Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research? • Hacker News Board

jcr wrote: post #96

sama, my apologies if quoting you is too over the top, but the following comment of yours from last year is just wonderful, and it's a great answer to your question: "I think figuring out how technology can encourage empathy is one of the more interesting and important open research problems in the world right now." -- Sam Altman, July 10 2015 [1] There is one group at Stanford that's been working on the empathy-tech…

Empathy is the glue that holds society together. Our ability to share emotional states with others enables us to forge societies on a large scale.

Re: Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?

#105

Post by Alex3917 » Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 4:22 AM UTC

corin_ wrote: post #80

Drug safety initiatives for illegal substance users. Mix of scientific research, knowledge distribution and legal lobbying. As much research into mental health as possible. How to use technology to better inform the population of political matters and allow them to more directly influence the actions of politicians.

I know Rick Doblin has proposed a drivers license type system for gaining access to different classes of drugs. It would be nice to see the creation of an evidence-based system.

Re: Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?

#106

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 4:24 AM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?

#107

Post by siosonel » Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 4:26 AM UTC

timr wrote: post #29

Clean water and/or sewage. Almost a billion people don't have access to either, because the infrastructure doesn't exist for municipal sewage or water treatment. Huge numbers of people die from preventable diseases, simply because their water is fouled. Until cellphones, most of the world didn't have reliable communications, because nobody could build the necessary infrastructure. Wireless changed that. We need the e…

Simple, appropriate, low tech solution for the sewer issue - sawdust toilet: http://humanurehandbook.com/humanure_toilet.html

Re: Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?

#108

Post by slantedview » Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 4:26 AM UTC

Healthcare currently consumes 18% of our GDP and is projected to consume 34% by 2040. This will be absolutely devastating for us. The ability to accomplish anything meaningful as a society will diminish as more and more of our wealth is directed towards what is the most wasteful healthcare system in the modern world.

What is causing this and what can be done?

Re: Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?

#109

Post by ivanca » Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 4:29 AM UTC

The brain. It's probably the most complex machine in the universe. If someday we could make artificial grey matter, or neurons, it would change everything. For AI, for health, for everything.

Re: Ask HN: What should we fund at YC Research?

#110

Post by aswanson » Sat, Jan 30, 2016, 4:29 AM UTC

Young researchers in the medical research sciences. It seems, at least from everything I read, that the NIH et al are heavily incented to keep the inertia and old researchers doing incremental, low-impact studies in charge. Cancer research needs a DARPA, maybe YC can spark it: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/opinion/young-brilliant-an...