Humanity+ Summer Fundraiser
Humanity+, which used to be known more descriptively (but less concisely and media-friendly) as the World Transhumanist Association, is running a fundraiser this summer:
Thanks to a generous matching grant by the Life Extension Foundation and other major donors, if we raise $15,000 independently, we will secure a total of $30,000 in funding for Humanity+ this summer, enabling the organization to shift into a higher gear. Any gift you make to Humanity+ will be matched dollar-for-dollar until July 31st.
Donate today!
Thanks for Adding Yourself to the Map
Thanks to everyone who is participating in the transhumanist collaborative map project, after just six days we have almost 100 pins on the map and over 20,000 views. I see that many people in the Bay Area and New York are being shy and not adding themselves...
Be sure to pass the link around to your friends who are transhumanists, so we can build a better picture of the movement worldwide. This is a very unique and foresightful group! We should learn a little more about one another.
Steve Wozniak a Singularitarian?
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has seen so much stunning technological advances that he believes a day will come when computers and humans become virtually equal but with machines having a slight advantage on intelligence.
Speaking at a business summit held at the Gold Coast on Friday, the once co-equal of Steve Jobs in Apple Computers told his Australian audience that the world is nearing the likelihood that computer brains will equal the cerebral prowess of humans.
When that time comes, Wozniak said that humans will generally withdraw into a life where they will be pampered into a system almost perfected by machines, serving their whims and effectively reducing the average men and women into human pets.
Widely regarded as one of the innovators of personal computing with his works on putting together the initial hardware offerings of Apple, Wozniak declared to his audience that "we're already creating the superior beings, I think we lost the battle to the machines long ago."
I always think of this guy when I go by Woz Way in San Jose.
So, if artificial intelligence can become smarter than humans, shouldn't we be concerned about maximizing the probability of a positive outcome, instead of just saying that AI will definitely do X and that there's nothing we can do about it, or engaging in some juvenile fantasy that we humans can directly control all AIs forever? (We can indirectly "control" AI by setting its initial conditions favorably, that is all we can do, the alternative is to ignore the initial conditions.)
The H+ Summit @Melbourne is Coming to Town
The H+ Summit @ Melbourne, this 25-26th June, brings together an eclectic mix of rationalists, futurists, science fiction writers, AI experts, scientists, biotechnology experts, philosophers and theorists to pursue deep philosophical, scientific and technological inquiry, with the aim of being able to discern those changes which are likely to have profound impacts and those which are merely transient and or fashionable.
Technological innovation permeates all aspects of society — from tiny water purification packets and 3d printers, to GPS tracking devices, wearable smart devices, decision support systems, replaceable body parts and personal genome tests. Because technology and society evolve together, it has become increasingly important to develop a greater understanding of how technology is shaping the course of our lives. We are faced with the challenge to continuously become innovative in harnessing and controlling technological development as it accelerates on many diverse fronts. The "pioneers of the future" are faced with the necessity to become ever more resourceful. Even the most conservative thinkers agree that we have already stepped into an era of a profound change. The good news is that our human diversity continues to spawn both inventiveness and novelty.
This conference is brought to you by Humanity+ @ Melbourne (Victoria, Australia). Humanity+ explores how society might use and profit from a variety of creative and innovative thought. Join us for this adventurous journey into the future where you can make a difference! This conference will challenge and enhance your view of the future.
Seating is limited, so Secure your tickets now! >>
The conference will be held at the Melbourne Uni Graduate House.
Partial list of speakers and subjects:
Sean McMullen – “Doing It Now†- (As of writing, a Hugo Nominee for short story)
Hugo de Garis – Nanotech, Femtotech – Lots of room at the bottom, | Quantum Topological Computing – Much More than Moore’s Law
Meredith Doig – “Rationalism, Transhumanism & the Singuarlity†– (President of the Rationalist Society Australia)
Colin Kline – “Logics - Boonlean (Pascalian) logic, Fuzzy Logic and Bayes†– Academic
Greg Adamson – “Technology and social control“ – (Chairman of the Society for Social Implications of Technology IEEE)
Binh Nguyen – “Evolutionary AI†– (PHD)
Lev Lafayette – “More Human Than Human: The Computation of Moral Reasoning†– Philosopher
Slade Beard – “Architecting the Future†(Complex Systems) - (IEEE)
Avatar Polymorph – “The ethics of boosting animals from sentience to self-aware consciousness†- Extropian from way back
Tony Smith – “The Plurality: Why everyting is all over the place†– (Chaos, Complex Systems)
Jon Oxer – “The Maker Revolutionâ€
Andy Gelme – “The Internet of Thingsâ€
Jeremy Nagel – “Open Source Biotechâ€
Looks like a good lineup!
Collaborative Map of Transhumanists Worldwide
Updating this map is a little tricky, you have to be invited as a collaborator by someone who already is one. If you know someone already on the map you can ask them for an invite, otherwise you have to fill in your email address in form below. Then you can also invite anyone else to collaborate, you just need their email address. I promise I won't sell it to spammers, this list is only for adding people to the map.
View Transhumanists Worldwide in a larger map
Foresight @ Google: 25th Anniversary & Reunion Weekend
Interested in emerging technologies?
Fascinated by the potential in transformative nanotech?
Come explore the future with...
FORESIGHT@GOOGLE
25th Anniversary Conference Celebration and Reunion Weekend
Google HQ in Mountain View, CA
June 25-26 2011
A rockstar lineup includes keynotes:
• JIM VON EHR - Founder/President of Zyvex,
the world's first successful molecular nanotech company
• BARNEY PELL, PhD - Cofounder/CTO of Moon Express, competing for Google's Lunar X PRIZE
With speakers and panelists including:
• WILLIAM ANDREGG - Founder/CEO of Halcyon Molecular
• MIKE GARNER, PhD - Chair of ITRS Emerging Research Materials
• MIKE NELSON - CTO of NanoInk
• LUKE NOSEK - CoFounder of Paypal, Founders Fund Partner
• PAUL SAFFO, PhD - Wired, NYT-published strategist & forecaster
• SIR FRASER STODDART, PhD - Knighted for creation of molecular "switches" and a new field of nanochemistry
• THOMAS THEIS, PhD - IBM's Director of Physical Sciences
For the full speaker roster, as well as information on our exclusive 25th Anniversary Banquet, see our conference website:
http://www.foresight.org/reunion
Space is limited!
For $50 off, register now with the special discount code just for AF readers: ACCELERATING
I hope to see you all there!