In this episode of Exploring the AI Rainforest, we sit down with Dr. Piet Martens, a distinguished solar physicist and AI researcher, to explore the arc of his remarkable career — from space weather forecasting to cutting-edge financial reputation systems.

Dr. Martens shares what inspired his early fascination with space during the Apollo era, his time at NASA and the Netherlands Institute for Space Research, and how his work has evolved over decades — from solving equations by hand to pioneering machine learning models that predict harmful solar events. He also discusses the practical impact of his research, including safeguarding astronauts from radiation and protecting power grids from solar flares.

We then shift into new terrain: his collaboration on zScore, a decentralized credit scoring model for blockchain finance. Dr. Martens offers insight into the AI techniques used in the system, the challenge of building reputation without traditional benchmarks, and why he’s excited to contribute to this new frontier in finance and verifiable data.

This episode is a deep dive into the intersections of astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and the future of decentralized reputation.

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