Monday 9 November 2015
18:30
Exploring the world of today to change the world of tomorrow
with the University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge has consistently pushed the boundaries of knowledge. This evening is a showcase of how that is continuing in the twenty-first century. Drawing on Cambridge’s unique combination of world-leading scientific and technical innovation with deep philosophical and historical insight, we present a series of short talks about how Cambridge is exploring the world of today to change the world of tomorrow.
From the advent of advanced robotics to the challenge of entrenched inequality, the nature of the problems facing the world is more complex, vast and urgent than ever before. Cambridge has the ability, vision and drive to tackle these problems, and it is therefore critical to consolidate, secure and expand our endeavour in order to ensure we do so. This evening will focus on four speakers, each with a transforming vision for how Cambridge can make a lasting impact on the world of today, and the world of tomorrow.
Introduced by Professor David Runciman, Professor of Politics and International Studies, other speakers are:
The Future of Intelligence We know that human-level intelligence is possible in biological hardware – it has been running in our skulls for hundreds of thousands of years. In this century, thanks to our own ingenuity, it may make the leap to non-biological hardware. At that point, as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and Alan Turing have all noted, it might leave us far behind. Should we be concerned?
"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking"
The Future of Intelligence We know that human-level intelligence is possible in biological hardware – it has been running in our skulls for hundreds of thousands of years. In this century, thanks to our own ingenuity, it may make the leap to non-biological hardware. At that point, as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and Alan Turing have all noted, it might leave us far behind. Should we be concerned?
