As told to Chloe Williams for Inverse

Originally it was dinosaurs, of course.

I remember when the novel of Jurassic Park first came out. I was just getting into reading novels then, and I was just absolutely enthralled.

Later, I was fortunate enough to travel to the Galápagos Islands when I was in the sixth grade. I was blown away by the diversity of creatures, and by Darwin's writings. Because that really got me into reading Charles Darwin for the first time.

In an interview with Inverse, Kevin Esvelt explains why he's dedicated his career to open research and community engagement. “We need to change the way that we ascend the tree of knowledge to somehow ensure that we don't encounter anything poisonous.”