Space Cowboy: Malta’s AI Guru And Angel Investor Is Casually Chilling With NASA
A Maltese man walks into a bar in Houston… and he’s the only guy in the place that hasn’t been to space.
That punchline was a recent reality for Malta’s Angelo Dalli. The serial entrepreneur, angel investor and AI-obsessed tech guru’s innovations in everything from intelligent transport to marketing to gaming and entertainment put him firmly on NASA’s radar, and he’s taken them up on an invitation to visit Houston and get an insider view of its operations, processes and technology.
However, this isn’t his first encounter of the NASA kind.
“As a child, I first wrote to NASA in 1984 during the Voyager mission and much to my surprise they had actually replied back,” Dalli told Lovin Malta from Houston. “The photos and material that they had sent are still amongst my most cherished possessions.”
Now, Dalli has the opportunity to see iconic equipment like the Saturn V rocket, the Space Shuttle carrier, the HERA habitat and the fabled Mission Control up close.
Speaking of people, rubbing shoulders with astronauts who have successfully returned from space is pretty much any geek’s wet dream.
And Dalli knows AI is going to have a major role in this kind of technology – indeed, all kinds of technologies – moving forward.
And forget what you’ve heard – Dalli doesn’t think Artificial Intelligence will lead to the end of humanity as we know it.
“The danger lies not in AI but in people abdicating their responsibility and acting in unethical ways. You need to train AI to do bad things – by keeping humans in control and acting ethically AI will never pose any danger,” he said.
“AI will bring a new era of wealth to human society, working to assist rather than replace people. Creating a society that gives people more time to connect to other people,” he continued.
Define: space cowboy
As he deepens his knowledge of the cutting edge technology in space exploration and AI, Dalli looks to the coming years with hope and big dreams.
“I hope that my vision of the future and the results that I and others researchers in AI will bring about into existence will inspire people and bring about a positive change,” he ended.
Tag someone who knows we need to set up a habitat on Mars.
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