Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Interviewing Dr. Kamil Zwolski: Professor of International Politics turned Edupreneur

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Kamil Zwolski

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Interviewing Dr. Kamil Zwolski: Professor of International Politics turned Edupreneur

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

December 30, 2020

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Dr. Zwolski speaking on the security implications of Brexit, Warsaw, 2019

Dr. Zwolski speaking on the security implications of Brexit, Warsaw, 2019.

Today we talk with Kamil Zwolski, PhD, who is Associate Professor in International Politics in the UK and who recently launched MyGlobalPolitics.com.

Q: Kamil, what is the idea of MyGlobalPolitics?

Kamil: The idea is to explore how the Internet can open up new opportunities for learning International Relations and related topics, such as international security, geopolitics or the role of China. On the one hand, there are people who are interested in what’s going on in the world and would like to explore that topic in more depth. But on the other hand, they are not planning to study it at a university. There are also people who do study International Relations at a university and want some extra resources to do better and get better grades. The website also offers help to those who need help with their job applications, university applications, PhD proposals, policy papers and other projects on International Relations.    

Q: Is there a market for educational products in an academic niche?

Kamil: That’s what I am finding out. It is true that most people who want to sell educational products, such as online courses, go for one of the three big niches: making money, getting fit or dating/relationships. But I am an academic and an expert on International Relations. And that’s what I want to do. I also like the world of online education and entrepreneurship. In that sense, I am what is sometimes called an edupreneur.

Q: What do you do for your full time job?

Kamil: I am Associate Professor in International Relations at one of the leading UK universities. I am a published author with hundreds of citations on Google scholar, including two peer-reviewed books. I am also a passionate educator and a Senior Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy. All it means I am serious about improving my teaching skills and making sure students learn stuff when they work with me.

Q: What are your hopes and plans for MyGlobalPolitics?

Kamil: I see the future of education as developing alongside two parallel routes. One route will be the familiar system of higher education institutions. Contrary to what some predict, I don’t think universities will go away in any foreseeable future. Over centuries, they have accumulated enough legitimacy to be seen as undisputed pillars of how people go about getting more advanced knowledge. Granted, universities - like all institutions - have to adapt and some will do that better than others. But as a category of institutions, they will continue to exist.

Then there is this other route, which we already see, but which is nowhere near its full potential. And that’s online education. We see some well-established players in that field, such as Udemy, but there is much scope for greater diversity within that category of services. The big players will stay there and may get even bigger, as more people choose online as a way to learn new stuff. But in addition to those large players, individual edupreneurs will be building their own little communities within their areas of specialism. And that’s where I see MyGlobalPolitics - a community of learners interested in International Relations, who want to get in-depth knowledge on the subject or who have some projects they want to work on. That’s my ambition for this platform.

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February 4, 2021 4:54 PM

Neuralink: Elon Musk’s quest to achieve a symbiosis of Brain and Artificial Intelligence

The memory of using YouTube for the first time is still clearly etched in my mind. One day we heard the sound of a song coming from the other room, startled by the noise, my brother and I went to investigate. We saw our father surfing in the wondrous world of YouTube where you could play any song without having to buy CDs anymore. It just bewildered us.

What Elon Musk claimed recently shows the distance technology has covered since then. He made headlines recently claiming that  his latest innovation Neuralink,will make it possible to, streaming music directly into our mind. Yes, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is back with the new episode of ‘Science fiction turned into reality.”

Musk describes Neuralink as a medium for a symbiosis of Brain with Artificial intelligence. The human brain is essentially an astonishingly powerful supercomputer which runs on power equivalent to the one used in a 20Watt electric bulb.

What Musk wants to do through Neuralink is to fit a tiny chip inside our brain, which can download all the processed information which is travelling from neuron to neuron. This chip with some threads that have the diameter of about tenth of human hair will have the potential to record and stimulate neurons across different brain areas. A Neuralink designed robot will fit electrodes containing threads using sewing technology into the brain. The technology is wireless, so at least you do not have to worry about wires hanging from your head.

Neuralink, launched as a Medical enterprise in 2016, aims to fix blindness, motor abilities, speech and much more. Although the purpose seems benevolent at first glance, we are talking about Elon Musk, the real-world Iron Man. Elon is anxious and fears Artificial Intelligence taking over Humans. He wants us to develop our intelligence potential by accessing our action potential, so that AI does not turn on its creators. For that sole reason (plus the monetization), the Brain-Machine Interface of Neuralink will be accessible to everyone.

Of course, every invention is at the centre of the doubt initially. The case of Neuralink is fascinating and problematic at times and is not different than any other path breaking innovation. Neuralink is going to change the course of human history and will literally turn us into Cyborgs and thus, causes cynicism among a large section of scientists fraternity.

The biggest and fundamental problem with the Neuralink is that it seeks to reach symbiosis of AI and the brain, an enigmatic organ about which we barely know anything. Those who support it argue that we do not need to understand how the brain works to develop Artificial intelligence while the sceptics say that while integrating the functions of Brain and AI, it is crucial to discern nature with precision. David Eagleman, in his book ‘Brain’, claims that a lot of what we see around is not even the whole picture; it is a mere description that Brain paints for us. A simple task as perception is not clearly defined yet. We still have the entire sea of discoveries to be made when it comes to neuroscience.

The other concern with Neuralink is the possible hacking of Neural networks. Though Neuralink technology is heavily dependent on Bluetooth which is supposed to be secure, there are threats from the tech like the Trojan Virus. The implications of hacking are beyond terrible and sound like an evil hacker-robot-zombie apocalypse depicted in sci-fi movies.

Another aspect of Neuralink which needs to be looked into is the classic social divide of haves and have nots. The surgery, although portrayed something as simple as a LASIK surgery, may not be affordable for everyone in the society. Are we looking at a new kind of discrimination in future? Is it even ethical and feasible to put a chip inside the brains of the entire human race? Every question leads to a new question.

It is an alien concept and thus, a scary one. It can help us learn a lot about the brain itself but will have huge repercussions. Figuring out the answers to the simple yet significant problems should probably be the next step for the Neuralink team.

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