The website for this weekend’s Global Future 2045 international congress has the following bold headline:
Towards a new strategy for human evolution
By many measures, the event is poised to be a breakthrough gathering: check the list of eminent speakers and the provocative list of topics to be addressed.
The congress is scheduled to start at 9am on Saturday morning. However, I’ve been chatting with some of the attendees, and we’ve agreed we’ll meet the previous evening, to help kick-start the conversation.
The venue we’ve agreed is Connolly’s Pub and Restaurant. Note that there are several different buildings: we’ll be in the one at 121 W 45th St, from 6.30pm onwards.
Anyone who is in New York to attend the congress is welcome to join us. To find us inside the building:
- Look for a table with a futurist book on it (“Abundance” by Peter Diamandis)
- Alternatively, ring my temporary US mobile number, 1 347-562-3920, or that of Chris Smedley, 1 773-432-5712.
There’s no fixed agenda. However, here are several topics that people might want to discuss:
- GF2045 foresees the potential future merger of humans and robots (“avatars”). How credible is this vision?
- What hard questions are people inclined to ask, to some of the speakers at the event?
- Some speakers at the conference believe that mind is deeply linked to quantum effects or other irreducible processes. Will progress with technology and/or philosophy ever resolve these questions?
- Speakers at GF2045 include religious and spiritual leaders. Was that a good decision?
- What should we and can we do, as interested global citizens, to help support the positive goals of the GF2045 project?
- GF2045 took place in Moscow in 2012 and in New York in 2013. Where should it be held in 2014?
I’m open to other suggestions!
Footnote:
I’ll also be involved in a couple of post-GF2045 review meetings:
- One in New York City, on the evening of Sunday 16th June, organised by New York City Futurists
- One in London, on the afternoon of Saturday 22nd June, organised by London Futurists.
If you’d like to attend either of these reviews, please click on the corresponding link above and register.
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