From: Tyler Emerson (trans_humanism@msn.com)
Date: Thu Sep 04 2003 - 06:22:52 MDT
SL4 readers can receive $50 off their registration for the Accelerating
Change Conference by using the discount code "ACC2003-SL4" (no quotes).
http://www.accelerating.org/acc2003/registration.htm
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>>> Accelerating Change Conference 2003 <<<
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Exploring the Future of Accelerating Change
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September 12-14, Stanford University
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What will the world be like if Moore's Law (the exponential growth in
computing power) holds for another 30 years?
"The first meeting on an exciting topic like this is always a major event,
attracting a 'Who's Who' of forward-looking thinkers. Come and meet the
people who see what's coming, know how to grapple with it, and are taking
action to steer and benefit from the tsunami of change we're all riding."
-- Christine Peterson, President of Foresight Institute
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ACC2003 Conference Overview
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* The world's first multidisciplinary conference exploring the special
domains of science and technology that have continually accelerated, and
their implications for the near future of business and society
* Two days and nights of networking with many of the top minds in the world
* Twenty-four leading thinkers on the topic of accelerating change
* Special events such as the Collective Intelligence dinner
* Conference Handbook and post-conference Proceedings
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ACC2003 Speakers (Partial List)
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Ray Kurzweil (via Teleportec's 3D Telepresence Lectern)
Steve Jurvetson, Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson
K. Eric Drexler, Chairman of Foresight Institute
James N. Gardner, Author of Biocosm
Robert Wright, Author of Nonzero
John R. Koza, CEO of Genetic Programming
William H. Calvin, Author of A Brain for All Seasons
Greg Papadopoulos, CTO of Sun Microsystems
Christine Peterson, President of Foresight Institute
Nick Bostrom, Chairman of World Transhumanist Association
Scott A. Hunt, Author of The Future of Peace
Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly & Associates
Ross Mayfield, CEO of Socialtext
Howard Bloom, Author of Global Brain
Matt Lennig, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Nuance
Ben Goertzel, Founder and CEO of Biomind
Keith Devlin, Executive Director of Stanford's CSLI
Nick Bostrom, Author of Anthropic Bias
Ilkka Tuomi, Author of "The Lives and Death of Moore's Law"
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ACC2003 Topics (Partial List)
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* Multifold Trends in Accelerating Change
* Nanotechnology and Nanoscience
* Evaluating Kurzweil's 'Law of Accelerating Returns'
* The Linguistic User Interface
* Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
* Venture Capital in a World of Accelerating Change
* Shaping the Next Technological Revolution
* Social Software Solutions
* The Selfish Biocosm Hypothesis
* Observation Selection Theory
* Biologically Inspired Computing
* Technology and Interdependence
* The Diffusion of New Memes in the Media
* Accelerating Change and World Peace
* The Technological and Developmental Singularity
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ACC2003 Registration
====================
Regular Rate: $395
Regular Student Rate: $150
Door Rate: $495
Virtual Attendance Rate: $99
To register, visit: http://www.accelerating.org/acc2003/registration.htm.
* Virtual Attendance includes conference DVDs, text proceedings, and web
content, excluding portions of the Speculations section.
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More Information
================
Website: http://www.accelerating.org/acc2003/conf_home.htm
====================
Latest Press Release
====================
EMERGING COMMUNITY ASKS BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT ACCELERATING CHANGE
PALO ALTO, CA (September 3, 2003) - The world's first multidisciplinary
forum to explore business and society's accelerating rate of change, the
Accelerating Change Conference (ACC2003), occurs September 12-14, 2003,
at Stanford University's Tresidder Union. Twenty-four prominent thinkers
will present topics with profound implications about the course of our
lives, and humanity's near- and long-term future.
Several presenters will focus on the domains of nanotechnology and
artificial intelligence - two rapidly growing technologies expected to be
critically important in the twenty-first century.
K. Eric Drexler, Chair of Foresight Institute and author of Engines of
Creation, will clarify the long-term goals of nanotechnology (developing
nanofactories that precisely control matter at the atomic level), and the
focused research likely to safely and swiftly achieve these goals.
Matthew Lennig, Senior VP of Engineering at Nuance Inc., will review the
history of linguistic interfaces (systems that support communication
between humans and machines based on spoken or written human language),
present a vision for the future, and discuss the challenges that lie between
the present state of technology and the future linguistic user interface.
Christine Peterson, President of Foresight Institute, will explore the
benefits and risks of nanotechnology, the importance of avoiding intentional
abuse, the need for improved education about this technology and what policy
strategies will work, the Foresight Institute's preferred strategy of open,
cooperative international development, and how individuals can help ensure
the safe progression toward the next manufacturing revolution.
Ben Goertzel, CEO of Biomind, will examine the current state of artificial
general intelligence (AGI) theory and technology, and why over the next few
decades, powered by ongoing advances in computing hardware, AGI is poised
to play a leading role in the development of twenty-first century
technology, with emphasis on the power of AGI to enhance work in biotech,
nanotech, fundamental physics, and distributed cognition. Wearing his
futurist hat, Goertzel will propose that the infusion of AGI through various
areas of advanced technology may serve as the transition phase to a
technological singularity (the development of human-surpassing
intelligence), driven and dominated by sophisticated AGI systems.
John Smart, President of the Institute for Accelerating Change (IAC), the
event's organizer, said "Everybody has noticed it, but no community talks
openly and systematically about accelerating change. We're bringing together
leaders from multiple disciplines on this neglected and future-critical
subject. We don't just focus on nanotech, AI, and the continuation of
Moore's Law - we explore broader topics, such as 'Is technology becoming a
learning system?' 'Which technologies are self-catalyzing?' 'Is there a
historical trend toward increasing interdependence, intelligence, and
immunity in complex systems, such as human societies?' 'How do we guide
technology's development toward effectively solving social problems?'"
Smart continued, "We are still early in asking the big questions about the
accelerating future, and in finding ways to wisely guide acceleration in our
modern lives. But the more we give ourselves permission to consider these
issues, the better equipped we will be to create our daily personal and
collective futures, consistent with unavoidable accelerating trends."
To that end, the event's Collective Intelligence dinner will give all
participants a chance to explore their choice of 20-30 "Challenge Questions"
about the conference's themes, such as "What is the significance of global
IT services to small businesses?" and "What classes of technologies can
individuals and enterprises use to increase their productivity in the next
five years?" Each table will seat eight attendees with one question per
table. After the dinner, self-selected speakers will give a summary report
of their table's response to their particular question.
Tyler Emerson, IAC Vice President, said "The dinner blends small-group
brainstorming with large-group presentation to gain personalized
perspectives on a range of valuable questions. To be honest, every event
should have such a dinner. It provides an efficient way to explore the
knowledge of our distinguished participants, both speakers and attendees,
and to improve the quality of their networking and participation."
Christine Peterson, President of Foresight Institute, noted that "The first
meeting on an exciting topic like this is always a major event, attracting a
'Who's Who' of forward-looking thinkers. You'll meet the people who see
what's coming, know how to grapple with it, and are taking action to steer
and benefit from the tsunami of change we're all riding."
Mark Finnern, an event speaker, added "Most events covering the future look
two years ahead. What ACC2003 participants will do is take a step back, open
their eyes and look five to 30 years into the future. If you bring bright
minds together, some of them experts in their fields, coming from different
walks of life with different viewpoints, magical things happen."
* * *
ABOUT IAC
IAC is an educational 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation based in Los Angeles,
California. Our mission is to help individuals, business, and society
understand the potential risks and benefits of the accelerating pace of
change through our conferences, reading groups, publications, websites, and
sense of community. For more information about IAC and ACC2003, contact Tom
Bresnahan, Public Relations, (310) 398-1934, or tombrez@accelerating.org.
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