Our partners at the New York Academy of Sciences have a new event series, put on by their Science & the City program. The talk on the 6th is one way that New Yorkers attending the Summit can get to know one another beforehand:

Being Human in the 21^st Century

One of the signature traits of being human is our quest to define what it means to “be human.” But that definition is always changing—now perhaps more than ever. From virtual reality to mundane reality, science and technology continue to push the boundaries of human existence. In this series, Science &the City will examine what it means to be human in the 21st century.

Events in the series:

System Overload: The Limits of Human Memory

September 6, 2011 | 6.30-8.00pm

Joshua Foer’s best-selling book Moonwalking with Einstein brings readers inside the world of competitive memorization. At this event, Foer reveals that memory is not about having a bigger brain; it’s about using the one you have more efficiently.

Celluloid Science: Humanizing Life in the Lab

October 20, 2011 | 7.00-8.30pm

We’ve teamed up with the Imagine Science Film Festival to present a panel exploring film’s remarkable ability to break down misconceptions and humanize science. Co-sponsored by the Center for Inquiry.

Virtual Humanity: The Anthropology of Online Worlds

November 9, 2011 | 6.30-8.00pm

Online games allow people to form intense relationships, new economies, and complex societies that sometimes replace real world interactions. Anthropologist Thomas Malaby and game designer Lee Guzofski discuss how our humanity shapes virtual worlds.

Familiar but Strange: Exploring our Relationship with Robots

December 5, 2011 | 7.00-8.30pm

Why do some of robots make us want to give them hugs, while others make us want to run and hide? Roboticists Heather Knight and Chris Bregler discuss the future of robot-human relations.

Matchmaking in the Digital Age

February 15, 2012 | 7.00-8.30pm

OKCupid’s Christian Rudder gives a behind-the-scenes look at human mating in the 21^st century. He’ll explore how and why computer algorithms and web-based communities are replacing real-world social networks.

Tickets: $15 Members; $20 Nonmember Students; $25 Nonmembers

Special Offer: Buy tickets to 4 events and get the 5^th one free!

New Insider’s Package: Get tickets to all 5 events, plus reserved VIP seating, a free signed copy of Moonwalking with Einstein, an invitation to a special S&C reception, and much more (see the link below for full details).

Register now at www.nyas.org/beinghuman

All events take place at the New York Academy of Science, 250 Greenwich St., 40^th Fl, New York, NY 10007. Questions? Email customerservice@nyas.org or call 212.298.8640.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 27, 2011

This October 15-16th in New York City, a TED-style conference gathering innovators from science, industry, and the public will discuss IBM’s ‘Watson’ computer and other exciting developments in emerging technologies. Keynote speakers at Singularity Summit 2011 include Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings and famed futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil. After losing to an IBM computer in Jeopardy!, Jennings wrote, “Just as factory jobs were eliminated in the 20th century by new assembly-line robots, Brad and I were the first knowledge-industry workers put out of work by the new generation of ‘thinking’ machines. ‘Quiz show contestant’ may be the first job made redundant by Watson, but I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

In February, Watson defeated two human champions in Jeopardy!, the game show famous for its mind-bending trivia questions. Surprising millions of TV viewers, Watson took down champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter for the $1 million first prize. Facing defeat on the final show, competitor Ken Jennings jokingly wrote in parentheses on his last answer: “I for one welcome our new computer overlords.” Besides Watson, the Singularity Summit 2011 will feature speakers on robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, futurism, and other cutting-edge technologies, and is the only conference to focus on the technological Singularity.

Responding to Watson’s victory, leading computer scientist Ray Kurzweil said, “Watson is a stunning example of the growing ability of computers to successfully invade this supposedly unique attribute of human intelligence.” In Kurzweil’s view, the combination of language understanding and pattern recognition that Watson displays would make its descendants “far superior to a human”. Kurzweil is known for predicting computers whose conversations will be indistinguishable from people by 2029.

Beyond artificial intelligence, the Singularity Summit will also focus on high-tech and where it is going. Economist Tyler Cowen will examine the economic impacts of emerging technologies. Cowen argued in his recent book The Great Stagnation that modern society is on a technological plateau where “a lot of our major innovations are springing up in sectors where a lot of work is done by machines, not by human beings.” Tech entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel, who sits on the board of directors of Facebook, will share his thoughts on innovation and jumpstarting the economy.

Other speakers include MIT cosmologist Max Tegmark, Allen Brain Institute chief scientist Christof Koch, co-founder of Skype Jaan Tallinn, robotics professors James McLurkin and Robin Murphy, Bionic Builders host Casey Pieretti, the MIT Media Lab’s Riley Crane, MIT polymath Alexander Wissner-Gross, filmmaker and television personality Jason Silva, and Singularity Institute artificial intelligence researcher Eliezer Yudkowsky.

Open conference registration is at http://www.singularitysummit.com/registration.

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