Astronaut Dan Barry: Don’t Let Anyone Tell You That You Can’t Reach Your Dreams

During my 10 weeks at Singularity University I was able to ambush Dan Barry for a 20 min interview for Singularity 1 on 1. Former NASA astronaut and veteran of 3 space missions, Dan is currently the head of faculty at Singularity University and the co-chair for AI, Robotics, Space and Physical Sciences. For me Dan Barry was an inspiration from the very beginning of the program: His inaugural lecture, Failure is an Option, during which he shared both his wife’s moving story (documented in her best-selling book Fixing My Gaze) and his own life’s story (with his 13 unsuccessful attempts to become an astronaut), not only moved me deeply but also taught me that nothing is impossible and that one should never give up one’s dreams. During our conversation with Dan we discuss issues such as: his personal background and early childhood dream to become an astronaut; his motivation, goals and aspirations for Singularity University; his personal 10^9 project (aimed at positively impacting the lives of a billion people within 10 years); Artificial Intelligence in general and the process of arming AI in particular; the Turing Test and Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics; his take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it. I would like to thank Singularity University for allowing me to use their campus and especially Matt Rutherford for his crucial support in filming.