Dear Colin,
I hope the Singularity Conference was a singular success and by now the
material is - sort of - sorted. Is there a URL where I can get the main
points to? (you may know that I push 90 -am semi paraplegic and a heart
patient, no chance to travel.
IMO singularity (as I learned in the early 40s) is something that does not
connect to anything, e.g. we cannot get info about it.
A Black Hole started as one, bu then (first) got relaxed in
surface-accessibility etc. and philosophers made a mess of singularities.
It cannot have a size, because that would mean borders and measures.
You see, I am perplexed and would like to read what the smarties said.
Best regards
John Mikes (a fan of your mini-solipsism).
On Sun, Aug 7, 2011 at 7:27 PM, Colin Geoffrey Hales cgha...@unimelb.edu.au
wrote:
**
‘THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY’
SINGULARITY SUMMIT 2011
AUGUST 20-21
RMIT UNIVERSITY Melbourne
http://summit.singinst.org.au/
This August, leading scientists, inventors and philosophers will gather in
Melbourne to discuss the upcoming ‘intelligence explosion’ that many now
refer to as ‘The Singularity’- a technological breakthrough that promises to
eclipse previous computing developments with the creation of super-human
machines.
If present trends are to continue, computers will have more advanced and
powerful ‘brains’ than humans within 25 years; the result will be a further
explosion of computer power and other technologies such as biotechnology,
nanotechnology and health technology beyond our current ability to predict.
The ‘Singularity Summit’ - a part of National Science Week - is an
unprecedented opportunity to engage with today's leading experts on emerging
technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, nanotechnology and
brain-computer interfaces - right here in Melbourne.
As a pre-summit launch, the Australian premiere of documentary
‘Transcendent Man’ - featuring leading futurist, singularity advocate and
recent Time Magazine cover star ‘Ray Kurzweil’ - will be held at Nova
Cinemas, Carlton on August 19.
The screening will also feature a prerecorded address to Australia from Ray
Kurzweil and producer Barry Ptolemy, and a QA session with documentary
participants and Internationally renowned Artificial Intelligence (AI)
experts - Dr Ben Goertzel, Dr Steve Omohundro and Dr Hugo De Garis.
The highly successful 2010 Singularity Summit drew over a hundred local,
interstate and international enthusiasts to hear first-rate speakers from a
range of fields.
The 2011 Summit again offers a stellar line-up, including leading
Artificial Intelligence experts Dr Ben Goertzel and Professor Steve
Omohundro, popular scientist Dr Lawrence Krauss and renowned philosopher of
consciousness Dr David Chalmers. This year’s summit will also feature
demonstrations of recent robotics advances by Professor Raymond Jarvis and
others.
The summit will explore the important ethical and philosophical dimensions
of the Singularity - whilst sharing the very latest scientific and
technological breakthroughs.
There is simply no better way to glimpse the future of these exciting
technologies. Besides talks and demonstrations, panels will offer the
opportunity to interact with the speakers and to contribute to the
conversation about these important issues.
Seating is limited, so Secure your tickets for the 2011 Summit Here
The conference will be held at Casey Plaza at RMIT.
http://summit2011.singinst.org.au/
Speakers and subjects include:
David Chalmers Leading Philosopher of Consciousness “The Singularity – A
Philosophical Analysis”
Lawrence Krauss - Leading physicist and best-selling author of The
Physics of Star Trek - “The Future of Life in the Universe”
Ben Goertzel - Renowned AI researcher and leader of the OpenCog
project – “AI Roadmaps”
Steve Omohundro - Renowned AI researcher - “Minds Making Minds:
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity”
Ray Jarvis – “The Envy of Roboticists - the Future of AI in the
Material World”
Alan Hájek – “A Plea for the Improbable”
Ian Robinson – “Rationality Transhumanism”
Kevin B. Korb – “Bayesian Artificial Intelligence”
Ben Goertzel Leading AI researcher – “Artificial General
Intelligence”
James Newton-Thomas Machine Intelligence Engineer – “Advances in
Science and Technology”
Burkard Polster – The Problem With Probability
David Dowe - Artificial Intelligence - “Bayesian/Algorithmic)
Information theory, one- and two-part compression, and measures of
intelligence”
and many more...
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 in an exciting weekend as we explore the surprising future. See you
there!
Please feel free to pass this on.
--
