Dear Futurists,
A few days ago, I shared this question on social media:
If you had a chance to speak for ten minutes to the politicians and other international leaders who will gather at the UK’s Bletchley Park on 1-2 November for the AI Safety Summit, what would you want to say?
Six members and friends of London Futurists kindly stepped forward with their suggestions of what the participants at that Bletchley Park Summit most need to hear.
They approach the question from six different perspectives. So I’m anticipating a rich conversation when they all join the panel in our Bletchley Park preview webinar, taking place on 23 September.
Read on for the details, and for news of some related activities.
1.) AI Safety Summit: The most important considerations
Thanks are due to the following, each of whom are preparing a short set of remarks for our webinar on 23 September:
- Francisco Cordoba – Fintech entrepreneur, MIT innovator, MA from UCL, Edmund Hillary fellow (NZ) & author of the book Beat The Robots.
- Amitā Kapoor – Oxford University AI/Machine Learning Tutor and Mentor, and author of five books about AI and Machine Learning
- Kim Solez – Director of the course “Technology and the Future of Medicine” at the University of Alberta, Canada
- Jerome Glenn – Executive Director of The Millennium Project, and lead editor of the recent report on the governance of the transition to Artificial General Intelligence
- Orit Kopel – Founder & CEO Glass Voices, Co-Founder of WikiTribune, and former CEO of the Jimmy Wales Foundation
- Tony Czarnecki – Managing Partner, Sustensis (“a think tank on civilisational transition to coexistence with superintelligence”), and author of 6 books on the future of AI
After these opening remarks, we’ll be answering questions raised by the audience. And after that, for anyone willing to stay longer, there will be a more informal conversation, in which everyone still present will be encouraged to share their views.
On this occasion, there is no charge to register for the webinar or to attend.
Click here for more details, and to register to attend.
2.) Survey: Anticipating AI-30
To stretch your minds ahead of our webinar on 23rd September, please consider taking part in the London Futurists survey “Anticipating AI in 2030”.
Some of you have asked me what’s the difference between this survey and the previous one in the same series, “Key open questions about the transition to AGI”, which ran from June through August.
In some ways, the new survey begins where the last one ended. The answers to that previous survey – a selective summary of which you can read here, in line with the questions – highlighted areas where more attention was needed. Hence the new survey.
Other differences between the two surveys:
- The new one leaves behind questions specific to “AGI”, and simply considers what AI may be like in 2030
- The new one has more emphasis on positive outcomes, to run in parallel with questions about negative outcomes
- There are fewer questions in the new survey!
Indeed, here’s a list of the 18 questions in the new survey:
Many thanks to everyone who has already provided answers to one or both of these surveys. It’s from our collective intelligence that the best insights are most likely to arise.
3.) An update on the Economic Singularity
The latest episode of the London Futurists Podcast, released yesterday, covered a set of ideas that co-hosts Calum Chace and I believe deserve careful attention at Bletchley Park. Namely, the Economic Singularity, and two misconceptions about joblessness and the future of AI.
Click on the image to listen:
The two episodes before that featured a total of seven short interviews held at the Longevity Summit Dublin. If you missed that event, or if you just want to re-experience some of its rich flow of ideas and inspiration, click on the images for these episodes:
4.) MKAI: Anticipating Generative AI in 2028
In case the subject of the overall future of AI is overpowering, how about considering just the future of one type of AI, namely generative AI?
That’s what friends of London Futurists at MKAI have decided to make their topic for their online event on 26th September. It’s free to attend.
Here’s an extract from the webpage for the event:
Journey with us into the heart of the future, where generative AI takes another evolutionary leap. This forward-looking and inclusive forum invites attendees to peer into the transformative landscape of 2028. With insightful panellists leading the way, we will explore the expected advancements, the unforeseen challenges, and the ethical frameworks that might govern this AI-driven world. Together, we aspire to chart a course where generative AI doesn’t just evolve, but does so with humanity’s best interests at its core.
In the context of envisioning AI’s leap, we delve deep into projections and possibilities of the next phase of Gen AI. This includes:
- Predicting AI’s progression: Foreseeing the advancements in algorithms, capabilities and applications of generative AI.
- Anticipating societal implications: How will the advancements of generative AI reshape industries, job markets and daily life?
- Evolution of human-AI collaboration: Understanding how our roles might change and how we can stay relevant in the design, oversight and deployment processes.
- AI’s equitable growth: Ensuring that the benefits and opportunities of advanced generative AI are accessible to all, regardless of background or expertise.
Yes, it’s my face you can see on the above image as one of the speakers. In addition to MKAI regulars, you’ll be hearing from:
- Amitkumar Shrivastava, Head of AI at Fujitsu India, Fujitsu Fellow & Global Fujitsu Distinguished Engineer
- David Wood, Chair of London Futurists
- John Havens, Regenerative Sustainability Practice Lead, IEEE Standards Association
- Cindy Coon, Experiential Futurist
5.) The Astonishing Vastness Of Mind Space
(Image credit: Tesfu Assefa, Mindplex.ai)
One of my essays was recently featured on Mindplex. It’s a thoughtpiece entitled The Astonishing Vastness Of Mind Space: The Incalculable Challenges Of Coexisting With Radically Alien AI Superintelligence.
It starts with this provocation:
There are more types of superintelligence in mind space, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy.
Enjoy!
// David W. Wood
Chair, London Futurists
London Futurists 
