Science fiction has penetrated art, literature and popular culture. But how can we separate fact from fiction, when many bizarre Sci-Fi ideas later turn out to be correct? The annual Sci-Fi Meets Sci-Fact lecture is a fun evening of information and entertainment that addresses the burning question - Can it really be done? This lecture is suited for the young, and the young at heart.

Join us on the evening of October 27th, 2016 at ASU's Marston Theater located in ISTB 4, for the 2016 Sci-Fi Meets Sci-Fact Lecture given by Robin Hanson. He will be discussing his new book, The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life when Robots Rule the Earth.

Abstract:

Robots may one day rule the world, but what is a robot-ruled Earth like? Robin Hanson applies consensus science from many fields to construct a detailed picture of a future ruled by a certain kind of smart robot. Short for ‘brain emulation’, an ‘em’ results from taking a particular human brain and scanning it to record its particular cell features and connections, and then building a computer model that processes signals the same way. The picture Hanson paints is encyclopedic in scope, including mind speeds, body sizes, labor markets, career paths, friendships, aging, reproduction, conversation, wealth, law, war, and death.

Biography:

Robin Hanson is associate professor of economics at George Mason University, and research associate at Future of Humanity Institute of Oxford University. He has a Caltech social science Ph.D., University of Chicago physics and philosophy masters, 9 years’ experience as A.I. researcher at Lockheed and NASA, and 3200 citations. He blogs at OvercomingBias.com.