Emulating brains: silicon dreams or the next big thing?

The next ExtroBritannia event is scheduled for Saturday November the
22nd 2008; 2:00pm - 4:00pm. Venue: Room 403, 4th floor (via main
lift), Main Building, Birkbeck College, Torrington Square, London WC1E
7HX. The event is free and everyone's welcome.

The idea of creating a faithful copy of a human brain has been a
popular philosophical thought experiment and science fiction plot for
decades. How close are we to actually doing it, how could it be done,
and what would the consequences be? This talk will trace trends in
computing, neuroscience, lab automaton and microscopy to show how
whole brain emulation could become feasible in the mid term future.

Speaker: Anders Sandberg, Neuroethics researcher at the Future of
Humanity Institute, Oxford University.

Join the debate! There is no charge to attend and everyone is welcome.

Venue: Room 403 is on the fourth floor (via the main lift) in the main
Birkbeck College building, in Torrington Square (which is a
pedestrian-only square). Torrington Square is about 10 minutes walk
from either Russell Square or Goodge St tube stations.

MAP: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/maps

Discussion is likely to continue after the event, in a nearby pub (see
below), for those who are able to stay. Why not join some of the UKTA
regulars for a light lunch beforehand, any time after 12.30pm, in The
Marlborough Arms, 36 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HJ.

Extrobritannia is the monthly public event of the United Kingdom
Transhumanist Association: http://www.transhumanist.org.uk/
Our mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/extrobritannia/
The ExtroBritannia blog: http://extrobritannia.blogspot.com/