Name: Surfing The Sixth Wave, with Stephen Aguilar-Millan
Start: 2012-09-15T14:00:00+01:00
End: 2012-09-15T16:00:00+01:00
Location: Birkbeck College

Surfing The Sixth Wave: Modelling The Next Technology Boom

The first in a new series of talks, The Next Golden Age Of Technology 2030-45

*** Note change of room, to room B20, to accommodate a larger audience ***

About "The Next Golden Age of Technology, 2030-45":

This series of meetings will feature prominent futurists, who will use different approaches to consider forecasts for the period including 2030-45 - a period which has the potential (if we reach it safely) to be a golden age of technology.

Can we in fact forecast the future with any degree of confidence? Many people believe that, as there are so many imponderables, the long range future is opaque to us.

There is a point to this, but it is not the whole story. Underlying where we are today are a number of longer term trends and developments that occur with such regularity to make them something of a recurring cycle. For example, we can see a pattern in the developments from the letter, to the telegraph, to the telephone, to twitter.

The purpose of this series of meetings is to consider the evidence supporting these "long models" of technological advance, and to speculate on how they might unfold.

About "Surfing the Sixth Wave: Modelling the next technology boom":

This session will examine the long cycles of technological development, considering where we are now, and where we are likely to go next.

We will begin by considering the different types of futurist and the different time horizons to which they apply their trade. From that, we shall consider how to model the long term future, and which models of the long term are reasonably persuasive. We shall then outline a model of long term technological development, an appreciation of where we are now, and an outline of where we would expect to head next.

Using this framework, we should be able to speculate on a number of important questions, including whether the Singularity is, actually, near.

About Stephen Aguilar-Millan:

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/8/9/b/e/event_140375262.jpeg

Stephen Aguilar-Millan is the Director of Research at the European Futures Observatory (http://www.eufo.org/), a futures think tank based in the UK. Stephen is also the President of the World Future Society (http://www.wfs.org/) (WFS) Europe Chapter, and sits on the Global Advisory Council of the WFS. He is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists (http://www.profuturists.org/), and sat on their Board from 2006 to 2009.

Stephen writes widely, and is a Contributing Editor of FUTURE (http://www.futuretakes.org/)takes (http://www.futuretakes.org/), a futures magazine based in the US. He is also a Commissioning Editor of World Future Review (http://www.wfs.org/wfr/), a futures journal based in Washington DC.

Stephen's current research projects include 'The Next Golden Age Of Technology 2030-45', 'Europe After The Euro', and 'Reconciling Austerity With The Future'.

Meeting logistics:

2pm-4pm, Saturday 15th September

Venue: Room B20, Birkbeck College (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/maps), Torrington Square WC1E 7HX, London.

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.

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 (http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub-food/marlborough-arms-bloomsbury/pid-C7440), 36 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HJ

Optional pre-meeting rendezvous - please feel free to join a small number of regular London Futurist attendees at the Marlborough Arms any time from 12.30pm onwards, for general chat over a light lunch and/or drinks. To find us, look out for a table with a futurist book on it.

The meeting is free to attend - no charge.

David Wood

London Futurists

Technology

Singularity

Life-Extension

Futurology

Transhumanism

New Technology

Nanotechnology

Artificial Intelligence

Biotechnology

Surfing The Sixth Wave, with Stephen Aguilar-Millan

Birkbeck College

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Surfing The Sixth Wave, with Stephen Aguilar-Millan

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