Sawyer transhumanism lecture Monday night
by Rob - November 15th, 2011.Filed under: events, Keynotes, Talks.
Free transhumanism lecture! Free snacks! Plus you get to be part of the studio audience for TVOntario’s Big Ideas series: it’s all happening this Monday night, November 21, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at The Gardiner Museum in Toronto, 111 Queen’s Park (just across the screet from the ROM). Sponsor: The Literary Review of Canada, co-producing with TVOntario’s Big Ideas.
IMPORTANT: Seating is limited. Please RSVP to: rsvp@reviewcanada.caHumanity 2.0
Robert J. Sawyer, Canada’s leading science-fiction author and internationally respected futurist, on the tomorrow we imagine — and the one we are creating.
When Marshall McLuhan Published Understanding Media, in 1964, the U of T English professor’s radical arguments about technology’s role in shaping human existence made him a unique media oracle. Now, 100 years after McLuhan’s birth, many simply take as given that our future will be shaped, not by ethical or cultural precepts, but by our fast-changing technological advances.
In fact, we’re approaching the moment — not too far off — at which computer intelligence will exceed that of humans. Today, some already dream of uploading their consciousnesses into artificial bodies or virtual worlds; others wish to radically prolong their lives or enhance their bodies through biotechnology. These changes are feared by some, embraced by others, and point to key questions: What will it mean to be human in the future? Can we look forward to a utopian tomorrow? Might some of us simply become obsolete?
Robert J. Sawyer, another homegrown oracle, promises a few answers. Sawyer is Canada’s leading science fiction writer, winner of over 40 national and international awards for his bestselling fiction, including the Nebula, the Hugo, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. His keen insights into the human impact of technological change have led to consulting work for corporate clients such as Google, and Sawyer has also advised bodies from the Canadian Federal Department of Justice to the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. On November 21st, he will discuss how to approach our brave new future without (too much) fear and trembling.
Robert J. Sawyer online:
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November 16th, 2011 at 8:29 am
This sounds like a great time and I wish I could make it. Mindscan continues to be one of my favourite RJS stories and I’d love to hear you expand on it. Or… hmm… are you sure you’re not a robot from the future Rob? It would explain the whole ‘futurist’ thing. I’ll have to catch it on Big Ideas.
November 21st, 2011 at 9:49 am
Aye Captain :=)