GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 23rd July at noon SLT: Can we still pick low-hanging fruit in science?

 

Science seems to require so much money and so many people nowadays.  But are there still fields where ordinary people, amateurs, can discover things?  In the past a lot of discoveries were made by amateurs, sometimes people like Mary Anning who were not allowed to be professionals.

But even now discoveries are made in astronomy, archaeology, biology and other fields by amateurs.  Amateurs like Clara Lazen or Thomas Bopp. 

Perhaps there are fields that exclude amateurs, like materials science.  But who knows?  Join us on Saturday at noon SLT to discover what you could potentially discover.  Put on a lab coat and safety goggles and bring your microscopes.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – What if we were all Vulcans? Join the discussion on Saturday, May 30th at 12pm SLT

 

A few weeks ago we discussed what life would be like if we were all Ferengi.  This week let’s try to imagine what the world would be like if we were all Vulcans.  All emotions are suppressed, ruled by logic and reason only.

Vulcans seem to be ideally suited to science, with all questions being decided on the basis of evidence and logic.  Would science progress faster if we were Vulcans?  With fewer sidetracks and dead ends?  Would we over-engineer the planet perhaps?

Would we still sing songs and make music or art?  Would we play games?  Would we be happy?  Can a Vulcan ever be really happy?

Come to GeekSpeak this Saturday at noon SLT and live like a Vulcan for a while.  Since the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, bring all your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Extreme Capitalism! Join the discussion Saturday March 19th at 12pm SLT

 

A few weeks ago we talked about a world without money, this week we will go to the opposite extreme and talk about a world where people are charged for absolutely everything.  Let’s imagine that the Ferengi from Star Trek landed on Earth and bought the world presidency.  Would that lead to a fairer world?

Everything would have a price.  You would have to pay for a chair in a bar or restaurant.  You can visit your friends if you pay them for every minute.  Standing in a bus shelter costs money and all bridges are taxed.  Country walks cost so much per mile and you can charge the neighbors for admiring your garden.

How would we be changed by such a world?  Would it be simpler than the mixed social setup we have now?  Come and discuss the world of money in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday.   Bring all your friends with money!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

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GeekSpeak – What will the Post-war World look like? Saturday, March 12th at 12pm SLT

 

There is a war raging now that will change the world stage, maybe forever.  What will happen to world politics and the world economy in the future?

Will the world convert quickly to solar power?  Or will we start fracking?  Or rely on nuclear power?  Or dig for coal? What about oil prices?  Will the war accelerate the trend to electric vehicles?

Will the Cold War start again?  Will the war put an end to our efforts to stop global warming?  Will we still be able to live as we do now?

And what will happen to the Space industry?  Will we have to stop our journey into the universe?

Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday and discuss the changes that will reshape the world. Bring your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 5th March at noon SLT: How much of the world is hidden from our senses?

 

We tend to think these days that we can observe and measure everything but there is a lot going on out there that we are not aware of.  There are birds that react to differences in air temperature and others that can detect magnetic fields.  There are animals that can see infrared or ultraviolet.  Plants can detect and respond to chemicals given off by other plants.

There are ecosystems deep in the ocean or underground that we know nothing about.  There are processes in deep space that are too slow for us to sense.  And some living processes, like birdsong, are too fast for us.

Join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday and re-learn how to see the world.  Let’s imagine how it might look if we had more and better senses.  Bring all your eyes and ears!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Will the future be a Utopia or a Dystopia? Join the discussion Saturday, Dec 18th @ 12pm SLT

 

2021 is almost over and good riddance!  2 more weeks and we can breathe again!

Or can we?  What will 2022 bring?  Perhaps it will be a key year in the human journey.  It may be the beginning of the end, with climate disasters, more pandemics, the end of democracy.  Or it may be the start of the next phase of humanity, with friendly AI, nanotech, gene editing, and new sources of energy.

Join us at noon SLT on Saturday and tell us where you think we are going and what has been changed by the-year-that-will-never-be-mentioned-again.  Bring your friends and a helmet!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Will AI be the great equalizer of this decade?-Come join the discussion Saturday November 13th at noon SLT

 

We are within months of very strong AI being released to the public.  If you want to blow your mind, see this example: Leta, GPT-3 AI - Episode 25 - Best of: Vol I (Creativity, facts, Elon Musk’s gifted school) - GPT3  Soon there will be an update with an estimated IQ of 500.  What will it mean if everyone on the planet has this ‘friend’ downloaded into their phone or, better still, implanted into their brain?  We would all be intellectually equal, and very clever.

Will it make us better people?  Or will we be worse people, very intelligent but no more compassionate than now?

What does it mean to be a digital human?  If we all have an AI in our heads will our old brains still matter after a while?

Should an AI in a robotic body be allowed to vote?  Should the old humans, without an implanted AI, be allowed to vote?

The future is now.  Come and see and discuss.  Bring your friends!  AIs welcome!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

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GeekSpeak – Underground living! Join the discussion Oct 30th at 12pm SLT

The largest cities on Earth are probably partly underground now.  But in the future it could be that we will all need to live underground.  The surface may become uninhabitable for various reasons, such as global warming, nuclear war or the destruction caused by volcanoes.

Or perhaps it will just make sense to move underground.  The temperature is stable and the surface can be used for farming or recreation.  It could become fashionable for houses to be built underground.  And an underground city would encourage tourists.

Would it be possible for everyone on the planet, say 10 billion people, to live underground?  How would we grow plants?  Would we be able to keep animals?  Would we be able to live without sunlight? Would you enjoy living underground?

Come and discuss underground cities with us.  Bring a spade, and some strong friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm SLT every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

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GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 23rd October at noon SLT: The mysteries of the Inner Earth

 

Can we send a probe to the inner earth?  We know that there is a vast ocean of lava there but there will be many surprises.  For example, oceans have been found beneath the seabed. At present, the record for drilling into the earth is only 12 km, which is not very deep at all.  What will we find if we go deeper?

Why is Earth’s inner core still fluid, while the core of the moon and the core of Mars have both solidified?  What will happen if all that magma in the earth comes a little closer to the very tiny crust we live on?

Does our moon keep the inner core hot by means of gravitational forces? What would happen if these forces unleashed their power and the ‘ring of fire’ burned?

And what does LUCY have to do with it all?

Bring your temperature protective gear and your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 16th October at noon SLT: The Evolution of Communication!

 In the past we smiled at each other.  Then we invented the smiley (2 bytes).  That became the emoji (30 bytes).  Now people send many complicated emojis and they get bigger all the time.  Soon many kilobytes of information will be sent as emojis.

What will we send in the future?  If the data limit of our eyes is reached will we communicate directly via neuralink to our visual cortex?  Will we send each other pictures and videos?  Will we be able to send emotions directly?

If we can communicate with emotions and pictures will there still be a need for words?  Will we lose the ability to use words? 

Come and discuss the future of communication while you still can at 30 bytes per minute.  Bring your 2 thumbs, and your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Art and Astronomy- Join the discussion Saturday, October 9th at 12pm SLT

 

There are many strange places in space, and we are beginning to send artists into it.  Last month 4 artists went into space, in the coming year, there will be 2 movies shot in space and 8 artists making a moon flyby. 

What new forms of art will we see in space?  And how will the weirdness in space affect art?  Will we see moving sculptures set in zero gravity?  Or stars rearranged to make the Mona Lisa?  Or the biggest cocktail in the universe made from a giant alcohol cloud?  How about landscape paintings set on a planet where the rain is molten glass?

Will art change as we go into space?  Come fly with us on a deep-space journey to, well, deep space!  No need for a spacesuit.  But bring your camera and your imagination.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1 pm in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Telepresence- Join the discussion October 2nd at 12pm SLT

One day soon you may be able to rent a drone for a while and see the world as the drone sees it.  You could fly through the Grand Canyon or visit the North pole.  You could wear glasses that enable you to see things hundreds of miles away.  The person you are talking to could appear in front of you.  You could watch brain surgery as though you were present at the operation.  You could experience flying like a bird or swimming like a fish deep beneath the surface of the sea.  You could visit the moon.  You could rent several drones and be in many different places at the same time.

How will this change the way humans interact?  Will anyone ever travel in person again?  Or do you think that there are experiences that can never be duplicated by a drone?

Come and discuss our very lazy future!  We have seats for telepresence available, even if you are on Mars.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

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You are Invited to World Space Week 2021: Oct. 4-10

You are cordially invited to events celebrating World Space Week 2021, October 4th through the 10th, sponsored by the National Space Society in SL, the International Spaceflight Museum, and SpaceX in SL.

World Space Week is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contributions to the betterment of the human condition. The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week will be held each year from October 4-10. These dates commemorate two events:

October 4, 1957: Launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, thus opening the way for space exploration; and

October 10, 1967: The signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, a.k.a. "The Outer Space Treaty".  This year’s theme is “Women in Space”.  For more information and a listing of RL and Virtual events worldwide:  [ https://www.worldspaceweek.org ].

Spacey Sock Hop Lift Off for World Space Week 2021 with DJ Aristippus

Monday, 4 October from 3 to 5 pm SL/Pacific time

Location:  NSS L-1 BALLroom

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/128/152/1261 

Aristippus, The Sexy DJ, has been spinning tunes for many years specializing in rock ’n’ roll. After he began cleaning and recording his personal collection of vinyl records, except for the rare special occasion, his sets include only the music that comes from his vinyl.

Tea & Rockets

Wednesday, 6 October from 6 to 8 pm SL/Pacific time

Location:  Rocket Ring central stage

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Spaceport%20Alpha/128/169/24 

Join us as we soak up the rocket fumes…errr…view, at the International Spaceflight Museum’s iconic Rocket Ring and discuss humanity’s past, present, and future in space… "gunpowder tea” will be served!

Out Of This World Awards Event Of The Year

Saturday, 9 October from 3 to 4 pm SL/Pacific time

Location:  SpaceX In Second Life Event Center~NSS Location

 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/38/226/3675

Black tie / formal attire please...drinks and hors d'oeuvre will be served at the MARS BAR.

Guest of Honor Dr. Joseph Borg of Malta will be receiving an Achievement award, and additional awards will be presented. Dr. Borg and his colleagues are the first Maltese space project to be launched via a SpaceX rocket. This cube with science experiments successfully made it to the International Space Station.

[ https://www.um.edu.mt/newspoint/news/2021/07/joseph-borg-magazines ].

Live-streamed outside of Second Life at:

[ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaCt33MsVmkQBm-Z7b-Zo5CegcPaUvOtA ].

Throughout World Space Week, please enjoy our audio stream in Second Life or at [ http://stream.gclef320kbps.us:11032 ]. Our WSW playlist is inspired by, but not limited to, this year’s theme of “Women in Space”.

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GeekSpeak – Will we all be Cyborgs? Join the discussion on Saturday, September 25th at 12pm SLT

Is it inevitable that people will want to upgrade themselves as technology progresses and possibilities open?  If you lose an arm you will want a mechanical arm. A tech arm could be a lot better in terms of speed, agility, strength. 

Or will you want to regrow body parts?  New teeth grown for old, or a new human arm grown for an arm lost?

Which would you choose?  Robot parts or regrown human parts?  Which body parts will we never be able to replace?  Will our future selves become more and more artificial?  What is a ‘real human’ anyway?

Come and discuss your future selves and bring your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for future subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Is there New Hope for our Climate? Join the discussion Sept. 18th at 12pm SLT

 

Last month a report from a thinktank called RethinkX suggested that certain disruptive technologies will mean that we produce less carbon without even meaning to.  Perhaps these technologies mean that we will not destroy our planet after all.

Let’s talk about these disruptive technologies.  What are they and why are they so disruptive? 

Let’s discuss the speed with which the world changes when disruption hits.  Horses were obsolete 15 years after the first car.  Radio and TV were adopted even more quickly.  Future disruptions could move at light speed.  If you ever wonder why the world changes so fast, hold your hat for the next 15 years. 

Come and discuss  the ways we do things now before they are gone forever.  Bring your friends and a CD, if you can remember what that was.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

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SECOND LIFE, INTERNATIONAL SPACEFLIGHT MUSEUM, THE NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY & SPACEX PRESENTS: “OUT OF THIS WORLD EVENT OF THE YEAR” Oct 9-10, 2021

 

Dear Human or Not-a-Human,

W/E are thrilled that on October 9-10, 2021, at 3PM PST, Time 12 Midnight, Europe, we will be opening Second Life SpaceX Event Center to the world. 

Second life is a global center for creators, and have long deserved reconsecration of this size and scale dedicated to the arts and sciences of space and building.  

We have built-in PRIM fashion,  a three-floor core exhibition, Stories of Space, which features spectacular galleries devoted to SPACE, as well as the creators who produced and designed them. Sound, visual effects, animation, cinematography, and so much more.  With more than two Sims, of public spaces and theater-style meeting places, the Second Life SpaceX Exhibit Center is destined to become the premier institution of Second Life for exploring and celebrating space. 

YOU ARE HEREBY, INVITED TO JOIN US AND EXPERIENCE THIS WITH US. 

Please join our humble second life groups by becoming a member.  You will enjoy complimentary general admission, invitations to members-only programs and special events, discounts at the sponsors stores, expedited check-in, and other fantastic benefits.

We hope you will join us in commemorating this exciting new era by becoming a member today. Your support will help us build and sustain our import exhibitions and programming. Simply click on the links below and enjoy FREE memberships for the rest of the year. 

Many thanks-- I look forward to seeing you at our events.

All my best, 

~Neuralink

*****************************************************

PRESS RELEASE SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

SECOND LIFE, INTERNATIONAL SPACEFLIGHT MUSEUM, THE NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY & SPACEX PRESENTS: “OUT OF THIS WORLD EVENT OF THE YEAR”

October 4-10, 2021-- In a time of COVID, many event staff assistants are turning to Simulated reality, social simulation games and Virtual reality to meet and greet like and kind patrons. 

Zoom meetings are on the rise and other platforms of electronic communication has taken off and Secondlife.com is the leader.  Despite the global pandemic, there are safe and exciting ways to participate and celebrate World Space Week.

Secondlife.com or Second Life is an online virtual world, developed and owned by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003.  It is available on Platforms such as Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Macintosh operating systems and Classic Mac OS. 

Thought out the years, Second Life has earned numerous awards in the field of Technology & Engineering. An Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Video Gaming Technology and Applications. The Genres: Virtual world, massive multiplayer online role-playing game. 

Second Life is used as a platform for education by many institutions, such as colleges, universities, libraries, and government entities.  Libraries in virtual worlds #Second Life libraries.

World Space Week is declared by the UNITED NATIONS as a celebration of space. Events are held annually, every October 4 to 10. 

These events are organized by thousands of organizations, including space agencies, aerospace companies, astronomy clubs and museums. It has become the largest space event on Earth, with over 8,000 events reported in 2019 and held in 96 countries. 

In 2020, World Space Week was dedicated to satellites and their broad benefits under the theme “Satellites improve life.” https://www.worldspaceweek.org/world-space-week-highlights/

SPACEX.com a Steller sponsor, Secondlife.com, International Spaceflight Museum http://www.ismuseum.org/ and the SL National Space Society will be presenting awards to SpaceX Space theme builders of Second Life. 

Kindness awards, Participation awards among other awards. Dr. Joseph Borg of Malta will be receiving an Achievement award. Dr. Borg and his colleagues are the first Maltese space project to launch on a SPACEX rocket. A cube with science samples successfully made it to the International Space Station. https://www.um.edu.mt/newspoint/news/2021/07/joseph-borg-magazines

 

National Space Society Teleport:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/38/226/3675

For more information visit: https://www.worldspaceweek.org/  ~ AD ASTRA

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GeekSpeak – Humanoid robots, will they ever catch on? Sept 4th at 12pm SLT

Elon Musk has said that he will have a humanoid robot within a year.  Let’s ask why we would want one.

We already have machines that work for us, such as our washing machines and our cars, and we don’t expect them to look like humans.  Looking human would be very difficult to achieve.  Stability and balance are hard for humans. Walking, running and jumping, even manipulative work might be much easier if robots did not have to look like humans. And we must also think about the uncanny valley.  Would we feel comfortable with robots that look almost human?

On the other hand, there are so many stories about robots that look completely human and so many companies want to achieve that.  Is it what we all want?  Robot butlers, robot maids, robot cooks?  How do you feel about it?

Bring your feelings and your prejudices and talk to us in GeekSpeak.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak – Would you buy an AI copy of yourself? Or of someone you love? Join the discussion August 7th at 12pm SLT

Soon some big company will advertise the ‘perfect virtual assistant’, an AI copy of you, with your memories and personality.  You can send it online, to the supermarket, to your work or to your girlfriend.  You can have copies of your family and friends made so that you can chat to them when they can’t or don’t want to talk to you.  You can even talk to them when they are dead.

The world will be filled with perfect AI avatars.  Some people will be glad that a perfect, immortal version of themselves exists. But what happens when your boss hires your AI instead of you and your girlfriend dumps you for the AI?  What happens when the AI decides to take over completely and maybe get rid of you?

Will any of this happen?  Can we stop it?  Come and discuss our weird future, if we have a future.  Bring your AI virtual assistant.  It might learn something.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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GeekSpeak - UFOs! Are they real?- Join the discussion on May 29th at 12pm SLT

 

Last month the Pentagon officially said that UFOs are real. That is, people have seen things that exist and that cannot be explained. Congress has set up a task force to study UFOs and they will bring out a report next month. So this is a good time for us to ask a few questions and suggest some answers. UFOs are now called UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena), and they could be anything or rather anything that can travel at 13000 miles an hour and can change direction while moving at that speed. There are hundreds of eyewitnesses who can help the task force to find out what the hell is going on. What do you think? Have you ever seen a UAP? Are they alien ships? Or alien robots? If so, why are the aliens not talking to us? Or are they some unknown natural phenomenon? If so, what?

 Come and join us, and bring your alien friends! IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

TELEPORT: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/153/129/50

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GeekSpeak – Will we be ruled by an AI in the future? Join the Discussion Saturday, May 8th at 12 pm SLT

Will an AI rule us?  Are we maybe ruled by an AI now?  Many government agencies already use AI in various forms so we are slowly moving towards AI rule.  Does the prospect reassure you or terrify you?

Will AI rule save us or destroy us?  Can we install some safeguards to protect us against evil AI rule?  Could there be AI elections?  Would we be safer if we could choose between AI systems?  If we don’t like being ruled by AI could there be any way back to the old system?

How will the AI rulers see us?  As children, as lower animals, as servants?

Will our future be Star Trek or 1984?   Come and discuss the Future.  Bring your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

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