David Brin, Acclaimed Futurist & Science Fiction Author Who's Speaking Second Life Tomorrow, on the Importance of Virtual Worlds

Click here at 10am Pacific time tomorrow (July 20) to attend an in-world talk by David Brin, acclaimed science fiction author and futurist. Speaking alongside other futurists in a forum co-hosted by a transhumanist group called The Turing Church, Brin is speaking on "The Geoethics of Earth Alteration… and possible Gaia-Uplift".

Brin has made previous appearances in Second Life as far back as 2008, and as you'd expect, has written and thought a lot about VR and virtual worlds long before that, and since:

"Virtual worlds have long been playgrounds in science fiction, dating as far back as Robert Duncan Milne, in San Francisco of the 1870s," he tells me. "Stanislaw Lem wrote of artificial realities as did Philip Jose Farmer and Neal Stephenson. I had stories about VR worlds around 1980. To writers of SF, this concept has always seemed natural, as an extension of what we already do with our visual imaginations. Add in the concept of remote interaction, that originated with the telephone, plus visualized other-places (from television) and you were almost there.

 

"In my novel EARTH (1989) folks wore 'Tru-Vu Goggles' which allowed both VR and Augmented Reality. In EXISTENCE (2012) this concept got extended into matter of galactic significance. In KILN PEOPLE (2004) you can make copies that walk around in this real world and bring back the memories."

 

His 2008 Second Life appearance was done via text chat, prompting him at one point to write, "How on Earth could anybody call this 'discourse' subtle or detailed or serious?” Fortunately, tomorrow's appearance will be voice-driven.  

"I expected that by now many of the interfaces would be better," observes Brin. "In fact, I have patents on some methods that might improve the experience, a lot!  But I am a lazy dreamer and haven't pushed them.  So?  Join me in some cool dreams!"

Sounds like a plan. For updates, follow event co-host Terasem on Facebook.

Comments

[ReBeccaOrg]

He's an interesting writer but I wish he could go a paragraph without plugging a book. It gets tiresome.

[Giulio Prisco]

David is a great writer, and the three books he mentions are my favorite. In the order: Earth (a masterpiece), Existence, and Kiln people.

Come and listen to David (and other highly imaginative speakers) in Second Life later today (July 20 10am Pacific Time)!

[melponeme_k]

"His 2008 Second Life appearance was done via text chat, prompting him at one point to write, "How on Earth could anybody call this 'discourse' subtle or detailed or serious?” Fortunately, tomorrow's appearance will be voice-driven."

LOL.

Here it is almost 2018 and the only VR still standing is Second Life and its main method of communication is text chatting.

I bet it BURNS them that SL isn't transhumanist. It burns their britches that SL fans spend their days buying houses, inhabiting avatars that are aggressively, blandly human and text chatting gossip. Why, why can't we be misanthropes who want to leave humanity behind? WHY? Why does Philip Rosedale's brain only think about virtual lingerie?

HAHAHAHA!

[Giulio Prisco]

Terasem’s 12th Annual Workshop On Geoethical Nanotechnology took place as usual on July 20 2017 in the Terasem sim, Second Life, with great talks by David Brin, Yalda Mousavinia, David Orban, and Martine Rothblatt. Watch the full video below...
https://turingchurch.net/video-terasems-12th-annual-workshop-on-geoethical-nanotechnology-second-life-july-20-2017-5c3a9dec37ed