Transvision 2003 Panel 

Sunday June 29, 2003    

10:45-12:15pm

Linsly-Chittenden Hall, 62 High St., New Haven CT

Visions of the Future

 

Moderator: John Smart

Andrew Zolli

President Z + Partners

"Visions of the Future"

Andrew is a forecaster, design strategist and author, working at the intersection of culture, creativity, technology, and futures research. Andrew specializes in helping people and institutions see, understand and act upon complex change. Most recently, Andrew was the editor of the Catalog of Tomorrow, (QUE Publishing, 2002) which explores 100 trend and technologies for the next 25 years. His next book, In Good Company, about the complex relationship between brands and culture, will be published in 2003. Andrew is the former Chief Marketing Officer of one of the world's leading brand consultancies, Siegelgale, where he helped develop new brands, businesses, products and services for companies such as The Weather Channel, Netscape, Kodak, American Express, AT&T, Toys R Us, Silicon Graphics, Lucent, Hewlett Packard, Forrester Research, Sappi, T. Rowe Price, The Industry Standard, and IBM, among many others. While at Siegelgale, Andrew was also instrumental in creating the CRAVE Conference, a design event exploring the nature of and craft of compelling design experiences. In the mid-1990's, Andrew helped found the company's new media practice, and helped envision and develop next-generation approaches to product development, user experience, and communications. He also created and led the company's research and development lab, which explored digital user experience and interface design. Under his direction, the lab developed significant virtual reality and graphics applications for the Web. Prior to this, in the early 1990's, Andrew participated as an academic researcher in core technology and standards research and development that shaped the World Wide Web. Andrew speaks and writes widely on the subjects of technology, design, communications and long-term forecasting. He has spoken at conferences around the world, including at The Design Management Institute, Internet World, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, The Conference Board, the American Center for Design, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, and Columbia, the Federal Trade Commission, as well as for Fortune 500 and other institutions. He has edited several books on new technology and his work, ideas and writing have appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Wired, I.D., The Industry Standard, Eye magazine, and National Public Radio. Andrew is a past board member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts' New York chapter. He has served as an advisor to TRUSTe, the leading Internet privacy organization, to The Doctors' Company, a leading healthcare insurance concern, and to the Arlington Institute, a leading futures research firm. He has also served as a conference programming advisor to CNET and the Seybold Seminars.

Eliezer Yudkowsky

Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence

"Posthumanity: A Nice Place To Live?"

[LISTEN HERE]

We spend so much of our time around other humans, we forget to ask what other possibilities might exist. Step outside the human space and take a look around. Transhumanists know that changes can sometimes be for the better. Let's examine some really big changes.

Eliezer Yudkowsky serves on the Board of Directors of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the World Transhumanist Association. His publications include "Levels of Organization in General Intelligence" and "Creating Friendly AI."

David Donnelly Ph.D.

School of Communications Quinnipiac University

"The Ethics of Forecasting: A Look at Current Visions of the Future Human Race"

 

This presentation will examine the technological and social forecasts surrounding developments in the areas of biotechnology and transhumanism. The utilization of such forecasts in public discourse and the formulation of public policy will be discussed in conjunction with a consideration of the ethical responsibility of the forecaster.

Dr. David F. Donnelly is the Associate Dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University. He is the creator of online Media Futures Archives, and the web-based educational site Media Ethicopoly. His research areas include the social and cultural impact of technology, the process of technological innovation, and communication policy and new media. He has contributed to seven books and numerous scholarly and popular press publications. He received his MA. and Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts in Communication, and his BA in Radio-Television- Film from the University of Maryland.