Omoju Miller, a self-described futurist (someone who studies the future’s possibilities), enjoys picturing tomorrow. As a Nigerian woman who settled in the Bay Area, she’s already torn down historical barriers to work as a software engineer in Silicon Valley, a white man’s world. But in envisioning a new society, Miller isn’t thinking only of contemporary struggles; she’s pondering what humanity will need next. Take one of her projects: Hiphopathy, where she’s using machine learning to parse rappers’ metaphorical language, in the hopes of teaching a computer to think conceptually, developing, in the process, a form of artificial intelligence.
Recently, NationSwell spoke with Miller about true visionaries that inspire her and the lessons we can all take away from their avant-garde thinking.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given on leadership?
I would say it’s learning how to listen and learning how to not do things for people. A good leader is somebody that enables others to rise to their own challenges. In leadership, it’s so easy sometimes to just want to jump in and do the work yourself because you can do it a lot faster. But a good leader does not do that. A good leader is a teacher who supports you as you stumble and figure it out for yourself.
What’s on your nightstand?
The book I just read — well, it’s not on my proverbial nightstand, it’s on my computer — it’s a series of essays by Tim Urban on [the website] Wait But Why? unpacking Elon Musk and his companies. Why did he found Tesla, Solar City, SpaceX? Why does he do what he does? Why did he come from South Africa, move to Canada, then to the United States? How can one man actually think he can be that intelligent that he can create a technology that will move us to Mars so that he can given humanity a chance to exist? The hypothesis is that at some point in time, something is going to happen to Earth that is going to make it impossible for humans to survive. Just like how the dinosaurs went extinct. And the only way you can prevent that happening is if the human species became multi-planetary. And there’s this man on Earth right now who believes he can capitalize enough people and resources to take humanity to multi-planetary existence. That is crazy! That is futurism to the max.
What’s your favorite movie of all-time?
One of the reasons I actually came to Berkeley, Calif., and the Bay Area specifically was because of George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola and the rest of them. I’m a big Star Wars fan and also a big Coppola fan, and I wanted to live in a place close to Skywalker Ranch. I wanted to breathe the same air as the people who gave Hollywood the finger and decided they could tell their own stories and were willing to mortgage their homes and everything to tell their fantastical stories. I can’t say that Star Wars is one of my favorite movies, because it’s not. I think it may be the Godfather series. It’s such a great story, and it’s also very beautiful. It’s a story of people who live life to the fullest. Micheal Corleone needn’t have to be the Godfather. He could have remained what he wanted to be, but the pull of family was so strong. I also love the movies of Spike Lee, and it’s been great watching those over the years because the stories he tells are so different. It’s just wonderful that he’s such a consummate artist.
What do you wish someone had told you when you first became a software engineer?
The first thing I want to tell myself is make sure that you own your own path. Don’t settle for just a job, no matter how fabulous it is. Don’t settle for it, because you have the capacity to invent the future. And [you] cannot invent the future when you’re wasting your time.
What inspires you?
My belief in self- transcendence. At first, I thought I was going to have a normal life: white picket fence and all that kind of stuff. And I want to have that, but the question is, what’s next? When you get to that point, you don’t care about things anymore because you literally don’t care about material things. You are beginning to push your mind and what you can invent and what you can do. And with every little bit I was able to attain, it was like, Can I dream bigger? Can I dream bigger? I think that for the last six or seven years, I’ve gotten to the point where I truly believe I can solve the problems I put my mind to. I’m convinced I can do that. That is enough to make you wake up every day and go do it.
What’s your proudest accomplishment?
I would say finishing my Ph.D., because I wasn’t sure I was going to do it. Not because it was difficult or it was hard, no, that’s not the issue at all. It was because there were so many other distractions, there were so many other jobs that I could have taken that would pay a lot more money than staying in school and prioritizing finishing a Ph.D. So sticking it out and finishing it required so much will, because I was giving up so much money every couple of months to keep on doing it. I’m very happy about that.
To learn more about the NationSwell Council, click here.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Tag: elon musk
Inside the Race to Build an Affordable Electric Vehicle
One of the main reasons why electric vehicles (EV) haven’t quite caught on in this country? Their cost. But back in July, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk announced news that lots of people were waiting to hear — that his car company is working on the first EV for the mainstream.
Called the Model 3, Musk claims that the car (targeted for release in 2016 and available to the general public in 2017) will cost $35,000 and can travel 200 miles on a single charge. The only other major EV that can reach 200-something miles is the Tesla Model S, which starts at a much more costly $70,000.
If the Model 3 succeeds, Tesla could dominate a very niche and profitable sector. But not if General Motors gets there first.
MORE: Tesla’s Brilliant — and Generous — Move to Help Save the Planet
Quartz recently detailed the tense and exciting battle between the two auto companies vying to make the first mass-market electric car. Here, some of the most interesting findings:
1. Tesla or GM could sell a LOT of electric cars. Like the highly popular and desirable BMW 3 series, there is a serious market for entry-level luxury cars. And now that consumers are more open to plug-ins, plus the trendiness of sustainable products, the sky’s the limit. Experts tell Quartz that the potential of an affordable 200-mile EV could really sway buyers to make the switch to electric, since that’s the point at which people no longer feel scared about their battery running out of juice in the middle of nowhere. Sales of electric cars — which currently stand at 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles a month — could swell to 15 to 20 times that amount once this technology proves successful, Quartz reports.
2. Tesla’s “gigafactory.” The reason why EVs are currently so expensive: batteries are costly. However, as technology improves, batteries will get cheaper. For example, the Tesla Model S lithium-ion battery currently costs about $15,000 per car, but Musk is building an enormous plant called the “gigafactory” that aims to double the global production of batteries — thus cutting expenses. Musk expects his new batteries will cost about $10,500 each.
3. GM is worried. Can a 106-year-old car company (riddled with controversy and recalls) actually compete against the technological whizzbangery of 10-year-old Tesla and its charismatic rockstar of a CEO? Steve Girsky, GM’s vice chairman, says that former GM CEO Dan Akerson was worried about Tesla and assigned a small team to study Musk’s EV’s and how it might threaten GM’s business.
4. GM, however, has a card up its sleeve. Tesla isn’t the only one working on a cheaper super battery. According to Quartz, Korean chemical company LG Chemical is working on their own battery that could be 200-mile ready by 2016. And while LG hasn’t said which automaker is getting the battery, since LG is GM’s supplier, we have a good guess as to which company will get it.
5. Still, the smart money is on Tesla. “We just haven’t seen any incumbent carmaker that has been able to make a compelling plug-in car in the way that Tesla has,” Navigant’s Sam Jaffe tells Quartz.
The drama between Tesla and GM is already exciting, but the best part about this EV battle? The planet is much better off for it. With so many environmentally friendly cars potentially flooding our roads, this would reduce the demand on fossil fuels and maybe, one day, even put a serious dent in the earth-damaging oil industry.
Competition spurs the best in innovation and as Tesla spokesperson Simon Sproule said after Musk surprisingly released his electric car patents to all in June, “The mission of the company is to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric cars. If Tesla acts as the catalyst for other manufacturers … that will have been achieved.”
Guess we only have to wait two years to find out which company comes out on top.
DON’T MISS: Instead of Letting Veterans Struggle Post Service, GM Trains Them for Dealership Employment
Tesla’s Brilliant — and Generous — Move to Help Save the Planet
In a world where patents protect everything from Apple’s rounded corners to Amazon’s white backgrounds, Tesla Motors founder and CEO Elon Musk is doing something completely unprecedented: Releasing his electric car patents for all.
This means if other automakers want to make e-cars, they can use Tesla’s technology to do so.
We just told you about the tech visionary’s offer to share the technology behind his Superchargers — the fast-charging, plug-in stations for his company’s electric vehicles — with the competition.
MORE: Is Tesla’s New Idea the Foundation for an American E-Car Infrastructure?
And now, in a blog post titled “All Our Patent Are Belong To You” (shout-out to the Zero Wing nerds!), Musk wrote that Tesla’s wall of patents have literally been removed from the lobby of its Palo Alto headquarters “in the spirit of the open source movement, for the advancement of electric vehicle technology.”
He adds that his company will not “initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.”
Why would Musk do such a thing? In one word: Sustainability.
As the eco-conscious entrepreneur writes, there are 100 million new cars on the road per year, but it’s “impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis.”
You see, with all the hype about electric cars over the years (and a slow uptick of sales), it still hasn’t become mainstream to own one. We know plug-ins are much more environmentally friendly than typical gasoline-chugging, smog-emitting vehicles, but e-cars can be expensive and niche. (Tesla’s 2014 Model S costs about $70,000 but they’re working on a cheaper $30,000 model).
ALSO: Driving an E-Car: Not Good Just for the Planet’s Health, but Your Health, Too
Additionally, with the current production rate of e-cars being less than one percent of total vehicles made, car companies aren’t making nearly enough zero-emission vehicles for the market. Even the well-intentioned car buyer could argue, “Where do I even buy one of these things?”
So by freeing Tesla’s intellectual property, Musk is also freeing up the competition by allowing other car makers to improve and expand the e-car market.
“The mission of the company is to accelerate the widespread adoption of electric cars,” explained Tesla spokesperson Simon Sproule. “If Tesla acts as the catalyst for other manufacturers … that will have been achieved.”
DON’T MISS: What the Demise of Car Ownership Means for the Planet
With This One Step, Elon Musk Turned SolarCity From a Panel Installer Into a Utility Company
Some industry analysts predict that solar companies will replace utility companies this century. Elon Musk just gave that prediction a lot more credibility. Musk’s solar company, SolarCity, announced that it is on track to raising $54.4 million from private investors. The company has roughly 68,000 signed contracts in the United States. The financial plan is remarkable because it is a first for a solar company; it means, as Fast Co.Exist notes, “SolarCity is financing itself as a utility might.” Other solar companies may soon follow, and soon after, all our roofs will be paved with panels.
Sources: FastCo.Exist
[Image: Araya Diaz/Getty Images for TechCrunch]