FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Bresnahan, Public Relations
(650) 396-8220, mail(at)accelerating.org

ASF ANNOUNCES CONFERENCE ON THE PHENOMENON OF ACCELERATING CHANGE

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 13, 2003) – The Acceleration Studies Foundation (ASF) announces the Accelerating Change Conference (ACC2003): Exploring the Future of Accelerating Change, to be held at Stanford University, September 12-14, 2003. Until July 28th, conference registration is $295 for regular admission or $100 for student admission (thereafter $395 / $150). Express registration is available at http://www.accelerating.org/acc2003/registration.htm.

Ray Kurzweil, featured speaker and noted authority on emerging technologies, has observed: “Today, everyone expects continuous technological progress and the social repercussions that follow. But the future will be far more surprising than most observers realize: few have truly internalized the implications of the fact that the rate of change itself is accelerating."

The phenomenon of accelerating change is observed in many complex systems, such as biological organisms, economies, computing systems, and the general process of technological development. Over the course of their development, such systems become radically more efficient and powerful—most famously seen in the history of integrated circuits (ICs), as described by Moore’s Law.

Moore’s Law observes that transistor density in ICs has doubled every 18 to 24 months since 1964. In the past 40 years, the end of Moore’s Law has often been predicted, yet the explosive growth of computing power continues today. Kurzweil proposes that there is a "generalized Moore's Law” (what he calls the ‘Law of Accelerating Returns’), not just for the past and present of computing (e.g., vacuum tubes and integrated circuits), but for future computing methods (e.g., carbon nanotubes and optical computing).

The Accelerating Change Conference will offer a range of discussions on the multi-fold implications of the accelerating rate of change. Attendees will seek greater understanding of these profound implications to improve the quality of their decisions in scientific, business, and social arenas.

ACC2003 speakers include Ray Kurzweil (via Teleportec's 3D Telepresence Lectern); venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson of Draper Fisher Jurvetson; K. Eric Drexler, Founder and Chairman of Foresight Institute; James N. Gardner, author of Biocosm; John R. Koza, CEO of Genetic Programming; Greg Papadopoulos, CTO of Sun Microsystems; Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly & Associates; Howard Bloom, author of Global Brain; and Robert Wright, author of Nonzero.

There will be 24 speakers, with overall participation limited to 300 attendees. This will insure a rich and stimulating range of discussions as we seek to understand:

• What will the world be like if Moore’s Law continues for another 30 years?
• How do we move beyond what Kurzweil calls the "intuitive linear" view of the future?
• How do we better recognize highly probable and convergent technological developments, such as social software, speech-driven computing, and nanotechnology, to accelerate their humane benefits?
• How do we see past local evolutionary "noise" to deeper developmental "signal"?

Topics to include:

• Multifold Trends in Accelerating Change
• Nanotechnology and Nanoscience
• Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)
• Venture Capital in a World of Accelerating Change
• The Technological and Developmental Singularity
• Biologically Inspired Computing
• Accelerating Change and World Peace
• The Linguistic User Interface
• Social Software Solutions
• Technology and Interdependence

ABOUT ASF

ASF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation based in Los Angeles, California. Our mission is to help business and society examine the potential risks and benefits of the accelerating pace of change through our conferences, reading groups, publications, websites, and sense of community. For more information about ASF and ACC2003, contact Tom Bresnahan, Public Relations, (650) 396-8220, or see http://www.accelerating.org.