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Singularity Summit At Stanford Explores Future Of 'Superintelligence'
STANFORD, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- April 13, 2006 -- The Stanford University Symbolic Systems Program and the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence announced today the Singularity Summit at Stanford, a one-day event free to the public, to be held Saturday, May 13, 2006 at Stanford Memorial Auditorium, Stanford, California.
The event will bring together leading futurists and others to examine the implications of the "Singularity" -- a hypothesized creation of superintelligence as technology accelerates over the coming decades -- to address the profound implications of this radical and controversial scenario.
"The Singularity will be a future period during which the pace of technological change will be so rapid, its impact so deep, that human life will be irreversibly transformed," said Ray Kurzweil, keynote speaker and author of the best-selling The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (Viking, 2005). "Based on models of technology development that I've used to forecast technological change successfully for more than 25 years, I believe computers will pass the Turing Test by 2029, and by the 2040s our civilization will be billions of times more intelligent."
"Some regard the Singularity as a positive event and work to hasten its arrival, while others view it as unlikely, or even dangerous and undesirable," said Todd Davies, associate director of Stanford's Symbolic Systems Program. "The conference will bring together a range of thinkers about AI, nanotechnology, cognitive science, and related areas for a public discussion of these important questions about our future."
Noted speakers at the event will also include cognitive scientist Douglas R. Hofstadter, author of the Pulitzer prize-winning Godel, Escher, Bach; nanotechnology pioneers K. Eric Drexler and Christine L. Peterson; science-fiction novelist Cory Doctorow; philosopher Nick Bostrom; futurist Max More; Eliezer S. Yudkowsky, research fellow of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence; Acceleration Studies Foundation president John Smart; PayPal founder and Clarium Capital Management president Peter Thiel; Steve Jurvetson, a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; and Sebastian Thrun, Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory director and Project Lead of the Stanford Racing Team (DARPA Grand Challenge $2 million winner). In addition, author Bill McKibben will participate remotely from Maine via Teleportec, a two-way, life-size 3D display of the speaker.
The event will be moderated by Peter Thiel and Tyler Emerson, executive director of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.
Among the issues to be addressed:
Bostrom: Will superintelligence help us reduce or eliminate existential risks, such as the risk that advanced nanotechnology will be used by humans in warfare or terrorism?
Doctorow: Will our technology serve us, or control us?
Drexler: Will productive nanosystems enable the development of more intricate and complex productive systems, creating a feedback loop that drives accelerating change?
Hofstadter: What is the likelihood of our being eclipsed by (or absorbed into) a vast computational network of superminds, in the course of the next few decades?
Kurzweil: Will the Singularity be a soft (gradual) or hard (rapid) take off and how will humans stay in control?
More: Will our emotional, social, psychological, ethical intelligence and self-awareness keep up with our expanding cognitive abilities?
Peterson: How can we safely bring humanity and the biosphere through the Singularity?
Thrun: Where does AI stand in comparison to human-level skills, in light of the recent autonomous robot race, the DARPA Grand Challenge?
Yudkowsky: How can we shape the intelligence explosion for the benefit of humanity?
The Singularity Summit is hosted by the Symbolic Systems Program at Stanford, and co-sponsored by Clarium Capital Management, KurzweilAI.net, MINE, the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, the Stanford Transhumanist Association, and United Therapeutics.
The free event will be held in Stanford Memorial Auditorium, 551 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305. Seating is limited. Please RSVP to http://sss.stanford.edu/rsvptoday. For further information: http://sss.stanford.edu or 650-353-6063.
About the Stanford University Symbolic Systems Program
The Symbolic Systems Program (http://symsys.stanford.edu) is an undergraduate and master's interdisciplinary program at Stanford, focusing on the relationships between people and computers. SSP's goal is to prepare students with the vocabulary, theoretical background, and technical skills to understand and participate in interdisciplinary research into questions about language, information, and intelligence -- both human and machine.
About Clarium Capital Management
Clarium Capital Management (http://www.clariumcapital.com) is a San Francisco-based global macro hedge fund, combining the diligence and prudence of an Old World investment firm with the energy and entrepreneurship of a Silicon Valley start-up. Clarium is a fortress in Greek mythology. Clarium's President and Chairman of the Investment committee is Peter Thiel, the former chairman, CEO, and co-founder of PayPal Inc., acquired by eBay Inc. for $1.5 billion in 2002. Driven by a contrarian bias, CCM pursues opportunities in four areas: currencies, commodities, distressed debt, and micro-cap public equities. CCM also selectively pursues private investments that show exceptional promise.
About KurzweilAI.net
Founded by Ray Kurzweil, KurzweilAI.net (http://kurzweilai.net) features more than 600 articles by big thinkers examining the convergence of accelerating revolutions in AI, nanotechnology, genetics, and other areas shaping the future of superintelligence. Its free Accelerating-Intelligence News daily newsletter tracks the latest news in these areas and its Mind-X forum allows for open discussion. KurzweilAI.net also manages singularity.com and fantastic-voyage.net, covering Kurzweil's recent two books.
About MINE
MINE (http://www.minesf.com) was founded with the philosophy that good design is good business, and that working smart beats working big. A multidisciplinary studio, MINE offers innovative and informed solutions as tools to support corporate, enterprise, and nonprofit organizations. Emphasizing intelligence-based design and sound strategic thinking, MINE seeks to create definitive, stand-out work that projects a unique position of leadership and promotes the highest standards of excellence.
About the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (http://www.singinst.org) is a research and public interest institute for the advancement of three emerging research fields: beneficial artificial intelligence, the singularity, and global catastrophic risks associated with anticipated technologies. The Institute aims to develop and foster a community of highly gifted interdisciplinary researchers to accelerate these fields, and create the foundation needed to support this research community. The Institute's main goal is to ensure the creation of beneficial AI.
About the Stanford Transhumanist Association
The Stanford Transhumanist Association (http://www.stanford.edu/group/transhumanism/blog) was founded in 2004 by Michael Jin (President) and Yonah Berwaldt (Financial Officer), then freshmen. It is a working group dedicated to spreading awareness about the impact of emerging technologies on humanity. The group is a Student Chapter of the World Transhumanist Association, an international nonprofit membership organization advocating the ethical use of technology to expand human capacities.
About United Therapeutics
United Therapeutics (http://www.unither.com) is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of unique products for patients with chronic and life-threatening cardiovascular, cancer and infectious diseases. In these segments, United Therapeutics is actively developing four technology platforms: Prostacyclin Analogs, Immunotherapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies, Glycobiology, and Telemedicine.
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