Note: Vinge's talk is on this THURSDAY, 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— [email protected], 415-561-6582— or go 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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The Long Now Foundation - http://www.longnow.org
Seminars & downloads: http://www.longnow.org/projects/seminars/
