[extropy-chat] EVENT: Vernor Vinge Challenges the Singularity 2/15
nvitamore at austin.rr.com
nvitamore at austin.rr.com
Mon Feb 12 20:29:52 UTC 2007
Note: Vinge's talk is this THURSDAY evening, Feb. 15, not the usual Friday.
Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge invented the concept that
dominates thinking about technology these days. He called it "the
Singularity"--- the idea that technology (computer tech, biotech,
nanotech) is now accelerating so exponentially that it will lead to a
massive, irreversible, and profoundly unpredictable transformation of
humanity by mid-century.
This Thursday evening Vinge will challenge his own idea for the first
time: "I have some plausible, non-singularity scenarios that get us
into a human-scale world with long time horizons. I'll describe the
near-term peculiarities I see for such scenarios and then discuss
what such a world might be like across ten or twenty thousand years.
Finally, I'd like to talk about dangers and defenses related to these
scenarios."
"What If the Singularity Does NOT Happen?" Vernor Vinge, Cowell
Theater, Fort Mason, San Francisco, 7pm, Thursday, February 15. The
lecture starts promptly at 7:30pm. Admission is free (a $10 donation
is always welcome, not required). This may be a particularly popular
lecture, so I advise coming early to be sure of a seat.
Vernor Vinge (pronounced "VIN-jee") is author of the
cyberspace-anticipating 1981 novella "True Names"; ACROSS REALTIME
(1987, built around the Singularity idea); the Hugo Award-winning A
FIRE UPON THE DEEP (1992) and A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY (1999); and his
new novel of the near future, RAINBOWS END, which will be available
at the talk.
This is one of a monthly series of Seminars About Long-term Thinking
organized by The Long Now Foundation. All previous talks are
available for download from the final link in this note. If you
would like to be notified by email of forthcoming talks, please
contact Simone Davalos--- simone at longnow.org, 415-561-6582--- or go
<http://list.longnow.org/mailman/listinfo/SALT >here to sign up online.
Talks coming up:
Mar. 9 - Brian Fagan, "We Are Not the First to Suffer Through Climate
Change"
Apr. 27 - Frans Lanting, "Life's Journey Through Time"
May 11 - Steven Johnson, "The Long Zoom"
June 8 - Paul Hawken, "The New Great Transformation"
June 29 - Francis Fukuyama, "'The End of History' Revisited"
Sep. 14 - Niall Ferguson & Peter Schwartz, "Historian vs. Futurist on
Human Progress"
Oct. 12 - Juan Enriquez, "Mapping the Frontier of Knowledge"
Nov. 9 - Rosabeth Moss Kanter, "Enduring Principles for Changing Times"
Dec. 14 - Jon Ippolito & Joline Blais, "The Edge of Art"
(You are welcome to forward this note to anyone you think might be
interested. --Stewart Brand)
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