Envisioning the future of technology
Saturday 26th May, 2pm-4pm
Room 415, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square WC1E 7HX, London
We're fortunate to have as our lead speaker Michell Zappa, a
London-based emerging technology strategist. Michell has spent his life
between São Paulo, Stockholm & Amsterdam. His work, called
Envisioning Technology, focuses on explaining where society is heading
in the near future by extrapolating on current technological
developments.
In an attempt to make sense of the future of technology, Michell will
explain his "sci-fi scaffolding" methodology to fellow futurists. Still
in development, the methodology approaches the outlook of emerging
technologies from a combinatorial point of view, extrapolating a series
of highly speculative sci-fi scenarios by looking at existing trends.
For an introduction to Michell's work, see http://envisioningtech.com which sets out plausible timelines over the next 30 years for changes
in 11 different technology areas: AI, Internet, Interfaces, Sensors,
Ubicomp, Robotics, Biotech, Materials, Energy, Space, and Geotech. As
Michell suggests, the true worth of this analysis is "when you start
connecting the dots between the individual technologies and start
thinking about the critical paths between them".
There will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions, make suggestions, and to contribute to the debate:
*) How well can we foresee the likely changes of the next 30 years? How
does the "sci-fi scaffolding" methodology compare to other forecasting
approaches?
*) Which combinations of change from different technology areas are the most likely?
*) Which would cause the biggest disruptions?
*) And should a better knowledge of likely future changes cause changes in our present-day behaviours and beliefs?
Location
Room 415 is on the fourth floor in the main Birkbeck College building,
in Torrington Square (which is a pedestrian-only square). Torrington
Square is about 10 minutes walk from either Russell Square or Goodge St
tube stations.
As desired, coffee and other light refreshments can be purchased from
the Costa Coffee shop in the reception area of the building, either
ahead of or after the meeting.
The event will be followed by a chance to continue the discussion in a
nearby pub - The Marlborough Arms, 36 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HJ
The meeting is free to attend - no charge.
5.5.12
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