Past Meetings Jan-Jun 2013
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Minnesota Futurists Front Page
Current Meeting & Topic Schedule
Regular Meetings are Saturdays from 9:30-11:30 AM Directions
Knights of Columbus Building - Meeting Room, 1114 American Blvd West, Bloomington, MN
Feb 9, 2013
Futures Forum
Title: Current Events for the Future
Moderator: David Keenan
Abstract: All right class, for Current Events for the Future, everyone should prepare one item to present to the class for 3 to 5 minutes, on any subject for the future.
Feb 16, 2013
Technology Futures
Title: Book Report
Speaker: Eric Hand
Abstract: Eric will discuss the new book "How to Create a Mind" by futurist Ray Kurzweil.
Ray Kurzweil, the bold futurist and author of The New York Times bestseller of The Singularity Is Near, is arguably today’s most influential technological visionary. A pioneering inventor and theorist, he has explored for decades how artificial intelligence can enrich and expand human capabilities.
Now, in his much-anticipated How to Create a Mind, he takes this exploration to the next step: reverse-engineering the brain to understand precisely how it works, then applying that knowledge to create vastly intelligent machines.
Drawing on the most recent neuroscience research, his own research and inventions in artificial intelligence, and compelling thought experiments, he describes his new theory of how the neocortex (the thinking part of the brain) works: as a self-organizing hierarchical system of pattern recognizers. Kurzweil shows how these insights will enable us to greatly extend the powers of our own mind and provides a roadmap for the creation of superintelligence—humankind's most exciting next venture. We are now at the dawn of an era of radical possibilities in which merging with our technology will enable us to effectively address the world’s grand challenges.
How to Create a Mind is certain to be one of the most widely discussed and debated science books in many years—a touchstone for any consideration of the path of human progress.
Video of Ray's Nov 2012 talk at "Authors at Google"
Feb 23, 2013
Society, Management and Education Futures
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Mar 2, 2013
Future Studies
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Mar 9, 2013
Economic Futures or Futures Forum
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Mar 16, 2013
Technical Futures
Title: Current State and Future of Supercomputers
Presenter: Dr Earl Joseph Jr.
Moderator Brian Toren
Abstract: Earl will cover the latest trends in technical computing and supercomputers along with forecasts of the future. The talk will look at how different countries around the world are using supercomputers to improve their economies, innovation and research. Supercomputer technology has been through major shifts and evolutions over the last decade, and is expected to go through a new revolution in the next 5 to 8 years.
Bio: Earl Joseph, Program Vice President of IDC's High-Performance Systems, drives research and consulting efforts associated with the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific markets for technical servers and supercomputers. This research includes market sizing, market share, segmentation, tracking, trending, and vendor analysis for the multi-user technical server technology. Dr. Joseph advises IDC clients on the competitive, managerial, technological, integration and implementation issues for technical servers. Dr. Joseph is also heading up IDC's high-end HPC user forum activities.
Dr. Joseph's areas of expertise include technical computers from entry-level servers to high-end capability supercomputers, software, storage and networking solutions for technical computing. He has worked for four technical computing companies in multiple marketing and R&D roles. Dr. Joseph has a strong background in computer technologies and future directions in technical computing. Prior to joining IDC, Dr. Joseph spent his 29 year career in IT in the HPC market space, most recently at SGI and Cray Research. Dr. Joseph has recently worked closely with the leading HPC users around the world on their current and future market requirements.
Dr. Joseph holds a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota where his research focus was the strategic management of high technology firms, and an undergraduate degree in business and technology from the University of Minnesota.
International Data Corporation (IDC) http://www.idc.com/
Mar 23, 2013
Society, Management and Education Futures
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Topics Pending for 2012
Future schedule work in progress
Roundtable: Tech Breakthrough Forecasts for 2015-2020
See topics awaiting dates above.
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