Dear Futurists,

July and August are quieter months for London Futurists. That’s because it’s a time when lots of people take breaks. It’s also because I’m personally trying to concentrate on finishing my forthcoming book “Transcending Politics: A Technoprogressive Roadmap to a Comprehensively Better Future”:

A better politics awaits us, beckoning us forwards. It’s up to us – all of us – whether we recognise that call and take the required actions. Key to these actions will be to harness technology more wisely and more profoundly than before…

But there are a few pieces of news I’d like to share with you.

1.) Speaker schedule for Agenda for the Future, 2nd September

The speaker schedule is firming up for our event on Saturday 2nd September, Agenda for the Future:

Unless we urgently change our culture, we risk collectively rushing towards a future which will turn out to be hostile to humanity. Can we identify and agree a better Agenda for the Future?

Speakers at this event will give their opinions on topics such as the transformation of politics, the challenge of artificial intelligence, the reform of capitalism, the increased importance of business ethics, a new approach to money, the risks to the environment, a simpler form of taxation, the benefits and risks of immigration, manipulation of the mass media, and changes in healthcare.

The speakers have in common the view that better solutions are at hand, provided we act with sufficient foresight. The aim of the event is to stimulate informed debate on the demands of the future.

The speakers represent a variety of important views and experience. Here’s how the day is shaping up:

(Subject to minor changes)

09.15: Doors open
09.45-10:00: Chair’s welcome
– David Wood: A Technoprogressive Vision of a Comprehensively Better Future
10.00-12:00: First group of speakers
– Derek Bates: Why we need an Agenda for the Future
– Tom Levitt: Why Business Doing Good is Doing Good Business
– Pat Kane: From Homo Economicus to Radical Animal
– Vicky Pryce: Can we Trust Economists?
12.00: Break for lunch and networking (lunch is not supplied)
13:00: Tea and coffee available, for post-lunch networking
13:30-15:00: Second group of speakers
– Rohit Talwar: Crossing the Chasm of Chaos: Navigating the Second Storm
– Dean Bubley: Anti-Forecasting: Taking the Impossible Off the Table
– Tim Pendry: Three Potential Problems With Futurist Politics
15:00: Break for tea/coffee networking
15.30-17.00: Final group of speakers
– Stephen Herring: A Tax System Fit for the Future
– Indra Adnan: Reimagining Politics
– Alvin Carpio: Creating a New Politics for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
17.00: Room empty. Optional continuation of discussion in nearby pub.

For more details of each of the speakers, see here.

Registration for this event is presently available for the low cost of just £15. From 1st August, tickets will rise to £18. (These charges are designed to to cover the costs of room hire, refreshments, and IT and AV expenses.)

To secure your attendance, RSVP via the meetup page for the event.

2.) Notes from our Houses of Parliament event

On 11th July, London Futurists and GlobalNet21 held a joint meetup in Portcullis House in the Houses of Parliament: Democracy In The Digital Age.

This document combines notes from various people who attended. The section headings give a good flavour of the topics covered:

• The pace of Parliamentary change
• MPs voting from outside Parliament?
• Changes to the first-past-the-post voting system
• Other alternative voting systems
• Controlling the flow of bad information
• The need to explore larger changes
• Learning from existing successful digital services
• Problems in an information-rich world
• Is Google making us all stupid?
• Solutions to problems with misinformation
• Bigger changes possible from forthcoming technology
• From smarter humans to smarter systems
• “This is for everyone”
• Some follow-ups.

3.) Workshop to design the future of the Transhumanist Party UK

Speaking of following up… here’s something that might interest any London Futurists who have a desire for a better style of politics:

This Saturday (29th July), a workshop is being held to design the future of the Transhumanist Party UK. The Party’s NEC (National Executive Committee) are inviting Party members, supporters – and potential supporters – to take part in this workshop.

The workshop will be held in the ground floor area of Newspeak House, Shoreditch, from 11am to 3pm. We’ll be having a break for lunch.

This is not a series of lectures and presentations, but rather a process to identify themes and projects that have the most resonance and power. The aim is to align different voices around a single goal and strategy for the future of the Party.

The NEC say: We need diverse voices and opinions. So don’t be shy!

To register to attend, see Eventbrite. The event is free to attend.

4.) Eat Dim Sum and discuss the abolition of aging – 15th August

On Tuesday 15th August, I’ll be taking part in an experimental new kind of evening activity: a “Dim Sum Talk”.

Funzing UK are inviting guests to Ping Pong, Covent Garden, to eat a sampling of dim sum dishes, and to listen to me speak on the subject Can Technology Stop Us Aging?.

Doors will open from 7pm, and I’ll start talking from around 7.30pm.

For more logistics details, and to register, click here. (I understand the room is relatively small, and there aren’t many seats left, sorry!)

To an extent, I’ll be repeating themes from some of my other recent talks on the abolition of aging. However, I never like to give the same talk twice. I prefer to include new material everytime.

On this occasion, for up-to-date material, I’ll be drawing on what I learn on the few days previous to the Dim Sum Talk, while attending the RAADfest conference on the other side of the world, San Diego, California.

By the way, if you’re still in two minds whether or not to travel to San Diego to attend RAADfest, you’ll need to decide soon. Two weeks from today is the first day of that festival.

My own reflections about RAADfest 2016, and what will be different for RAADfest 20017, are in this short video interview with Jim Strole, Director of the Coalition for Radical Life Extension.

Regards,

// David W. Wood
Chair, London Futurists