Future Technologies Advisory Group
News blog
Stopping this blog
I will stop this blog - at least for the time being. See my VR and SL site uvvy.com and my blog Transumanar.1/30/2007 Permalink/comments
The Sigma Scan: a database of future issues and trends
The Sigma Scan is a collection of future issues and trends developed by the Outsights-Ipsos MORI partnership, commissioned by the UK Government's Horizon Scanning Centre at the DTI Office of Science and Innovation. The database containis a number of trends, emerging issues and developments which may influence the course of events over the next 50 years and thereby shape the future of the UK and the world at large. The basic unit of the Sigma Scan is the Issue Paper. Each of these 146 Issue Papers provides a brief description of a particular trend or development and a projection of how, given a range of possible conditions, it may unfold in the future. The topic areas represented in the Scan are diverse, spanning the classic futures PESTE categories: Politics, Economics, Society, Science/Technology and the Environment.
An example that has made the headlines is the Issue Paper on " Robo-rights: Utopian dream or rise of the machines?", covered as " Robots could demand legal rights" by BBC News and flamed by Wesley J. Smith as " Transhumanism on the March". Two Issue Papers that mention transhumanism are " The Extended Self: better than well": "Technological development has tended to focus on altering and improving our external physical environment. However, over the next 50 years, the opportunities to focus innovation inwardly and remake our minds and bodies in fundamental ways look likely to increase. These opportunities will arise from advances in biotechnology, neuroscience, information technology, and robotics - and the synergisms between them. The potential to extend the mental and physical hand that nature has dealt us has developed into a more extreme view of the future: "transhumanism," the idea that our descendants could be quite different from us, even, to an extent, by 2050", and "Technology for the Body and Mind ": "The formidable forces of computation, genetics, molecular biology, imaging and nanotechnology look likely to combine to transform our understanding of the body and brain. The increasingly profound understanding of the human genome, for example, could open up multiple new ways of both repairing and enhancing the body". This is especially interesting in view of the mainstream nature of this database commissioned by the UK Government.
12/22/2006 Permalink/comments
Prisco on transhumanism, Lausanne, January 24
World Transhumanist Association Executive Director Giulio Prisco will debate transhumanism at the University of Lausanne on January 24, 2007.
Université de Lausanne
Cours Public
Mercredi 24 janvier
18h00 - Amphimax, auditoire Erna Hamburger
L'espèce humaine est-elle perfectible ? A l'heure de la montée du créationnisme aux Etats-Unis, le darwinisme est-il la seule explication de la réussite de certaines espèces aux dépens d'autres ? A l'image du mouvement "transhumaniste", peut-on tirer des enseignements de l'évolution pour améliorer l'espèce humaine ? Jusqu'à quelles limites ? Celles qui ont déjà été explorées par la science-fiction et la littérature ? Autant de questions qui seront notamment abordées le 24 janvier.
Are humans perfectible? With creationist ideas and "intelligent design" rising in the US, is Darwinism the only explanation of the success of some species against others? Following the "transhumanist" movement, can we draw useful lessons to improve the human species? What are the limits? Those already explored by science fiction and literature? These issues will be explored on january 24.
L'espèce humaine est-elle perfectible ?
A l'heure de la montée du créationnisme aux USA, le darwinisme est-il la seule explication de la réussite de certaines espèces aux dépens d'autres ? Peut-on en tirer des enseignements pour améliorer l'espèce humaine, comme le préconise le transhumanisme ? Jusqu'à quelles limites ?
Diffusion en direct sur le Web
Diffusion en direct
Intervenants
Giulio Prisco, directeur exécutif de l' Association mondiale pour le transhumanisme
Giulio Prisco est né en 1957 à Naples (Italie).
Il dirige la société de prospective technologique et réalité virtuelle metafuturing, basée à Madrid. Il est également engagé au sein de l'Association mondiale pour le transhumanisme, dont il est directeur exécutif, et de l'Institut d'éthique et technologies émergents.
Après ses études de physique théorique et computationnelle, G. Prisco a travaillé au CERN et à l'Agence spatiale européenne (ESA) et dispose d'un champ d'expertises étendu en matière de calcul informatique, sur la réalité virtuelle et les technologies pour la défense et l'espace.
Daniela Cerqui, maître assistante à l'Institut d'anthropologie et de sociologie de la Faculté des sciences sociales et politique (UNIL)
Daniela Cerqui est une anthropologue spécialisée dans l'étude des rapports entre technologie et société et, plus fondamentalement, humanité. Ses recherches de terrain portent principalement sur les ingénieurs qui pensent, fabriquent et promeuvent des technologies, dans des domaines liés à la robotique, l'intellligence artificielle, et plus généralement l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies de l'information (Internet, téléphone portable, etc.).
Elle a ainsi récemment passé deux ans dans le laboratoire du premier humain à s'être fait implanter une puce électronique directement reliée à son système nerveux, et continue à collaborer étroitement avec lui. Elle s'intéresse aux enjeux sociaux et éthiques liés à de telles pratiques qui, sous prétexte de sans cesse améliorer l'humain, pourraient conduire à sa modification radicale, voire à sa disparition.
Prof. Laurent Keller, professeur et directeur du Département d'écologie et d'évolution de la Faculté de biologie et médecine (UNIL)
Biologiste suisse, Laurent Keller est né en 1961 à Lausanne. Après des études de biologie à l`Université de Lausanne, il effectue ses recherches à Toulouse, au Musée de zoologie de Lausanne et poursuivra sa formation à Harvard.
Il est professeur en écologie évolutive et mène des travaux sur la vie sociale et la génétique des fourmis pour étudier par exemple comment les reines vivent jusqu`à 50 fois plus longtemps que les ouvrières, tout en possédant le même génome. Ses travaux sont reconnus mondialement et il a reçu de nombreux prix pour ses découvertes. Il a aussi récemment écrit un livre sur la vie des fourmis avec la journaliste Elisabeth Gordon.
12/09/2006 Permalink/comments
Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation
The Harvard Business School Working Knowledge has a very interesting article on "Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation": In a perfect world, scientists share problems and work together on solutions for the good of society. In the real world, however, that's usually not the case. The main obstacles: competition for publication and intellectual property protection. Is there a model for encouraging large-scale scientific problem solving? Yes, and it comes from an unexpected and unrelated corner of the universe: open source software development. That's the view of Karim R. Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School with an extensive research background in open source software communities and their innovation and product development strategies. His latest research analyzes how open source norms of transparency, permeable access, and collaboration might work with scientists. What he and his coauthors discovered: "broadcasting" or introducing problems to outsiders yields effective solutions. Indeed, it was outsiders—those with expertise at the periphery of a problem's field—who were most likely to find answers and do so quickly... More on Prof. Lakhani's blog.
11/27/2006 Permalink/comments
Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism
At its inaugural press conference on November 14, the newly established Washington, D.C. office of the Center for Inquiry released the text of a "Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism." The Declaration is endorsed by over 50 prominent scientists and scholars. This important document serves as a clarion call for improvements in scientific understanding, support of scientific inquiry and the use of secular principles in the formulation of public policy. The text of the Declaration is set forth here. We are concerned with the resurgence of fundamentalist religions across the nation, and their alliance with political-ideological movements to block science...11/18/2006 Permalink/comments
New Scientist: James Hughes on "What comes after humans?
The New Scientist has published a short article by James Hughes on " What comes after humans?" in its 50th anniversary edition, where they have decided to tackle the truly big questions, with the help of some of the leading lights in science. The article is a concise introduction to transhumanism from its origins in Diderot's D'Alembert's Dream to modern transhumanist thinking on human enhancement and current policy debates. Almost half a century after Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous, coined the term "transhumanism" for the idea that we should use technology to transcend the limitations of our bodies and brains, transhumanism has become a real possibility, pointing the way to an unbelievably transcendent future that would have been unimaginable even to Huxley. The choices we make today are deciding an answer to the question "What comes after human civilisation?". Read more...11/17/2006 Permalink/comments
New Scientist - US scientists weigh up election results
New Scientist - US scientists weigh up election results: Along with the colours of the political map, Tuesday's midterm elections will change science in the US. Researchers in a broad range of disciplines, from embryonic stem cells to climate change, stand to benefit from the tide of voter anger that has swept Republicans out of power in the US House of Representatives and the Senate, handing control to the Democrats, according to latest reports. Democrat representative Nancy Pelosi, who is set to become speaker of the House, has already promised to broaden the types of stem-cell research allowed with federal funds in the first 100 hours of her majority leadership, which is set to begin in January 2007. Missouri voters also approved an amendment to the state's constitution sanctioning human embryonic stem-cell research by a 51% majority. (See Stem-cell researchers welcome midterm results).
11/10/2006 Permalink/comments
Eudoxa Seminar about the new virtual frontier, Friday November 3
Eudoxa Seminar about the new virtual frontier, Friday November 3 - The Eudoxa think tank of Stockholm holds the first public policy institute seminar in the virtual world Second Life. The virtual worlds are entering the public's mind and affecting how business and society are conducted. Eudoxa, a think tank dedicated to describing the effects of emerging technologies and their societal impact is therefore organizing a seminar on public policy issues. Director Waldemar Ingdahl will discuss how virtual worlds impact on economics, on entertainment and politics and how they open up for a host of new opportunities for interaction. How can public policy groups and activists use virtual world? Can virtual worlds improve local democracy? The seminar will be held on Uvvy Island in the virtual world Second Life (please read more on its webpage at http://uvvy.com/index.php/Uvvy_island_in_SL ) on Friday November 3rd at 19h00 Central European Time (13h00 EST, 10h00 PST). Read more...
10/24/2006 Permalink/comments
Digital Civilizations Forum: Scenarios for the Future
I am back from the Digital Civilizations Forum Ci'Num 2006 - 6 & 7 october 2006 : Les scénarios du futur / Scenarios for the Future. The format of the event was a scenario planning playful brainstorm - "giving voice to the parts of your mind that normally do not have access to language". Main keywords emerged from Ci'num 2006: "Glocalisation" (I LOVE this word), universal access to cyberspace/metaverse, ubiquitous computing, Metaverse, NBIC convergence, human enhancement, large migratory fluxes, social unrest, opportunities and dangers. Most participants and groups did not imagine a utopian Heaven or dystopian Hell, but today's world with some emerging cultural, social, political and technological trends running at full speed in 2026. Read more...
10/10/2006 Permalink/comments
Digital Civilizations Forum Ci'Num 2006
I will participate in the Digital Civilizations Forum Ci'Num 2006 - 6 & 7 october 2006 : Les scénarios du futur / Scenarios for the Future. Margaux 2006, the second act of the first cycle of the Entretiens des Civilisations Numériques (Digital Civilizations Forum), gives us an opportunity to imagine ten possible futures for the planet in the year 2026. Of course, imagining the future is always a presumptuous act, but it's one that's necessary if we want to accept our everyday existence and influence the course of history. Globalization and digital technologies, along with the trends, breaks and emergences we noted in 2005, are still the cornerstone of our thinking. With maximum reason, generosity and lucidity, fifteen "designers of tomorrow" will work with the "decision makers of today". My contribution: Giulio Prisco will discuss the prospect of "improving human performance," carrying it through to its most radical consequences. Ci'Num 2006 website - Program.9/25/2006 Permalink/comments
Two futurist reports
IEEE Spectrum: IEEE Fellows take a hard-nosed look at what technology is -and isn't- on the horizon . Report of a joint study by the Institute for the Future (IFTF) and IEEE Spectrum. The main arteries of science and technology over the next 50 years: "Computation and Bandwidth to Burn" involves the shift of computing power and network connectivity from scarcity to utter abundance; "Sensory Transformation" hints at what happens when, as Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, puts it, "things start to think"; "Lightweight Infrastructure" is precisely the opposite of the railways, fiber-optic networks, centralized power distribution, and other massively expensive and complicated projects of the 20th century; "Small World" is what happens when nanotechnology starts to get real and is integrated with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and biosystems; and finally, "Extending Biology" is what results when a broad array of technologies, from genetic engineering to bioinformatics, are applied to create new life forms and reshape existing ones.
KurzweilAI.net, August 21, 2006 - The Millennium Project--a global participatory think tank--has released its 10th annual State of the Future report. The report distills the collective intelligence of over 2,000 leading scientists, futurists, scholars, and policy advisors who work for governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations, universities, and international organizations. Among its findings: Dramatic increases in collective human-machine intelligence are possible within 25 years. Genetic code will be written to create many varieties of life, including those that make hydrogen from plants.
9/11/2006 Permalink/comments
Panoptics Systems
A security company by the name of Panoptics Systems has developed a security system that allows one to view, in real time, a three dimensional layout of large areas complete with the location of everyone there. Designed for use in places such as airports, casinos, and government buildings, the Panoptics system uses special 360-degree "OmniView" cameras to detect where people are, then creates a large 3-D model to display people's whereabouts for security agents. The cameras are able to differentiate between people and their surroundings, detecting where they are and how fast they are moving and then representing that in the model. The system also purports to be able to do facial recognition and connect people to background files in the system. See articles on Gizmag, Gizmodo and SCI Fi Tech .
9/01/2006 Permalink/comments
Articles on VR worlds
Metaverse Messenger, August 22, 2006: Mitch Kapor, Chairman of Linden Lab and a longtime visionary in the world of computers, addressed the 2006 Second Life Community Convention Saturday in San Francisco. Kapor predicted that in five to ten years, SL "or its technological successor" will be as ubiquitous as the World Wide Web is today. Metaverse-style virtual worlds will become integrated with our lives and transform them: "We will need to redefine our definition of reality".
Corante - Second Life Targets Existing Branded Web Communities: Second Life, the apparent runaway winner in the emerging niche of online virtual worlds that are not (according to their publishers) games, passed a major milestone last week with a successful second annual developer and user conference . Much of this conference focused on how consultants and companies are leveraging the commercial and intellectual property regimes of Second Life to build successful businesses around Second Life as a platform... Next up: full-fledged web communities augmenting their online experience with a virtual world. A white paper by Linden Labs distributed at the conference (not posted online yet unfortunately) lays out some early ideas about how this might occur.
The New York Inquirer, How Many Transhumanists Does it Take . . . ? - "I was pleasantly surprised at how interconnected the Second Life conference was with the real world. In the virtual conference room, there were dozens of seats. What began with only a few people ballooned, at times, with almost twenty virtual attendees... I'm not sure how many other conferences worldwide have implemented this real/virtual synergy in the way that the technically-adept folks in Helsinki did... I walked away from the whole experience happy with the way that transhumanists today are taking full advantage of available technology while discussing future technologies that will give us even more options for freedom and interconnectedness".
8/27/2006 Permalink/comments
TransVision06 in Second Life report
The TransVision 2006 annual conference of the World Transhumanist Association, Helsinki 17-19 August 2006, organized by the WTA and the Finnish Transhumanist Association, was open to remote visitors in the virtual reality world of Second Life. This year the theme of the conference was Emerging Technologies of Human Enhancement. We looked at recent and ongoing technological developments and discussing associated ethical and philosophical questions. We held a mixed reality event between the Helsinki conference hall and Second Life.8/22/2006 Permalink/comments
3 new articles on VR worlds
Forbes - Making Real Money In Virtual Worlds: As the popularity and sophistication of MMORPGs has skyrocketed, enterprising gamers have found ways to make real money playing them--to the point where experts say that it has become common to run across gamers who make their entire income with virtual jobs. "It's eminently doable," says Edward Castronova, an associate professor at Indiana University and author of Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games.
There is a great Miami New Times article about Entropia Universe, Club Neverdie, VR world economy&business, and the personal history of CND's owner. Jacobs - known as "NeverDie" in the game - is doing more than getting hitched inside a computer landscape. He's getting married inside his own virtual nightclub, Club NeverDie, which is located on an asteroid in Entropia Universe for which Jacobs paid a reported $100,000 in October. Yes, that's real U.S. currency for a space rock that exists only in a videogame... He's averaging 100,000 PED, or about $10,000, in monthly revenue. In a year, he says, his investment will have paid for itself. It's conceivable, Jacobs claims, that he could one day be virtual reality's first millionaire.
El Pais Semanal, August 6, 2006 - Mi otra vida virtual - Article on Second Life on the weekly magazine of the leading Spanish daily newspaper El Pais.
8/10/2006 Permalink/comments
Blog archives
August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007