Matt Bell

Welcome! This is a collection of my writing on topics I care about.

I put this site up very recently (February 2021!), but I will be publishing all my future long-form blog content here, as well as using this as a repository for much of my previous content. If you'd like to be notified of new content, please subscribe!

What I'm passionate about:

I'm convinced that artificial intelligence will radically transform society in the next two decades, and it's drawn my focus like nothing else. I spent much of the last decade applying AI, computer vision, and other technologies to create tools for capturing, viewing, and understanding the physical world in 3D at Matterport.

Over the last year, I've spent a lot of time researching and developing COVID best practices in order to get better information and tools into the public's hands.

I also write about science, technology, culture, travel, paragliding (the culmination of a lifetime of dreaming of flight!), and other topics.

All views expressed here are my own and do not reflect the opinions of any organizations I'm a part of. Many of the posts here were originally posted on other platforms, and have been backdated to reflect their original date of posting.

What I learned from 130 hours in a Waymo

What I learned from 130 hours in a Waymo

A peek into the bright future of a world full of self-driving cars

Reflections from seeing the Starship launch firsthand

Reflections from seeing the Starship launch firsthand

We spent a week working remotely in Brownsville to catch the historic launch of Starship.

Results of COVID reinfection survey

Results of COVID reinfection survey

Data from my extended friend network suggests that a prior COVID infection reduces the risk of catching the latest variant (BA5) by around 4x.

The nuclear family isn't working, what can we do instead?

The nuclear family isn't working, what can we do instead?

The nuclear family was only broadly achievable for a brief period of time in American history, and the continued pursuit of it is causing a range of societal problems.

Let's Play Vaccine Battleship

Let's Play Vaccine Battleship

COVID will likely become endemic, but we can stay one step ahead of it.

Results of Omicron Experience Survey

Results of Omicron Experience Survey

What I learned from surveying my social circle about their experience with Omicron

Four key principles for a delightful start to parenthood

Four key principles for a delightful start to parenthood

With the right preparation and approach, parenting a newborn can be a delightful experience instead of a relentless slog.

My deepfake DALL-E 2 vacation photos passed the Turing Test

My deepfake DALL-E 2 vacation photos passed the Turing Test

I went on a real vacation, and created photos of a fake vacation using DALL-E 2. Most people couldn't tell the difference.

Guide to gestational surrogacy

Gestational surrogacy is when someone other than the genetic mother of an embryo gestates that embryo to term. This has become an amazing opportunity for many couples who previously thought it was not possible to have a family.

The Great Bifurcation of Humanity

The Great Bifurcation of Humanity

Humanity was separated into two isolated groups for about 24,000 of the last 25,000 years, allowing us to see two parallel developments of civilization.

High-structure vs High-experimentation cultures

High-structure vs High-experimentation cultures

I’ve been thinking recently about high-structure vs high-experimentation cultures and what it means for intergenerational cultural transmission. Examples of high-structure cultures include groups like the Mormons who provide a

Updates to Long COVID and Delta!

Updates to Long COVID and Delta!

New information has been added to the long COVID post. Here's what we learned last week:

Embracing the Cosmic Endowment

Embracing the Cosmic Endowment

Why it's vital that we prioritize space exploration to ensure the continued flourishing of humanity.

If you’re vaccinated, your main risk from the Delta variant is probably long-haul COVID (Updated 8/11/21)

If you’re vaccinated, your main risk from the Delta variant is probably long-haul COVID (Updated 8/11/21)

Vaccination drastically reduces your risk of severe acute COVID, but long-term persistent symptoms are still a concerning issue. I summarize the available research on long COVID and how to avoid it.

For animals, the Singularity already happened

For animals, the Singularity already happened

We can get a sense for different possible fates of humanity after the development of AGI by looking at the fates of different animals after the rise of human civilization.