The World Question Center asks one question a year and several of the best minds in science have responded to this year’s question: “What are you optimistic about?”. According to the publishers, over 160 responses thus far span topics such as string theory, intelligence, population growth, cancer, and climate change. Contributers include:

MARVIN MINSKY
Computer Scientist; 1st Generation Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, MIT; Author, The Emotion Machine: Commonsense Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and the Future of the Human Mind.

BRIAN GREENE
Physicist, String Theorist, Columbia University; Author, The Fabric of the Cosmos

RAY KURZWEIL
Inventor and Technologist; Author, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

HOWARD RHEINGOLD
Communications Expert; Author, Smart Mobs