UKH+ status report, 21 Nov 2009

UKH+ status report, 21 Nov 2009 Achievements & Opportunities Summary

8 slides, plus 17 slides of Appendix

Face-to-face meetings most months (Sat 2-4pm) Recent audiences 40-75 people Healthy online discussion group on Yahoo http://groups.yahoo.com/group/extrobritannia/ Growing community of enthusiasts + supporters Building on many years of previous activities No formal structure (yet) Possibilities for more growth and new projects!

Context: UKH+ targets (implicit) Phase 1: Expand a community of supporters Build links; share info; mutual encouragement Formal meetings; social get-togethers; online Phase 2+: Ready to undertake more projects...

Coordinated replies to newspaper articles http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article6825270.ece

“UKTA Writing Group� http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=144778536653

Support the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9946701044

More...

Humanity+ UK 2010 “A conference about the future of humanity and the future of technology - and about the forthcoming radical impact of technology on our lives�

April 24th 2010, 10am-5pm: being organised Conway Hall, London (3 main rooms booked) Keynotes and streamed sessions Hoping for attendance of 200+

Humanity+ UK 2010 The conference will feature presentations and discussions on topics including: • Options for technology making us smarter, stronger, wiser, kinder, calmer, & friendlier • Major risks and challenges posed by runaway technology • The merging of humans and machines, and the merging of physical reality and virtual reality • The Technological Singularity - the potential intelligence explosion when computers gain super-human intelligence • Prospects for indefinite human life extension (“immortality”) • Technology’s role in people worldwide becoming significantly “better than well” • A philosophy that makes profound sense of the disruptive power of technology: “transhumanism” • Transhumanism in context: art, literature, religion, business, education, politics

(Draft positioning)

“A conference about the future of humanity and the future of technology - and about the forthcoming radical impact of technology on our lives”

Proposed UKH+ sustainable financial model (under discussion)

Outgoing per annum: UKP 7,000 2 x one-day conference, cost c. £2k each 12 x half-day meeting, cost c. £250 each Proposed membership fee: £40 / £20 (non-waged) Can attend all meetings free Can vote on membership matters At meetings, can ask questions first(?)

Proposed conference registration: £25 / £15 (n-w) (200 x £20 x 2 = £8000) (less early birds--) Proposed regular meetings: remain free

UKH+ issues Website needs refresh Enabling live remote access to UKH+ meetings (Meetings are currently videoed) Dealing with larger number of participants (A good problem to have!)

Transition to a more formal structure (Without becoming bureaucratic) Identifying the key projects for our focus The activities that will have biggest impact Appealing to the mainstream (Without alienating our early adopters)

Possible UKH+ EUH+ synergies Sharing info Which speakers are good Reliable information (e.g. supplements) Ideas about important projects Possible sources of funding Joint activities Good topic for discussion!

Possible business cooperation (as well as community cooperation) Connections with Singularity University et al

More information

On Yahoo Groups – for online discussion: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/extrobritannia/ Meetings blog (supports RSS feed): http://extrobritannia.blogspot.com/ On Facebook: join the “UKH+” group London Futurist Meetup group: www.meetup.com/London-Futurists/ Twitter: @ukhplus; David Wood: @dw2 Email: davidw@deltawisdom.com Appendix follows – details of some previous meetings

Saturday 28th Nov, 2pm-4pm Room B20, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square

Q&A on the Immortality Institute Successes and challenges en route to unlimited human lifespans

Shannon Vyff, Chair, Immortality Institute Questions will cover: •The creation and the operation of the Immortality Institute •The book “The scientific conquest of death” •The case for cryonics •Becoming a Methuselah Foundation 300 Member •Calorie restriction •Introducing people of all ages (including children) to transhumanist topics

Saturday 31st Oct, 2pm-4pm Room 416, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, WC1E 7HX

Machine Super Intelligence Are we any closer to this than we were 20 or 30 years ago?

Have we made any progress on figuring out what intelligence is, let alone knowing how to build one?

Dr Shane Legg, post doctoral research associate at the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London

Saturday 12th Sept, 2pm-4pm Room CLO 101, Clore Management Centre, Birkbeck College “Quantum Computers & the creation of humanlevel artificial intelligence�

Dr Suzanne Gildert, Research Fellow at University of Birmingham, UK This talk will put forward a case that quantum computers might help those who wish to achieve the goal of whole-brain emulation and exotic neural networks, and will review how this may provide insight into the currently hotly-debated topic of the role played by quantum mechanics in the brain and consciousness.

Saturday 15th Aug, 2pm-4pm Room 538, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, WC1E 7HX

The future of energy Leadership and technological innovation James Woudhuysen, Professor of Forecasting & Innovation, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK http://www.woudhuysen.com: “Thinking about the future�

Cryonics What are the pros and cons of signing up your body to be cryonically suspended at ultra-low temperatures when a fatal disease strikes?

David Styles

Translational Medicine in Critical Care Research: Problems and Solutions (A Personal Perspective)

Michael G. Darwin, Human Cryopreservation and Critical Care Consultant, Ash Fork, AZ, USA m2darwin@aol.com

Saturday 21st Mar, 2pm-4pm Room 403, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, WC1E 7HX

One foot in the grave future?

Attaining the 10,000 year lifespan you always wanted?

Dr Richard Faragher, Reader in Gerontology, School of Pharmacy & Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton The lecture will review the ageing across the animal kingdom together with our latest insights into how the processes may operate.

It will also review promising avenues for translation into practice over the next few years.

Current barriers to progress in ageing research will also be considered

Saturday 28th Feb, 2pm-4pm Room 153, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, WC1E 7HX

Longevity The science behind the hype The role of diet and supplements Alistair Tweed, Company director, Business Development, Aging Management Ltd www.aging-management.com + Many contributions from the floor Varied expert and layperson viewpoints welcome

Evaluating Transhumanism

Arguably the world’s most important idea in the coming ten years David Wood, Software and Research Director (day job); UKTA enthusiast, London

+ Many contributions from the floor Varied expert and layperson viewpoints welcome

If transhumanism isn’t the world’s most important idea in the coming ten years, then what is?

Saturday 22nd Nov, 2pm-4pm Room 403, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, WC1E 7HX

Emulating brains: Silicon dreams or the next big thing?

Anders Sandberg, Neuroethics researcher at the Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University The idea of creating a faithful copy of a human brain has been a popular philosophical thought experiment and science fiction plot for decades.

How close are we to actually doing it, how could it be done, and what would the consequences be?

This talk will trace trends in computing, neuroscience, lab automaton and microscopy – to show how whole brain emulation could become feasible in the mid term future

Saturday 18th Oct, 2pm-4pm Room 539, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, WC1E 7HX

Molecular Nanotechnology in the Real World: How Feasible is a Nanofactory?

Professor Philip Moriarty, School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Nottingham www.nottingham.ac.uk/physics/research/nano + Many contributions from the floor!

Varied expert and layperson viewpoints welcome

20 Sept: Is the Singularity Near?

Nine key questions about the coming Technological Singularity ?

Technology David Wood, Software Director (day job); UKTA enthusiast, London + Many contributions from the floor!

Varied expert and layperson viewpoints welcome Time 2058

TODAY: Saturday 23rd August, 2pm-4pm Enhancing minds: the pros and cons of hi-tech methods for improving cognition What's the latest state of play with different methods (drugs, computer games, neuro-implants, genetics‌) for enhancing cognition – and what are their benefits and problems?

Anders Sandberg, Neuroethics researcher at the Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University Heather Bradshaw, Centre for Ethics in Medicine, University of Bristol, and Visions intern at IEET

Saturday 2nd August 2008, 2pm-4pm

Cryonics: Why it has failed – and possible ways to fix it Mike Darwin, President of Alcor Life Extension 1983-1988, Research Director 1988-1992 “Second only to Robert Ettinger as one of the most influential figures in the controversial field of cryonics” The audacious ambition and vision of cryonics, practical details of how it works, a whistle-stop history of cryonics, issues with the governance of cryonics organisations, factors influencing public perception of cryonics, and reasons for both fear and hope for the future of cryonics

Living longer and longer yet healthier and healthier: realistic grounds for hope?

Alistair Tweed, www.aging-management.com (Optimising Health for Longevity): “Finding the right diets, pills, and supplements for a long and healthy life - assessing the evidence” Aubrey de Grey, Chairman and Chief Science Officer, The Methuselah Foundation: “An engineering project for curing human aging within the present generation,” www.mfoundation.org

The Great Technology Debate Continues…

Technology risks and the survival of humanity: Is emerging technology more likely to destroy human civilisation or to radically enhance human civilisation?

Saturday 14th June 2008, 2pm-4pm Runaway greenhouse effects and other drastic climate change – vs. possible geo-engineering solutions and new, cleaner, sources of energy Nuclear wars provoked by catastrophic nuclear terrorism Super-volcanoes – potentially tamed by future super-strong nano-materials A global pandemic of some horrible new disease Hazards from comets and asteroids The emergence of malevolent super-AI – vs. the chance that super-AI will allow us to find better solutions to our existential risks