Meetup Reboot - General Discussion

The East Bay Futurists have been in hiatus for a long time. I’ve had a lot going on personally, building out a retreat center in rural Mendocino county, but I am coming back to the Bay to restart this discussion series in September.

General discussions seem to do well and receive a good turnout, and really most meetups turn into general futurist discussions anyway, so this reboot meetup will be a general discussion. Here are some of the ideas that we have been kicking around:

1. A return to positivism? Modern futurism has suffered a hangover after the starry eyed science fiction of the 50’s and 60’s failed to give us flying cars and interplanetary battles. Instead we get social media addiction and a host of new and ingenious cancer causing pollutants. However, perhaps all is not lost? Recent breakthroughs have hinted at some seriously transformative technology on the horizon. We have certainly grown weary of watching potential breakthroughs fail to transform our lives, but what happens if we CAN cure cancer, generate limitless energy, or vastly increase computation ability? Do we have a philosophy of the future to take advantage of these things and move society into a positive direction? Dystopian world-views will be of little use in such a future. Perhaps we should prepare some framing to figure out where to go with these new powers.
2. Fixing the urban - A good friend from Oakland is lamenting the decline of the urban environments in the Bay Area. He has proposed a discussion of how to fix ailing cities that focuses on pragmatism with the goal of presenting these suggestions to local authorities. Definitely a discussion for the policy wonks among us. But futurists SHOULD be well positioned to provide unique insights into these problems. How will the changing landscape of the future impact the development and rejuvenation of the urban environment? On one hand, covid has established new norms for remote work, allowing many to flee the city. This drains the cities of cash and civic involvement of the professional class. On the other hand, cultural renewal might not be possible until rents fall to a certain level. Perhaps we need this urban decay to drive down costs to a reasonable level so that artists can afford to live here again?
3. OK, AI is really happening people - of course we futurists have been discussing Artificial Intelligence and it’s impact on employment for a long time. Our group in particular has met dozens of times to discuss this topic, but holy cow, look at what is happening now. It’s a good thing the writers and actors went on strike at this stage of AI development. If they had waited just a bit longer, they would all easily be replaced by AI. Large Language Models have really crossed a threshold that is impossible to ignore. As expected, the menial labor will be the last to be automated away. What can we do to prevent a massive socio-economic crash? Are we on the verge of the end of the Luddite Fallacy? I.e. will new technology really start taking more jobs than it provides? Or wil the previous trend continue and AI will generate far more jobs than we ever imagined? Some think that we have had a massive unmet need in software for example and that AI assisted software development will birth a new renaissance with all those wacky and annoying appideas by non-technical people coming easily to fruition. Or maybe we need UBI or something? Anyway, I want to get back into this.

Please bring your own ideas as well. All are welcome. I hope to see all my old friends as well as many new ones. This promises to be a very verdant discussion.

LOCATION CHANGE!!!

Very sorry for the last minute change, but I just found out that the patio at Cafenated is booked, so we are moving the meetup to Strawberry park in Berkeley near the "Hidden Cafe":

1250 Addison St Suite 111, Berkeley, CA 94702

We will have some folding chairs, but you should bring a chair or blanket or be prepared to sit on the ground. Ping me if you have any questions.