Rapid improvements in automation, AI (artificial intelligence), and resource management provide the opportunity for us to envision new models of economics. This talk will look at some important questions that arise:

• How does the monetary system actually operate, and what are its consequences upon society?
  
• What are the consequences of increasing displacement of human labour by machines?
  
• Are monetary incentives necessary to spur product development?
  
• What prospects are there to transition to more rational systems for allocating resources and pursuing technological innovation?
  
• Is an economy without money feasible?
  

Since its foundation just over a year ago, the growing popularity of the Zeitgeist Movement is raising the visibility of questions like these. Anyone interested in radical ideas about the future of human society is invited to take part in a wide-ranging debate on these topics, led by Ben McLeish.

About the speaker:

Ben McLeish is one of the principal organisers of the Zeitgeist Movement in the UK, and is an accomplished speaker and presenter. He is a graduate of the University of Warwick, where he studied English, Literary and Cultural Theory.

General info:

There's no charge to attend, and everyone is welcome. There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions and to make comments.

Discussion will continue after the event, in a nearby pub, for those who are able to stay.

Why not join some of the London Futurist regulars for a drink and/or light lunch beforehand, any time after 12.30pm, in The Marlborough Arms, 36 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HJ. To find us, look out for a table where there's a copy of the book "The Singularity is Near" displayed.

About the venue:

Lecture Room B20 is on the basement level 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.

This meeting on Facebook

See here for some other people who have RSVP'ed to attend it.