FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact: Iveta
Brigis, Public Relations (650) 396-8220 ivetabrigis@accelerating.org
ASF Accelerating
Change Conference 2004 Offers Unique & Potent Mix of Technologists
Los Angeles,
CA (August 31, 2004). The Acceleration Studies Foundation (ASF) announces Accelerating
Change 2004: Physical Space, Virtual Space, and Interface
at Stanford University, November 5-7, 2004.
Sponsored by
SAP Software, AC2004 analyzes the
accelerating interconnectivity of the Physical World, the increasing
accuracy of the Simulated World, and the growing importance of the
physical-virtual/human-machine Interface.
“Each
of these trends alone is powerfully impacting society today. Together,
they paint a truly transformational picture of the new economy,”
says John Smart, ASF President. “People
who go to the conference are going to understand some of the cutting
edge concepts and innovations today, and be able to use this knowledge
to make new products and services next year.”
As columnist,
author, and social pundit Bruce Sterling wrote
in this month’s Wired magazine, “The rate of
technological change is dizzying, and it's only getting faster.
[T]he Acceleration Studies Foundation is acknowledging
the trend with its second annual Accelerating Change conference.
[They are] … the first in the world to focus on the multidisciplinary
implications of accelerating change …”
AC2004 features
36 acceleration-aware speakers, including virtual worlds creators,
leading edge software designers, innovative venture capitalists,
best-selling authors, law enforcement futurists, and other prominent
technologists.
“These
individuals are all on the cutting edge of the socio-economic meme-space,”
says Alvis Brigis, Press Director. “It will
be very interesting to see what new concepts and innovative business
strategies emerge at this event. The cross-referencing possibilities
are endless when it comes to the subjects to be discussed at AC2004.”
AC2004’s
high-caliber roster includes Will Wright (creator
of The Sims), Gordon Bell (Project Leader, Microsoft’s
MyLifeBits), Cory Ondrejka (VP of Product Development
for Second Life, Time Magazine’s 2002 “Coolest Invention
of the Year”), David Brin (author of Transparent
Society), Helen Greiner (Co-Founder, iRobot),
Doug Engelbart (inventor of the computer mouse),
Bruce & Dave Hall (DARPA Grand Challenge Team,
Digital Auto Drive), Peter Thiel (Co-Founder and
former CEO, PayPal), John Mauldin (author of Bull’s
Eye Investing), Dan Gillmor (columnist for
the San Jose Mercury News and author of We, The Media),
Dana Blankenhorn (biz-tech consultant and author
of The Blankenhorn Effect: Making Moore's Law Work For You
and many more exceptional change leaders.
This year’s
lineup also includes head-to-head and panel debates. “One-on-one
debates fueled by audience feedback create a heightened mix of tough
critical thinking and passionate persuasive argument,” says
Jerry Paffendorf, Conference Co-Director. “The
arguments are evolving in realtime, so new ideas are bound to happen.”
In addition
to the valuable information communicated during the presentations
and debates, AC2004 will kick-off with a fascinating Technology
Demonstration on Friday night. Representatives from Linden Labs
and Sony Online Entertainment, among others, will show off and provide
context for their latest products in the conference theme of Physical
Space, Virtual Space, and Interface.
“Friday
night’s technology demonstration will hopefully bring out
the kid in all of us. But we will also learn that most of these
virtual ‘toys’ will contribute significantly to the
economy in the near term. And some already do,” notes Jimbob
Peltaire, Tech Night Director.
AC2004 sponsors include our lead sponsor SAP,
and additional sponsors IPv6 Summit,
Socialtext, Terra
Nova, Artificial Development,
and the VC Corporation Draper
Fisher Jurvetson.
“We’d
like to thank our AC2004 sponsors. They are helping us make this
one-of-a-kind event available to people who will truly benefit from
the ideas and networking presented there. I encourage anyone interested
in learning how to shape their personal or company’s future
to attend!” says Conference Co-Director Iveta Brigis.
Until
September 30th, conference registration is $350 for regular admission
(thereafter $450) or $150 for student admission. Express registration
is available at http://accelerating.org/ac2004/registration.html.
Visit http://accelerating.org/ac2004.html
for more information.
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