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TransVision MM
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July 15-16, London, UK
Index
What is TransVision?
TransVision is an annual gathering of (mainly) European transhumanists
and other people who are interested in how contemporary & future technological
developments could best be used to overcome the biological limitations
( including death, disease and unhappiness) of the human condition. Not
just the potential benefits of scientific progress will be
discussed, though, but also the very significant dangers of war or accidents
with advanced technologies. Topics may include cryonics, sustainable mood enhancement, life extension & food supplements, nanotechnology, AI, mind uploading, the (technological)
Singularity,
genetic
engineering, 'transhuman' music
and art, smart drugs, wearable computers etc. Apart from
these 'serious' issues there will be ample opportunity to eat, drink and
be gay, of course.
The previous TransVisions were hosted
by Transcedo in the Netherlands (in '98)
and Aleph in Sweden ('99). These were
fairly small, "inside" gatherings for transhumanists, but this year's
event is meant to be more open to the public, and will therefore be larger
and (presumably) somewhat different in style. It will be hosted by the
World Transhumanist Association (WTA) and the Alcor UK group.
Location & Dates
TransVision 2000 will be held at the City University in
(the heart of) London, UK. Check in Friday July 14.
As always, there will be some informal social activities before the actual
conference so be there early. If there's enough interest there may be
an organized trip to the Alcor UK
cryonics facility in Eastbourne. Interested parties can contact David Flude for more info.
The actual conference is on Saturday the 15t & Sunday the 16th, both
days from 10 AM to 6 PM. Informal activities on the 14th and after 6 PM
on Saturday & Sunday may include laser gaming, a visit to the Millennium
Wheel, the Tower, a museum or one of London's fine cemeteries, trips
to bars & discos etc., depending on the interest. If you have a good
idea for a fun activity or place to visit, please contact David Flude or post your
idea to the mailing list.
Speakers & Topics
18:00 - 19:00
Registration for early arrivals
9:00 Opening
10:20 Caffeine
10:40 Garret
Smyth (Alcor
UK): "What s new in cryonics"
12:00 Waldemar
Ingdahl. "The creole love call - transhumanism and the multicultural
challenge" (tbc)
12:30 Calories
13:30 Nick Bostrom (London School of
Economics): "The ethics of machine intelligence"
14:20 David Gems (University
College London): "Life-extension as ontological augmentation"
15:20 Caffeine
15:30 WTA
planning session
16:30 Laser-gaming
(optional)
18:30 End
& In
the evening, various groups will probably split off to continue discussions,
have dinner or explore the London night-life.
9:00 Silvia
Toni (National University of La Plata): "Why we need to read Greek
today: An answer in Plato s Sophist"
9:30 Alexander
Bard (pop star,
author): "The Netocracy vs. The Consumtariat - The Class Struggle
of The Information Age and beyond."
10:30 Caffeine;
smart drugs available!
12:30 Calories
13:30 Peter van Nedervelde
(Foresight Europe, director):
"UP! - Starting up the auto deification business... an exclusive
avant-premiere
introduction of the first transhumanism-inspired and explicitly transhumanistically
themed start-up incubator."
14:30 Panel
debate (topic tba)
15:20 Caffeine
16:50 Wrap-up
Costs, Registration & Accommodation
The standard package deal is £100 (one hundred UK pounds - check
out the Universal Currency Converter to see how
much that is in your own currency ). This includes 2 nights single room
accommodation (sorry, no doubles) at the City University campus,
cooked breakfast, lunch, tea or coffee and the 2 day conference. There
are also tea & coffee making facilities, a communal large-screen TV
and a bar available for all guests. Why not add on a few extra days at
£18 a night, bed & breakfast, and make a holiday of it? This Conference
is likely to fill up quickly so please book early. We don't want to have
to turn people away but there is only limited accommodation & conference
places! To register for the conference, please contact Mary Bailey
(see below).
The deposit-minimum which is required in advance is £30. Balance due
by June 30. We accept VISA, MasterCard, AMEX or cheques with bankers
card number. Cheques made out to:
"MARY BAILEY CONSULTANCY LTD."
7 GRESSENHALL ROAD, LONDON,
SW18.1PQ. U.K.
Phone: +44/(0) 181 874 6853.
Fax: +44/(0) 181 874 2793.
Email: marybailey@skynow.net.
Note: please do not write or telephone City University yourself
regarding the booking, but contact Mary Bailey (see above) or -in case
you can't reach her or if you plan to stay
somewhere else, i.e. not at City U, during the conference- Garret Smyth or David Flude.
Tip: looking for a place to stay in London? Check out LondonTown's
Accommodation Index Categories include Serviced Accommodation, Self
Catering Accommodation, Budget and Student Accommodation.
Travel Directions
 | Getting
to City University City University is in central London and
is well served by public transport - underground ('tube'), buses and
rail services. This site is meant for those coming from within Britain.
When coming from abroad, see below.
| Getting to City
University from Overseas London is served by five airports:
Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Luton & Stanstead, but
one can also go by train or ferry, of course. This site, also provided
by the university itself, has some good general info.
| How to
get from Gatwick & the other airports to central London.
Can be used to supplement the previous sites.
| Maps of
London, courtesy of LondonTown.com.
| And if the info above isn't sufficient, check out The London Tourist Information
Service. "Telephone our 24-hour tourist information hotline
on 0839 33 77 99 (+44 171 244 9999 from outside the UK), or
fax 0171 341 9999".
General Contact Info
 | If you'd like to be considered as a speaker, please contact
David Flude
as soon as possible.
| reporters/film crews from several countries are planning to attend. For media enquiries, please
contact Nick Bostrom.
| For any other questions related to the conference, please
contact Garret
Smyth. |
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Mailing List
If you want to keep in touch with developments (news on speakers,
auxiliary activities, travel info, alternative lodging etc.), have
suggestions, questions or comments and/or want to help organizing
the event, you're welcome to join the TransVision mailing list, which
will be used for future conferences as well. This can be done
by either going to http://www.egroups.com/group/transvision/
or by sending a blank email to mailto:%20transvision-subscribe@egroups.com.
If you're having trouble (un)subscribing, you can always contact mailto:%20transvision-owner@egroups.com
for help.
Previous TransVisions
TransVision '98,
the first TransVision gathering was organized by the Dutch Transhumanist
organization Transcedo, and
was held in Weesp, near Amsterdam.
TransVision '99, the second
European transhumanist gathering was organized by the Swedish Transhumanist
Organization f/k/a Aleph, and was held in Stockholm.
Related Links
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