About us
This group is for people who are interested in the future and maybe want to help shape it.
The acceleration of technology means that the near future may bring radical changes to all of us. Major developments in technologies like anti-aging, nanotech, genetics, computing, robotics, and geo-engineering are going to make the next few years very exciting - and possibly also very dangerous. We could gain god-like powers - but we might also lose sight of our humanity, and destroy everything that we used to hold dear.
What's your view? Are things improving? Too slowly or too quickly? Are we are entering a new golden age? Or is the potential "Technological Singularity" something to fear? What does it mean to talk about "Human 2.0" and "Humanity+"? Or perhaps you view such talk as techno-hype? Maybe you just like the practical side of technology and want to find out more about possible paradigm shifts?
Anybody is welcome to this group - you don't have to be a Techno Geek or work for some futuristic company to be in our group. The future applies to us all!
Come join in the debate - have your opinions voiced and maybe make some interesting new friends.
All we ask is that members treat each other with the respect they would want for themselves. Our group has members of many ages and backrounds. We have many different perspectives on what the future may bring and like to share different ideas with each other. We approach the future with a open mind and sense of humility. Our group mission is to introduce you to some of the ideas, advancements and people who are making our future happen today.
If you have a subject you would like us to discuss at a meetup just drop us a line.
Note: Videos of some of the previous meetings are available on our YouTube Channel here https://www.youtube.com/user/LondonFuturists/ and here: (Older Archive).
Upcoming events
2
Talking about catastrophic and existential risks: Dos and Don'ts
·OnlineOnlineAttempts to raise awareness about catastrophic and existential risk often seem to be ineffective or counterproductive. Listeners turn away, find excuses not to engage, or make only token gestures as a result. What's going on?
People with long experience in the fields of marketing and advertising have pointed out several key facts of human psychology relevant to such conversations:
- Our deep-rooted aversion to contemplating annihilation - whether personal or global
- Our practical inability to grasp exponential escalation
- Our disengagement when conversations seem overly abstract or hypothetical, rather than having personal salience
- Our reluctance to accept uniform instructions that seem to be handed down by self-declared elites, where there is no chance to contribute meaningfully to determining solutions.
Researchers at Seismic Foundation have gone beyond theorising, to conduct empirical research into the effectiveness of different kinds of conversations about the various serious risks posed by misaligned AI. This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAw2yd2WKgo features a thought-provoking conversation between Philip Trippenbach of the Seismic Foundation and John Sherman of the AI Risk Network, on the implications arising for the question of how to talk to people about AI x-risk.
In this open online London Futurists swarm conversation, we'll be joined by Anthony Bailey, volunteer operations team leader at Pause AI Global, who has given a great deal of thought to these topics.
This Swarm conversation will be held inside a Zoom Meeting. No advance registration is required, but you will arrive in a Waiting Room until a co-host admits you. By default, please keep your mics muted. You will be welcome to turn on your cameras, and to exchange comments (respectfully, please) in the Chat window.
Here's a link to the event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82167994008?pwd=V3sICUwFn5515Bp88JMtFOeqkPAfqX.1
You can take part, either from a Zoom app if you have installed it, or from a web browser.
~~~~
Anthony describes himself as a mid-fifties nerd who quit his AI research and development job at Amazon in 2024 to volunteer for PauseAI.info because superintelligence risks remain neglected. For a slightly longer bio, see http://antb.me/pdoom.
20 attendees
The Technoprogressive Opportunity
LSBU Hub, 116, 100 London Rd, Elephant and Castle, London SE1 6NJ, London, GBThe Technoprogressive Opportunity is a two-day in-person conference in Central London (SE1), organised by the IEET and London Futurists, on the subject of "The future of ethics and emerging technologies".
As planning for the conference proceeds, members and friends of London Futurists are invited to RSVP 'Yes' if they expect to attend on one or both days - Saturday 19th September and Sunday 20th September.
Formal registration will become available nearer the time. There will be no charge to attend, or for morning and afternoon refreshments.
Brief description
We live in a time of dramatic changes in the capabilities of technologies. Political and social norms are being disrupted as never before. The future is deeply uncertain. Humanity faces a bewildering mix of risks of catastrophe. But we also have the potential to transition to a new state of civilisation – a new relationship with technology and the environment – featuring unparalleled increases in all-round flourishing.In this state of confusion and turmoil, how can society reach the wisest decisions about which technologies to encourage and which to constrain? How can society ensure that these decisions are followed in practice, rather than being ignored or subverted by powerful self-interested forces? How can a technoprogressive coalition grow in strength, as a decisive counter to existing worldviews which are more likely to leave humanity diminished, fragmented, or even extinct?
These are the questions at the heart of the technoprogressive opportunity.
Themes
Speakers are being invited to address themes such as:- Politics and human enhancement
- Technologies for collaboration
- Democracy in the wake of AI
- Abundance: Creating it, sustaining it, and sharing it
- The techlash as a catalyst for profound change
- The Technoprogressive Declaration, 12 years later
- Beyond the Green New Deal: global health and technological justice
- Society as a Service – assessing the Network State
- The impending Economic Singularity: myth or reality?
- AI misalignment: how bad could things get?
- Regulation in the era of augmented capabilities
- PostCapitalism and PostSocialism
- Progressive politics if there’s no working class
- Escaping from Molloch: avoiding the race to the bottom
- The Longevity Dividend: making it real
- Alternative banners: transhumanism, vitalism, ecomodernism, or what?
- From Cold War 2.0 to a new world order?
- Ethics: by whom and for whom?
- Lobbying for better policies: dos and don’ts
- Concrete next steps in building the technoprogressive coalition
Venue
The conference will take place in the LSBU Hub, part of London South Bank University, which is a short distance from London Waterloo, London Bridge Station, and London Borough Market.Address: 100-116 London Road, SE1 6LN.
We’ll be in the Southwark Lecture Theatre.
Note that this is an in-person event. All speakers are expected to give their presentation in person, at the LSBU Hub venue.
Speakers
Speakers will start to be announced shortly.Schedule
The schedule will be announced nearer the time. It will include networking time as well as presentations and dialogues.The conference is likely to run from 9:30am to 5pm on the Saturday and from 10am to 4:30pm on the Sunday.
Look out for options to obtain tickets to join speakers for dinner gatherings.
More information
Information about this forthcoming conference is also being shared at https://londonfuturists.com/forthcoming-meetings/the-technoprogressive-opportunity/.27 attendees
Past events
347
Group links
Members
9,029
