What we’re about
Bay Area Humanists (BAH) is a group committed to promoting a positive identity focused on reason, empathy, and leading an ethical life. We organize different events in and around San Francisco and online, so we hope to see you at one of them. There is no cost to join our MeetUp or attend our events; however, there are expenses, so donations and annual memberships help with these expenses. **Become a dues-paying BAH member (basic $25/year), learn more about us, and register to receive our newsletter by visiting https://sfhumanists.org.**
Join Bay Area Humanists to Build Community:
- **https://tinyurl.com/Purpose-of-Bay-Area-Humanists**
- **https://tinyurl.com/Join-Bay-Area-Humanist**
P.S. We are particularly seeking membership recruiting help (Board Members), event planning, technical help with website updates, and other volunteer opportunities. There are many ways to help build our community that go beyond financial support. We thank you in advance.
Bay Area Humanists is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, meaning that dues and donations to us are tax deductible.
Upcoming events
2
AI Beyond ChatGPT
Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave, Los Altos, CA, USJoin our friend Michael Abramson next week, either in person or online.
(No meeting Sunday, December 28. Merry Yuletide!)
The focus of this discussion will be on General Artificial Super-Intelligence (GASI) coming next after Generative AI (GenAI, such as ChatGPT) based on Large Language Models (LLMs). We'll try to look behind the facade of sensationalist claims and fancy images and videos to understand what is technically possible, what to expect, what are the risks, and what we could/should do about all this.
Here is a link to the slides: AI beyond ChatGPT. It's perfectly fine if you review them before our discussion. These slides will likely become obsolete in a few months if not sooner, but they could provide initial pointers for your own research.
Bio: Michael Abramson is a professional software engineer, with life-long interest and career in modeling dynamics of complex systems. He is currently working as a contractor developing simulation software for NASA Aviation Systems Division. He lives in Mountain View.
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Attend in Person
Join fellow Humanists in the Manzanita Room of the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave Los Altos, CA 94022. Lunch will be served after the forum. We request a $10 donation.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.
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Attend Online
Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, go to:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09
No password is needed -- our host will admit you from the waiting room.
Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it's not already installed), and then take you to the meeting.
You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634
Join the meeting by phone. +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call here:
https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6
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Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
[webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY]()
Add this event to your Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=MXM1YmsyOXNodmN2aGxyZWU5MWIwZXI4bjcgaHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAbQ&tmsrc=humanistcommsv%40gmail.com
The Bay Area Humanists and Humanist Community Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=aHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAZ21haWwuY29t
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/
RSVP on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/312586487/
Click the Interested button or share on Patch: https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20260104/cf5d5361-93f4-43b0-aaee-3e3366356d2b/ai-beyond-chatgpt
Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter: https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/2004629889425760302
Humanist Community website: http://www.humanists.org/
Videos of previous forums: https://vimeo.com/hcsv/
To help our Forum series continue, please consider making a donation or becoming a member ([http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)](http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)) of the Humanist Community.
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If you would like to speak at a Humanist Forum, or know someone who would, or there is a topic you think we should discuss, please let us know by emailing [vp@humanists.org](mailto:vp@humanists.org) or [havasy@live.com](mailto:havasy@live.com).3 attendees
Meet Dan Barker: Music and Casual Conversation with FFRF's Co-President
Fireside Room, Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306, CA, USEnjoy this special opportunity, either in person or online, to relax, converse with and enjoy the secular music of Dan Barker, leading church-state separation advocate, author, composer, and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. You can look forward to an energizing mix of thoughtful discussion, live music, and engaging freethought conversation.
THIS EVENT is the third of five stops on Dan Barker's Western Tour in January, with events in Olympia WA, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Sacramento CA, and Salt Lake City UT. The day before this event, January 17, in San Francisco, Dan will speak about his book, God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction.
All events are open to the public, and everyone, members, friends, newcomers and strangers alike are warmly invited to attend.
HOSTED BY the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Atheist Community of San Jose, Humanists at Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, and the Bay Area Humanists and Humanist Community.
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Attend in Person:
Join fellow members of the community in the Fireside Room of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E Charleston Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
If you can join us in person, please email vp@humanists.org to help us make sure we have room for you. If you have symptoms that may be COVID, kindly attend on Zoom.
_________________________
Attend Online:
Also, we will continue to present our forums on Zoom. To join and be able to ask questions and make comments, go to:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81653890712?pwd=QzN4MTVNbGEwQ0Zua3d1VG9tVE50UT09
No password is needed -- our host will admit you from the waiting room.
Joining the meeting via the link will download and install the Zoom app on your desktop computer (if it's not already installed), and then take you to the meeting.
You can also install the Zoom app on your computer or smart phone, and then enter:
Meeting ID: 816 5389 0712
Passcode: 250634
Join the meeting by phone. +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
Find an international phone number to call here:
https://zoom.us/u/afYkAuvE6
_________________________
Subscribe to our events in your Apple Calendar:
[webcal://p162-caldav.icloud.com/published/2/Mjk3Nzk1MTgyMjk3Nzk1MRBa7aU6zKSIJMfDjhqBP8r3muvKK3GLLCRnZoCneHpXv08CyGJAJRVI5yyh-SVWxGJE9xHfdUs72pmiBNlOBpY]()
Add this event to your Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&tmeid=NmFudWZnazI4cHFpYzQzbXN2NW5uZjBhMGEgaHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAbQ&tmsrc=humanistcommsv%40gmail.com
The Bay Area Humanists and Humanist Community Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0?cid=aHVtYW5pc3Rjb21tc3ZAZ21haWwuY29t
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanistcommsv/
RSVP on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/humanistcommunity/events/312555561/
Click the Interested button or share on Patch: https://patch.com/california/paloalto/calendar/event/20260118/2737f9e7-08eb-43d5-825f-df783b6b3553/meet-dan-barker-music-and-casual-conversation-with-ffrfs-co-president
Retweet our announcement on the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter: https://x.com/HumanistCommSV/status/2003609290867900491
Humanist Community website: http://www.humanists.org/
Videos of previous forums: https://vimeo.com/hcsv/
To help our Forum series continue, please consider making a donation or becoming a member ([http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)](http://www.humanists.org/blog/membership/)) of the Humanist Community.
_________________________
If you would like to speak at a Humanist Forum, or know someone who would, or there is a topic you think we should discuss, please let us know by emailing [vp@humanists.org](mailto:vp@humanists.org) or [havasy@live.com](mailto:havasy@live.com).5 attendees
Past events
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