI, and BCI. We hatched the ascribe NFT platform in 2013, BigchainDB blockchain database in 2015, and Ocean Protocol in 2017. Notable Ocean subprojects include decentralized / tokenized / privacy-preserving access control (Ocean core), decentralized data markets (Ocean Market), Token Engineering, crowd-sourced time-series prediction (Predictoor), decentralized algo-trading, and bci/acc.

Site Contents

In the tabs at the top of this page, you'll find links to my talks (2001-present); my academic publications (mostly 2005-2016); and some notable personal open-source projects: TokenSPICE (agent-based crypto simulation tool), FFX (massively shallow learning), and MOJITO (creative-AI topology synthesis). The rest of this page links to recent writings, and past projects.

Recent Writings

Until the mid 2010s, I did a lot of technical academic writing (books, papers). Since then, it's been more blog posts. Here are some highlights.

NFTs

AI & Web3 Near-Term

Big Picture, incl. AI & Web3 Long-Term

Token Engineering

Consensus

Past Projects

  • PhD in EE from KU Leuven, Belgium.  Awarded #1 thesis worldwide in the field. 2004-2008
  • BE EE and BsC CS from U Saskatchewan, Canada. Awarded #1 final year thesis. 1994-1999
  • Did ML research for Canadian Department of National Defense. 1997, 1998
  • Wrote 2 Books [1,2] on AI/ML, circuits and creativity. Also 35 Papers and 20 Patents on AI/ML [details]. 2004-2012
  • Member of Advisory Group for the e-Residency team of the Government of Estonia. 2016-2019
  • Informally advised Germany, Netherlands, Estonia, and other governments about blockchain & AI strategies. Including public discussions (e.g. this). 2015-2020
  • Ambassador to AI XPRIZE. 2018-2023
  • Member of Advisory Board of Lifeboat Foundation 2020-ongoing
  • Startup/project advisor. Including: Balancer, SingularityNET, Binance Accelerator, Oasis. 2000-ongoing
  • Keynotes & invited talks. Examples: NASA, Stanford, MIT, Columbia, Berkeley, Santa Fe Institute, Jet Propulsion Lab, Sony, Nvidia, Samsung, Foresight Institute, TedX. 2001-ongoing
  • Co-organized workshops on AI/ML and circuits [e.g. 1,2,3,4]. TPC / reviewer for many conferences & journals [e.g. 1,2,3,4,5]. Lecturer at Data Science Retreat [link]. 
  • Organized meetup "Singularity Meets Self Improvement" [link]. 2013-2016
  • Created & maintained TokenSPICE token simulator, 2020-2023
  • Member of MetaCartel Ventures, 2020-2024
  • Co-organize Berlin ML meetup 2014-2022
  • More past projects: painting, BCI hacking, hypnosis, video game programming, surfing.
  • Raised in a pig farm in Canada, hacking away on cold winter nights. Wrote a 3D CAD tool, a wordprocessor, and dozens of games.