Max Tegmark Explained

Max Tegmark
Birth Date:5 May 1967
Birth Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Nationality:Swedish
American
Field:Cosmology, physics, machine learning
Work Institution:MIT
Future of Life Institute
Alma Mater:Royal Institute of Technology (M.S.E)
Stockholm School of Economics (B.A.)
UC Berkeley (M.A, P.h.D)
Doctoral Advisor:Joseph Silk
Signature:Signature_of_max_tergmark.jpg

Max Erik Tegmark (born 5 May 1967)[1] is a Swedish-American physicist, machine learning researcher and author.[2] He is best known for his book Life 3.0 about what the world might look like as artificial intelligence continues to improve. Tegmark is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the president of the Future of Life Institute.[3] [4]

Biography

Early life

Tegmark was born in Sweden to Karin Tegmark and Jewish American-born professor of mathematics Harold S. Shapiro. While in high school, he and a friend created and sold a word processor written in pure machine code for the Swedish eight-bit computer ABC 80,[5] and a 3D Tetris-like game called Frac.[6]

Tegmark left Sweden in 1990 after receiving his M.S.E in engineering physics from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and a B.A. in economics the previous year at the Stockholm School of Economics. His first academic venture beyond Scandinavia brought him to California, where he studied physics at the University of California, Berkeley, earning his M.A. in 1992, and Ph.D. in 1994 under the supervision of Joseph Silk.[7]

Tegmark was an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania, receiving tenure in 2003. In 2004, he joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's department of physics.

Career

His research has focused on cosmology, combining theoretical work with new measurements to place constraints on cosmological models and their free parameters, often in collaboration with experimentalists. He has over 200 publications, of which nine have been cited over 500 times.[8] He has developed data analysis tools based on information theory and applied them to cosmic microwave background experiments such as COBE, QMAP, and WMAP, and to galaxy redshift surveys such as the Las Campanas Redshift Survey, the 2dF Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

With Daniel Eisenstein and Wayne Hu, he introduced the idea of using baryon acoustic oscillations as a standard ruler.[9] [10] With Angelica de Oliveira-Costa and Andrew Hamilton, he discovered the anomalous multipole alignment in the WMAP data sometimes referred to as the "axis of evil".[11] With Anthony Aguirre, he developed the cosmological interpretation of quantum mechanics. His 2000 paper on quantum decoherence of neurons[12] concluded that decoherence seems too rapid for Roger Penrose's "quantum microtubule" model of consciousness to be viable.[13]

Tegmark has also formulated the "mathematical universe hypothesis", whose only postulate is that "all structures that exist mathematically exist also physically".[14] [15] In 2014, Tegmark published the book Our Mathematical Universe, which presents his idea at greater length. Tegmark suggests that the theory is simple in having no free parameters at all, and that in those structures complex enough to contain self-aware substructures (SASs), these SASs will subjectively perceive themselves as existing in a physically "real" world. The "mathematical universe" hypothesis has been criticized by some other scientists as being both overly speculative and unscientific in nature. For example, mathematical physicist Edward Frenkel characterized it as closer to "science fiction and mysticism" than "the realm of science."[16]

Tegmark was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2012 for, according to the citation, "his contributions to cosmology, including precision measurements from cosmic microwave background and galaxy clustering data, tests of inflation and gravitation theories, and the development of a new technology for low-frequency radio interferometry".[17] He was awarded the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science's Gold Medal in 2019 for, according to the citation, "his contributions to our understanding of humanity’s place in the cosmos and the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence. He has courageously tackled these existential questions in his research and, in a commendable way, succeeded in communicating the issues to a wider public."[18]

Tegmark is interviewed in the 2018 documentary on artificial intelligence Do You Trust This Computer? From 2020 to 2023, Tegmark led a research team-turned-nonprofit at MIT that developed an AI-driven news aggregator known as "Improving the News".[19]

Personal life

He married astrophysicist Angelica de Oliveira-Costa in 1997, and divorced in 2009. They have two sons.[20] On August 5, 2012, Tegmark married Meia Chita.[21] [22]

In the media

Works

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tegmark - Philosophy of Cosmology .
  2. Web site: The Universes of Max Tegmark . 2023-12-12 . space.mit.edu.
  3. Web site: Max Tegmark . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315043849/https://physics.mit.edu/faculty/max-tegmark/ . 15 March 2023 . 2023-04-15 . . en-US.
  4. Web site: Max Tegmark . 2023-12-27 . Future of Life Institute . en-US.
  5. Web site: Bodin . Magnus . Teddy - 1984 . 2023-05-05 . buzzword free zone - home of magnus bodin . X42.com . 21 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721064604/https://x42.com/teddy/ . live .
  6. Book: Tegmark, Max. The Mathematical Universe. 55.
  7. Web site: MIT Department of Physics. web.mit.edu. 2018-02-12. 28 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130528034558/http://web.mit.edu/physics/people/faculty/tegmark_max.html. live.
  8. Web site: INSPIRE-HEP: M Tegmark's profile. Inspire-Hep. 6 July 2015. 4 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171004175836/http://inspirehep.net/author/profile/M.Tegmark.1. live.
  9. Web site: Tegmark - Philosophy of Cosmology . 2016-02-15 . University of Oxford - Philosophy of Cosmology . 16 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160216025838/http://philosophy-of-cosmology.ox.ac.uk/tegmark.html . live .
  10. Eisenstein . Daniel J. . Hu, Wayne . Tegmark, Max . 1998 . Cosmic Complementarity:

    H0

    and

    \Omegam

    from Combining Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments and Redshift Surveys . . 504 . 2 . L57–L60 . astro-ph/9805239 . 1998ApJ...504L..57E . 10.1086/311582 . 8824919.
  11. Tegmark . Max . de Oliveira-Costa, Angélica . Hamilton, Andrew . 1 December 2003 . High resolution foreground cleaned CMB map from WMAP . . 68 . 12 . 123523 . astro-ph/0302496 . 2003PhRvD..68l3523T . 10.1103/PhysRevD.68.123523 . 17981329.
  12. Tegmark. Max . The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes. Physical Review E. 1 April 2000. 61. 4 . 4194–4206 . 10.1103/PhysRevE.61.4194. 11088215 . quant-ph/9907009 . 2000PhRvE..61.4194T. 17140058 .
  13. Seife . Charles . 4 February 2000 . Cold numbers unmake the quantum mind . . 287 . 5454 . 791 . 10.1126/science.287.5454.791 . 10691548 . 33761196.
  14. Tegmark. Max. The Mathematical Universe. Foundations of Physics. 38. 2. 101–150. 10.1007/s10701-007-9186-9. 2008FoPh...38..101T . 0704.0646 . 2008. 9890455. a short version of which is available at Shut up and calculate. (in reference to David Mermin's famous quote "shut up and calculate" Web site: Archived copy . 2015-06-02 . dead . http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515100124/http://physicstoday.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_57/iss_5/10_1.shtml . 2016-05-15 .
  15. Butterfield. Jeremy. 2014-06-17. Our Mathematical Universe?. physics.hist-ph . 1406.4348.
  16. News: Frenkel. Edward. Edward Frenkel. Ad Infinitum. February 14, 2014. The New York Times.
  17. Web site: APS Fellow Archive . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200509035726/https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=1996&unit_id=DNP&institution= . 9 May 2020 . 23 January 2013 . American Physical Society.
  18. Web site: Hans Dalborg, Daniel Ek, Martin Lorentzon, Lena Olving and Max Tegmark to be awarded IVA's Gold Medals . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210126085541/https://www.iva.se/en/published/hans-dalborg-daniel-ek-martin-lorentzon-lena-olving-and-max-tegmark-to-be-awarded-ivas-gold-medals/ . 26 January 2021 . 24 April 2020 . Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
  19. Web site: FAQ . Improve the News . July 13, 2023 . July 14, 2023.
  20. Web site: Max Tegmark Homepage . Space.mit.edu . 2012-11-01 . 14 June 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120614183243/http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/personal.html . live .
  21. Web site: Welcome to Meia and Max's wedding . 2014-01-10 . The Universes of Max Tegmark . Space.mit.edu . 10 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140110224303/http://space.mit.edu/home/tegmark/last_wedding.html . live .
  22. News: Meia Chita-Tegmark. Huffington Post. 2015-01-10. 22 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160422033228/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meia-chitategmark/. live.
  23. Tegmark . Max . 18 November 2006 . Max Tegmark forecasts the future . . 2012-11-01 . 9 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150609002954/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225780.084-max-tegmark-forecasts-the-future.html . live .
  24. Web site: 26 April 2014 . BBC Radio 4 - The Forum, Zooming Out . 2023-04-15 . . en-GB . 15 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230415115535/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041txvp . live .
  25. Web site: Hawking . Stephen . Stephen Hawking . Tegmark . Max . Russell . Stuart . April 19, 2014 . Transcending Complacency On Superintelligent Machines . HuffPost . 7 March 2022 . 8 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220308112957/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/artificial-intelligence_b_5174265 . live .
  26. Web site: Chichester . Sarah M. . 10 June 2014 . The Perpetual Earth Program . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714231858/http://nytheaternow.com/2014/06/10/the-perpetual-earth-program/ . July 14, 2014 . Nytheatre.com.
  27. Web site: The Principle (2014) . . 30 June 2018 . 26 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160326143042/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2458876/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm . live .
  28. Web site: The Multiverse & You (& You & You & You...) . Sam Harris . 23 September 2015 . 2015-11-22 . 22 November 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151122021141/http://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/the-multiverse-you-you-you-you . live .
  29. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
  30. Web site: The Future of Intelligence) . Sam Harris . 27 August 2017 . 2017-08-27 . 31 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170831174414/https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/the-future-of-intelligence . live .
  31. Web site: Max Tegmark: Life 3.0 . Lex Fridman . 19 April 2018 . 2020-01-19 . 30 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220930102950/https://lexfridman.com/max-tegmark/ . live .
  32. Max Tegmark: AI and Physics Lex Fridman Podcast #155 . Podcast . 16 February 2022 . 16 February 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220216182320/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL4j4KPwNGM . live .
  33. Max Tegmark: The Case for Halting AI Development Lex Fridman Podcast #371 . 13 April 2023 . Podcast . 13 April 2023 . 13 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230413172949/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcVfceTsD0A&ab_channel=LexFridman . live .
  34. Web site: Elon Musk-Backed Non-Profit Offered $100K Grant to 'Pro-Nazi' Media Outlet . Vice News. 19 January 2023 . 2023-05-25 . 3 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230503144450/https://www.vice.com/en/article/93a475/future-of-life-institute-max-tegmark-elon-musk . live .
  35. Web site: Elon Musk-funded nonprofit run by MIT professor offered to finance Swedish pro-nazi group . Expo. 13 January 2023 . 2023-05-25 . 15 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230515124831/https://expo.se/2023/01/elon-musk-funded-nonprofit-run-mit-professor-offered-finance-swedish-pro-nazi-group . live .
  36. [Linkpost] FLI alleged to have offered funding to far right foundation - EA Forum ]. 2023-06-14 . forum.effectivealtruism.org . en . Nordmark . Jens .
  37. Web site: January 18, 2023 . Statement on a controversial rejected grant proposal . 2023-06-14 . Future of Life Institute . en-US.
  38. 2023-09-07 . TIME100 AI 2023: Max Tegmark . 2023-12-27 . Time . en.

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