Pablo Brenner & Sergio Fogel Blog

2do dia Manana: Networks and Computer Systems

this track covers the explosive growth of computer power and networks, focusing on three key revolutionary areas: (1) Emerging and future computational and storage technologies, including 3D molecular computing, nanocomputing, DNA/RNA computing, plasmonics, spin storage, memristors, optical storage, photonics, quantum computing, pico- and femtotechnology, and autonomic computing, addressing important issues such as reversible computing, the limits of information representation, scalable computing systems, and future petascale and exascale supercomputers; (2) Future user interfaces, such as augmented reality, virtual reality. virtual worlds, blended reality, virtual agents, bots, lifelogging, breakthroughs in computer graphics, holographic and 3D displays, teleimmersion, telepresence, haptic interfaces, personalized learning, and extracting knowledge from massive volumes of data via data analysis, data mining, and information visualization; and (3) Intelligent networks, including nth-generation Internet, smart search engines, the semantic Web, smart grid, shared vs. dedicated Lightpath Internet, cyber-physical systems and sensor networks, security and privacy vs. transparency, mobile and location-based computing, cloud computing, Interplanetary Internet, ubiquitous wireless networks and ubiquitous computing, mesh networks, adaptive networks, embedded networks, and the global physics grid.

Tarde: Medicine and Neuroscience

This track will explore the future of biomedicine, neuroscience, and human enhancement and its impacts on human health and performance in six areas: (1) Stem cells and regenerative medicine: the emerging ability to repair, replace and regenerate damaged, aged, or diseased tissues utilizing cell therapies, therapeutic cloning, pluripotent stem cells, tissue engineering, biomaterials and artificial organs. (2) Targeted therapies, including minimally invasive medical devices, designer drugs, identification and targeting of cancer stem cells. (3) Medical diagnostics and imaging: increasingly powerful and rapid imaging modalities, point-of-care medical diagnostics, and biomarker technology. (4) Neuroscience: neuroprosthetics (artificial retina, cochlear implants, brain-computer interfaces, deep brain stimulation), neuroplasticity, and direct fMRI functional brain imaging/scanning. (5) Wellness: preventative drugs, supplements/antioxidants/diet, proactive regimens, Internet-based medical informatics, and telemedicine. (6) Human enhancement: exoskeletons, robotic limbs, neuroenhancing pharmacological agents, gene therapy, and anti-aging strategies.

3er dia, Manana,

Nanotechnology

This track will cover the science, technology and potential future capabilities of nanotechnology, including:

1.     The nature of atomically precise structures – atoms, molecules and the manufactured products they make possible.

2.     Core concepts in chemistry and computational chemistry.

3.     Fundamental scaling laws and their limits.

4.     How to arrange and rearrange molecular structures. Current and proposed manufacturing technologies including: lithography, self assembly, DNA nanotechnology, positional assembly, Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPMs), mechanosynthesis and molecular positional devices. The remarkably favorable economics of replicating manufacturing systems, molecular nanotechnology (MNT) and nanofactories.

5.     Molecular computing, molecular logic elements and carbon nanotube electronics.

6.     The ultimate limits of computing imposed by the size, heat dissipation, speed and other properties of logic elements. Quantum computing.

7.     Medical nanorobotics and nanomedicine, the coming revolution in medical capabilities, the extension of the healthy human lifespan, and cryonics.

8.     The availability and impact of inexpensive structural materials over 50 times stronger than steel (e.g., diamond, graphite, carbon nanotubes and the like). Rockets, airplanes and aerospace applications will all benefit – as will more mundane applications like the 200 gram bicycle and the 50 kilogram Lexus.

9.     Environmentally friendly manufacturing and the elimination of pollution, along with clean solar power and low cost energy storage.

10. Reducing the costs and increasing the availability of essentially all manufactured products, leading to a world of material abundance.

tarde: Future Studies Workshop

Singularity University is a profoundly and uniquely futures-oriented institution. Its very purpose is to identify and use exponentially-accelerating technologies to create better conditions for everyone on Earth; to heal and nurture the planet itself; and to guide humanity as it reaches beyond the limits of Earth and of humanity’s historical evolution on Earth. It is the mission of the Futures Studies and Forecasting Track to help see that this positive futures-orientation is foremost in everything we do by presenting, discussing, critiquing, and infusing the theories and methods of futures studies throughout the curriculum and in all SU activities. Ray Kurzweil, Paul Saffo, James Canton, and Jim Dator–futurists who have had years of practical, applied, as well as academic experience in futures studies–serve as co-chairs of this track.