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If you're one of us--the turn-of-the-century folk who have already resolved not to be caught in an elevator or an airplane on New Year's Eve, but are really not expecting to lose lives or livelihoods to ambulatory palm pilots any time soon--here's a symposium for you. Technology's power in sculpting the future of mankind, artificial intelligence and all related reflections on progress and humanity will be examined on the Indiana University Bloomington campus March 6.
If your ruminations about the future are focused--for instance, you've read the radical lines of several recent books arguing that the relentlessly accelerating march of technology will make desktop computer power far exceed the capabilities of the human brain in the next few decades--you also need a seat at the free symposium. Some of the most reflective minds at the university will be considering the topic: "Intelligent Machines: The End of Humanity?"
Among presenters will be Douglas Hofstadter, College Professor of cognitive science and computer science; J. Michael Dunn, director of the Office for Informatics and Ewing Professor of philosophy and professor of computer science; Michael McRobbie, vice president for information technology at IU; psychologists Richard Shiffrin and Linda Smith, sociologist Thomas Gieryn, and computer scientist Gregory J.W. Rawlins whose most recent book is Slaves of the Machine: The Quickening of Computer Technology. Full text of Rawlins' Moths to the Flame is on line:
http://www.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/rawlins/moths/
The symposium will run from 1-4: p.m. at Rawles Hall 100, IUB. Go to this Web site for more information:
http://www.cogsci.indiana.edu/symposium99.html
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