April 27th, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080502
Arizona Laboratory for Immersive Visualization Environments (AZ-LIVE) Tour
Date and Time: Friday, May 02, 2008 at 3:45 PM until 6:00 PM Arizona Time
Location: Tubac Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, University of Arizona - 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0017, USA | Google Maps
Description:
Join us for a tour of the Arizona Laboratory for Immersive Visualization Environments (AZ-LIVE) CAVE-like facility, part of University Information Technology Services. We will meet in Tubac Room at the Student Union Memorial Center at 3:45 PM and then walk over to the AZ-LIVE facility.
If you want to meet us at the AZ-LIVE facility, the location is Room 307 in the Computer Center building at Speedway and Highland.
Posted in Meetings | No Comments »
April 23rd, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
Simone Syed, h+ Tucson President, called into MIT's WMBR radio station during the "DJ Awesome & the Wonder Friends" show with guest host Luke Griffiths. Luke's topic was the Technological Singularity, and Simone brought some much needed clarity and respectability to the proceedings after a rather bizarre rant by the first caller. Luke and Simone discussed definitions, transhumanism, and the timing of the Technological Singularity and mind uploading. Later callers included Yonah Berwaldt, past CFO of the Stanford Transhumanist Association and volunteer at Singularity Summit 2007.
The show has already been archived: [Streaming M3U format] Tue Apr 22 06:00 pm.
Posted in Club News | No Comments »
April 21st, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080425
"Your Favorite Technology Trends"
Date and Time: Friday, April 25, 2008 at 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM Arizona Time
Location: Presidio Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, University of Arizona - 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0017, USA | Google Maps
Description:
Open discussion. What are your favorite technology trends? What trends do you follow the most closely? What trends do you think will have the most impact on humanity over the next 5, 10, and 25 years?
Posted in Meetings | No Comments »
April 7th, 2008 by H+ Administrator
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080411
Matthew R. Goodman - "History of Transhumanism"
Date and Time: Friday, April 11, 2008 at 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM Arizona Time
Location: Presidio Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, University of Arizona - 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0017, USA | Google Maps
Description:
Speaker: Matthew R. Goodman, UA materials science and engineering senior
Abstract: After several months of exploring the philosophy, the social movement, and related science and technology topics, we are taking a step back to learn where transhumanism came from. Matt will take us through the history of transhumanism.
Presentations
Posted in Meetings | 1 Comment »
March 9th, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080404
Guy McArthur - "Overly Zealous IP"
Date and Time: Friday, April 04, 2008 at 4:00pm until 6:00pm PST
Location: Tubac Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, University of Arizona - 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0017, USA | Google Maps
Description:
Speaker: Guy McArthur, HiRISE Software Developer
Abstract: What is intellectual property (copyright, patent, trademark) and how can or why should you be able to claim as property something that is infinitely reproducible? Plenty of examples will be used to illustrate how overly zealous IP standards act as a friction in technology development.
Posted in Meetings | No Comments »
March 9th, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080314
Simone and Justin go to BIL
Date and Time: Friday, March 14, 2008 at 4:00pm until 6:00pm PST
Location: Tubac Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, University of Arizona - 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0017, USA | Google Maps
Description:
Speaker: Justin Orkney & Simone Syed
Abstract: Simone and Justin went to BIL, and now they are back to share their experiences, and perhaps their presentation:
Outsourcing Survivability - The Disconnect Between Basic Human Needs and Us - "How far we have come! We are taught in kindergarten that humans, as a species, require four things to survive: food, water, shelter, love/affection. Our lack of a meaningful connection with any of them and how it relates to sustainability."
Posted in Meetings | No Comments »
February 23rd, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080307
Dr. Andrew L. Nelson - "Artificial Evolution and Unnatural Selection"
Date and Time: Friday, March 07, 2008 at 4:00pm until 6:00pm MST
Location: Ventana Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, University of Arizona - 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721-0017, USA | Google Maps
Description:
Speaker: Dr. Andrew L. Nelson was born Laramie Wyoming in 1967. He received his B.S. degree with concentration in Computer Science from the Evergreen State College in Olympia Washington in 1990. He received his M.S. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University in 2000. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (CRIM) at North Carolina State University in 2003. Between 2003 and 2005 he was a visiting researcher at the University of South Florida. Currently he is a researcher at Androtics LLC, Tucson AZ and Santa Cruz CA. His main interests are in the fields of fully autonomous robot control, bio-inspired robot control and evolutionary robotics. His robotics work has included applying artificial evolution to synthesize controllers for swarms of autonomous robots as well as the development of a fuzzy-logic based controllers for robot navigation. He pursues work in artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms and soft computing related to autonomous machine control. He has also conducted research in diverse fields including electric machine design and molecular biology.
Abstract: In recent years researchers interested in creating artificial life forms have turned their attention toward techniques involving artificial evolution. Evolutionary computing (EC) is a large, and rapidly growing area of research focused on exploiting computational processes that mimic natural evolution. Evolutionary computing techniques are applied to a wide range of optimization, classification and control problems. Although the particulars of implementation vary greatly, most evolutionary computing applications employ some variation on the following steps: A population of potential solutions to a particular problem (often referred to as candidate solutions) is generated. The individuals in this population are tested to determine how well each of them solves the problem, and the better performing solutions are selected. These better performing solutions are then altered by some stochastic process and then returned to the larger population of solutions to replace the most poorly performing individuals. The sequence of testing, selection, alteration and replacement is then repeated until a suitably proficient solution arises.
A key component of this process - one might argue, the key component - is the measurement of fitness of the evolving candidate solutions. For many evolutionary computing applications, there are well-defined and efficient methods for determining the fitness of a given solution. However, determining fitness by using a function, or any type of measurement is unnatural.
Nature applies no particular criteria for survival. At a high level, the phrase "survival of the fittest" seems to confer some meaning to the concept of selective pressure in natural evolution, but in fact, this phrase reduces to little more than a truism: "survival of those that survive". The universe takes no action at any level beyond simple iteration of fundamental physical law. The persistence of structures or patterns of matter, including rocks, stellar material, and life-forms boils down to simple possibility: A pattern that is possible, given physical law and past configurations of matter, will exist, regulated only by stochastic factors embodied in the fundamental fabric of the universe. Things do not exist because they are better at existing. They exist because they are possible.
Fitness functions or objective functions work well for optimization and generation of particular well-defined solutions to many traditional problems, as has been demonstrated by the success of evolutionary computing. But what is the effect of attempting to use explicit fitness functions when trying to evolve life-like entities?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Meetings | 1 Comment »
February 16th, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
[Back to Meetings]
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080229
Movie Night: The Oozing Skull
Date and Time: Friday, February 29, 2008 from 4:00pm until 7:00pm MST
Location: Charles P. Sonett Building, PIRL Lab, 1541 E University Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85719 | Google Maps
Description: Instead of our usual meeting, we are getting together for a movie night and potluck. Please bring some delicious food and drinks to share, and we will sit down together to watch the return of movie riffing as only the talents from Mystery Science Theater 3000 can do it.
"From the people who brought you Mystery Science Theater 3000 comes a whole new movie-riffing experience: CINEMATIC TITANIC. Created by Joel Hodgson, creator and star of MST3K (as it's known to it's devoted fans), and featuring the writing and performing talents of the show's original cast: Joel (Joel Robinson), Trace Beaulieu (Crow, Dr. Forrester) and J. Elvis Weinstein (Servo, Dr. Ehrhardt) along with longtime writers and co-stars from the show's 10 year run, Frank Conniff (TV's Frank) and Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl Forrester)."
See the rest of the press release [PDF] and see more details at the Cinematic Titanic website. Buy the DVD so they will keep making many more!
Posted in Movie Night | 1 Comment »
February 16th, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
[Back to Meetings]
http://hplusclub.com/tucson/meeting20080222
Transhumanism: The Philosophy
Date and Time: Friday, February 22, 2008 from 4:00pm until 6:00pm MST
Location: Tubac Room, 4th Floor, Student Union Memorial Center, 1303 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ, USA 85721-0017 | Google Maps
Description: Transhumanism is described as both a social movement and a philosophy. We will look closer at transhumanism as a philosophy, with an exploration of the philosophy's roots, its important thinkers, and its relevant tenets.
Presentations
Posted in Meetings | 1 Comment »
February 9th, 2008 by Richard Leis, Jr.
[Back to Meetings]
The previously schedule Friday, February 15, 2008 movie night has been postponed. Look for a new announcement at a later date. We will hold a regularly scheduled meeting next Friday, February 22, 2008.
Posted in Movie Night | 1 Comment »