Futurism & Technology and Society Videos Hacker News Recommends

explainer#82

We Were Taught to Call Death a Blessing

CGP Grey

“CGP gray's videos on YouTube are maybe the most concise and fun to watch materials I've seen on the subject.”

12 HN recommenders · 2018–2025

talk#97

Preventing the Collapse of Civilization / Jonathan Blow (Thekla, Inc)

DevGAMM

“Anyone who finds this concept interesting to think about and hasn't seen this video may enjoy it”

14 HN recommenders · 2020–2025

talk#292

Jonathan Blow - Preventing the Collapse of Civilization (English only)

bus

“Very much worth watching in its entirety and thinking about”

11 HN recommenders · 2019–2023

lecture#304

Blockchains Are a Bad Idea (James Mickens)

HBS Digital Initiative

“James Mickens' "Blockchains are a bad idea" talk [1] is a great explanation that discusses exactly that.”

8 HN recommenders · 2018–2023

explainer#397

The LED Traffic Light and the Danger of "But Sometimes!"

Technology Connections

“I love Technology Connections' take on this line of argument [0]”

7 HN recommenders · 2019–2024

podcast#420

Peter Thiel on "The Portal", Episode #001: "An Era of Stagnation & Universal Institutional Failure."

Eric Weinstein

“I recommend that people listen to that episode even if it's not interesting to you.”

8 HN recommenders · 2019–2024

talk#590

We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads | Zeynep Tufekci

TED

“This TED talk[0] on persuasion architectures brings up some interesting moral arguments against this idea.”

6 HN recommenders · 2017–2026

explainer#603

Can You Watch This Without Getting Angry?

CGP Grey

“Great TED talk on the original twitter kerfuffle referenced in the article”

6 HN recommenders · 2015–2025

lecture#743

Collapse of Complex Societies by Dr. Joseph Tainter

vlada888

“Spend some time watching Tainter's speech on complexity and collapse”

5 HN recommenders · 2015–2023

lecture#801

College Lecture Series - Neil Postman - "The Surrender of Culture to Technology"

College of DuPage

“I suggest the people working on those features watch Neil Postman's "The Surrender of Culture to Technology"”

5 HN recommenders · 2014–2025

explainer#830

A Selfish Argument for Making the World a Better Place – Egoistic Altruism

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

“There is a video [0] I love that explains an argument for this well.”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2025

talk#846

Massive-scale online collaboration | Luis von Ahn

TED

“I highly recommend watching the TED talk by Luis von Ahn, creater of CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA.”

4 HN recommenders · 2012–2022

explainer#875

Don't Be the Last Person to Die

CGP Grey

“CGP gray's videos on YouTube are maybe the most concise and fun to watch materials I've seen on the subject.”

4 HN recommenders · 2017–2025

explainer#906

Civilizations at the End of Time: Iron Stars

Isaac Arthur

“My go-to entry point for exploring those kinds of questions was Isaac Arthur.”

4 HN recommenders · 2017–2022

explainer#977

How to Move the Sun: Stellar Engines

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

“Out of every video Kurzgesagt has ever produced, my favorite is this one”

3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025

talk#980

How one tweet can ruin your life | Jon Ronson

TED

“I'm reminded of this TED talk in these scenarios, by a journalist and author who interviewed many people who have been publicly shamed”

5 HN recommenders · 2018–2025

talk#1004

Pop an ollie and innovate! | Rodney Mullen | TED

TED

“talks a bit about the relationship between hacking and skateboarding in his TED talk”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2021

lecture#1010

How to Enjoy the End of the World

Sid Smith

“I recommend few videos for you. I must warn you ... it may hamper your ability to enjoy parties.”

4 HN recommenders · 2019–2026

explainer#1084

Civilizations at the End of Time: Black Hole Farming

Isaac Arthur

“I highly recommend the whole channel.”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2023

talk#1089

34C3 - Dude, you broke the Future!

media.ccc.de

“I cannot recommend enough Charles Stross' 34C3 talk on this very topic.”

4 HN recommenders · 2018–2024

talk#1141

Bret Victor - Seeing Spaces

Colin McDonnell

“Highly recommend Bret's 2 talks for context”

3 HN recommenders · 2017–2024

comedy#1210

Louis C.K. Hates Cell Phones | CONAN on TBS

Team Coco

“arrived at the same conclusion much more concisely nearly a decade ago”

5 HN recommenders · 2013–2021

talk#1312

Blockchain vs. Bullshit: Thoughts on the Future of Money [Classic Bitcoin & Open Blockchain Talk]

aantonop

“Just watch Blockchain vs. Bullshit”

3 HN recommenders · 2017

talk#1313

"An approach to computing and sustainability inspired from permaculture" by Devine Lu Linvega

Strange Loop Conference

“Devine had a great talk about the "why" of Uxn at Strange Loop last year”

4 HN recommenders · 2023–2024

comedy#1402

Louis CK Everything Is Amazing And Nobody Is Happy

Lisa Zielinski

“here is a good Conan clip, with a great title”

5 HN recommenders · 2018–2026

talk#1407

Construction of the 10000 year clock - Alexander Rose (SETI Talks)

SETI Institute

“this very long but fascinating video discusses it”

3 HN recommenders · 2015–2019

commentary#1558

Neil deGrasse Tyson - We Stopped Dreaming (Episode 1)

Evan Schurr

“I always recommend anyone wondering about whether or not space exploration is worth it to view the following amazing video compilations.”

3 HN recommenders · 2012–2025

talk#1609

Clean Disruption - Why Energy & Transportation will be Obsolete by 2030 - Oslo, March 2016

Tony Seba

“the linked reference is a well argued version of the near future of transportation and energy. Highly recommended”

3 HN recommenders · 2016–2018

explainer#1743

The Internet is Worse Than Ever – Now What?

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

“I view social media through this lens now.”

5 HN recommenders · 2023–2025

other#1798

THE SAGAN SERIES - The Frontier Is Everywhere

Reid Gower

“It gives me the motivation to work towards a goal which lies tens, hundreds, maybe a thousand years in the future.”

3 HN recommenders · 2011–2016

talk#1892

Andreessen's Corollary: Ethical Dilemmas in Software Engineering - Bryan Cantrill | Craft 2019

CraftHub Events

“Bryan Cantrill (DTrace etc) has a good talk on ethics in software engineering[0].”

3 HN recommenders · 2019–2025

commentary#1935

The Classroom Only Works for One Kid in the Room

CGP Grey

“I keep coming back to CGP Grey's take[0] on the issue”

3 HN recommenders · 2013–2024

explainer#2102

Arcologies

Isaac Arthur

“Isaac Arthur's YouTube channel is full of speculation and plans for all kinds of possible or nearly-possible futures”

3 HN recommenders · 2018–2022

explainer#2111

Why Alien Life Would be our Doom - The Great Filter

Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell

“There is also a good video from Kurzgesagt explaining the great filter”

3 HN recommenders · 2018–2024

documentary#2121

Everything is a Remix (2023 Edition)

Kirby Ferguson

“It highlights how essentially everything in culture is a remix of some previous version of the culture”

3 HN recommenders · 2023–2026

explainer#2194

Hauntology, Lost Futures and 80s Nostalgia

Jonas Čeika - CCK Philosophy

“I think this guy does a great job of explaining it through the analogy of the Fallout videogame series”

3 HN recommenders · 2019–2026

talk#2230

There is No Algorithm for Truth - with Tom Scott

The Royal Institution

“did a really good segment on the parasocial relationship as part of his talk to the Royal Institution”

3 HN recommenders · 2019–2025

interview#2300

A Conversation with Peter Thiel and Niall Ferguson - Institute of Politics

Harvard University

“Watch this if you only watch one video”

2 HN recommenders · 2013–2018

explainer#2383

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

Michael Wesch

“Just going to leave this gem of a video[0] here.”

2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025

interview#2388

The War on Sensemaking, Daniel Schmachtenberger

Rebel Wisdom

“It may change the way you think about people that question the narrative.”

2 HN recommenders · 2019–2023

talk#2411

Beware online "filter bubbles" | Eli Pariser

TED

“The Filter Bubble Ted talk is what motivated me to dump social media.”

2 HN recommenders · 2012–2025

talk#2490

Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel - Fortune Debate, 2012

kykeon

“One of the most interesting debates was between Eric Schmidt and Peter Thiel back in 2012”

2 HN recommenders · 2016–2020

explainer#2502

Fermi Paradox: The Dyson Dilemma v2.0

Isaac Arthur

“He describes the Fermi Paradox and related concepts 100x better than anyone else.”

2 HN recommenders · 2019–2021

other#2560

Max Headroom 20 minutes into the future 1985

Kevin Galvayne

“you are in for a serious treat. It is so much better than I ever expected”

2 HN recommenders · 2019–2024

other#2582

Epic 2014

jessanmur

“Rewatching it now gives me this uncanny feeling.”

2 HN recommenders · 2021–2026

talk#2619

David Deutsch on Optimism

Royal Society of Arts

“I encourage everyone pessimistic about our future to learn about David Deutsch's infinite optimism”

2 HN recommenders · 2018–2022

talk#2645

How the US Is Destroying Young People’s Future | Scott Galloway | TED

TED

“covers a lot of the current reality young people face entering the workforce.”

2 HN recommenders · 2024–2025

explainer#2647

#Earth 🌏 Will we survive this ? Amazing⚡️ #crashcourse on #collapse & #environment by #ArthurKeller

NEXT - Les Mondes Sensibles (byThePassengerStudio)

“you should really spend some 30 mins here”

2 HN recommenders · 2020–2023