EXTRO²

The 2nd Extropy Institute Conference on Transhumanist Thought

CALL FOR PAPERS

Southern California, June 16-18 1995

PURPOSE: Extro² will be a rich, intellectually invigorating gathering designed to help push outward the boundaries of progress and possibility. It will be both a serious study and a spirited celebration of humanity’s limitless potential and how it will be achieved. Besides presentations of accepted papers, the conference will feature lectures by leading thinkers, panel discussions, and the Extropy Awards banquet. The event will begin on Friday afternoon with a hike, followed by an evening reception.

Submitted papers should as much as possible exploit interdisciplinary connections, rather than presenting results in a particular narrow subfield. They should be aimed at an intelligent, educated, and interested audience that is not necessarily familiar with the detailed background of any field. Accuracy, rigor, and rationality are of course expected, but breadth of vision is also important.

Papers must be written in English, be 5,000-12,000 words in length, and should begin with an abstract of not more than 400 words. Papers must include a separate

cover page containing the title, author, postal address, and email address if available. Submissions should not have been previously published or submitted to any journals or refereed conferences or workshops. Accepted papers are to be presented at the conference.

DEADLINES: Submission deadline is December 1 1994. Authors will be notified of review decisions by January 15 1995. Final versions of papers are due back by February 15 1995 for inclusion in the conference Proceedings.

Send papers to:

Extropy Institute

Extro 2 conference, 13428 Maxella Avenue, #273

Marina Del Rey, CA 90292.

310-988-0375 info@extropy.org

(See p.46 for audio tapes and the Proceedings volume for EXTRO 1.)

EXTROPY #14 (vol.6, no.3) on sale Sept. 1994.

Forthcoming in Extropy

More stimulating Dave Krieger interviews

Transhumanist Architecture

Utility Fog (Part 2)

Lilliputian uploads

Best careers for bringing about immortality

Reviews of Morals By Agreement; Rational

Readings on Environmental Concerns; Bright

Air, Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mind.

Neurocomputing, Continued from p.35

FURTHER READING

Abraham, R.H. & C.D. Shaw (1985) Dynamics: The Geometry of Behavior. Santa Cruz: Aerial Press.

A four-volume comic-book-style introduction to dynamical systems. Even with illustrations, I found it rough-going after Volume 1.

Farmer, J.D. A Rosetta Stone for Connectionism. Physica 42, 153-187.

The first attempt I am aware of to describe different kinds of networks (neural, autocatalytic, immune) in a single framework. Much of the paper was over my head, though readers with a solid background in the physical sciences may have an easier time.

Saltzman, E.L. & K.G. Munhall (1992) Skill Acquisition and Development: The Role of State-, Parameter-, and Graph-Dynamics. Journal of Motor Behavior, 24, 49-57.

A good introduction to the three different types of dynamics a system can exhibit, described within the context of motor skills. Short and easy to read.

NOTES

¹It is possible to connect the input units directly into the output units as well, as in Rumelhart and McClelland (1986) p. 321, but the net remains unidirectional in this case too.

²A tick is an arbitrary discrete unit of time; it could be a year, a minute, a nanosecond, or any other unit relevant to the real-world system we are interested in modeling.

³Mathematically oriented readers will note the not-accidental resemblance of these figures to plots of the exponential and logarithmic functions, respectively.

EXTROPY #13 (6:2) Third quarter 1994

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Extropy Institute

The December ‘93 literary supplement to the Village Voice described Extropians as “radical humanist technophiles”, and referred to “the movement’s combustible mix of fringe academics, overeducated computer programmers, and renegade philosophers”. A narrow description, but one that nevertheless hints at some of our concerns and enthusiasms. For those of you for whom this issue is your first real contact with Extropian ideas, the short version of The Extropian Principles to the right will help clarify our shared values and goals. (The full text appeared in Extropy #11.)

Extropy Institute (ExI) was incorporated in 1992 as an educational, tax-exempt organization. Like the Extropians e-mail list, ExI was an outgrowth of Extropy (founded 1988). We created ExI in order to provide a structure and network that would facilitate the spread and evolution of extropic ideas, values, and culture.

This organizational mission encompasses two aspects which together explain all our activities: (a) Within our existing Extropian culture refining and developing our ideas, working together to transform ourselves into transhumans and to evolve a radically new culture free of the irrationalities and limitations of the past. (b) To clearly and persuasively communicate our philosophy of life even to those who are not already attuned to the same ideas and attitudes, in order to influence the broader culture in more extropic directions.

In pursuit of these goals Extropy Institute — though yet limited by a relatively small (but rapidly growing) membership, and tightness of funds — continually seeks new outlets for its members’ energies, abilities, and intellects. Our primary publication, Extropy: The Journal of Transhumanist Thought is supplemented by our members’ newsletter, Exponent, edited by frequent Extropy contributor Simon! D. Levy. Exponent carries shorter articles, membership information such as forthcoming meetings, reports on progress of projects and new media attention, and reviews of relevant books, software, and other media.

A variety of meetings take place, such as last summer’s Extropy 5th birthday party, weekly lunch meetings in the N. California Bay Area, and monthly Idea Forum discussion meetings in the Los Angeles area. In addition, impromptu get-togethers take place all over the country. May of this year saw an important new development: EXTRO 1 heralded the start of a series of annual conferences where ideas can be explored in depth, and bounced off persons of many different specialties and perspectives. (A report on the conference can be found in the June ‘94 issue of Exponent, and the main talks from each session found in the Proceedings volume.)

Supplementing printed publications and physical meetings is the online Extropian virtual community. The

Continued on page 38

EXTROPY INSTITUTE

13428 MAXELLA AVENUE, #273

MARINA DEL REY, CA 90292

310-398-0375 INFO@EXTROPY.ORG

For details of membership rates, see p.2, lower right.

Extropy Institute

EXTROPIAN PRINCIPLES v.2.5

(Full version in Extropy #11)

1. Boundless Expansion — Seeking more intelligence, wisdom, and effectiveness, an unlimited lifespan, and the removal of political, cultural, biological, and psychological limits to self-actualization and self-realization. Perpetually overcoming constraints on our progress and possibilities. Expanding into the universe and advancing without end.

2. Self-Transformation — Affirming continual moral, intellectual, and physical self-improvement, through reason and critical thinking, personal responsibility, and experimentation. Seeking biological and neurological augmentation.

3. Dynamic Optimism — Fueling dynamic action with positive expectations. Adopting a rational, action-based optimism, shunning both blind faith and stagnant pessimism.

4. Intelligent Technology — Applying science and technology creatively to transcend “natural” limits imposed by our biological heritage, culture, and environment.

5. Spontaneous Order — Supporting decentralized, voluntaristic social coordination processes. Fostering tolerance, diversity, long-term thinking, personal responsibility, and individual liberty.

ExI Directors

Max More, President, Editor of Extropy. more@extropy.org Tom Morrow, Vice President. t0morrow@aol.com

Simon! D. Levy, Editor of Exponent. levy@haskins.yale.edu Tanya Jones, Treasurer. tanya@alcor.org

Ralph Whelan, Secretary. ralph@alcor.org

David Krieger. dkrieger@netcom.com

Russell E. Whitaker. russw@netcom.com

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EXTROPY #13 (6:2) Third quarter 1994

BACK ISSUES

#1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11: $5 each.

Available from Extropy Institute (address, p.2)

12. Vol.6 No.1 (1st Quarter ‘94): A Practical Look at Ocean Colonization, by Bill Eichman; The Last Free Place on Earth, by T.O. Morrow; Logical Languages: A Path to Posthuman Rationality? by Simon! D. Levy; The Open Society and Its Media, by Mark Miller, et al; God and Man at Yale: A Conversation with David Ross, pt.1, by Dave Krieger; Forum: Nanarchy (automated police and defense systems) by Dreder, Hanson, Finney, Szabo, Dinkelacker. Wormhole Warfare, by Robin Hanson; Reviews of Fuzzy Thinking: The New Science of Fuzzy Logic, and The Children’s Machine.

13. Vol.5 No.1 (2nd Half ‘93): Uploading Consciousness, by Ralph Merkle; Extropian Principles v.2.5, by Max More; Traversable Wormholes: Some Implications or Contact! A Post-Singularity Phase Change, by Michael Price; A Conversation with Mark Miller, Part 2: The Day the Universe Stood Still, by David Krieger; “Bunkrapt”: The Abstractions that Lead to Scares About Population and Resources, by Julian L. Simon; Reviews of Theories of Everything, In Our Own Image: Building an Articial Person, Mirror Worlds.

#10. Vol.4 No.2 (Winter/Spring ‘93): Pigs in Cyberspace, by Hans Moravec; Protecting Privacy with Electronic Cash, by Hal Finney; Technological Self-Transformation, by Max More; Mark Miller interview, by David Krieger, Pt.1: Creole Physics & the Credit Theory of Identity; Nanocomputers: 21st Century Hypercomputing, by J. Storrs Hall; The Transhuman Taste (Reviews): Two books on Ayn Rand & Objectivism; Nanosystems; Genius.

#9. Vol.4 No.1 (Summer 1992): The Extropian Principles, 2.0, by Max More; Extropy Institute Launches, by Max More; Persons, Programs, and Uploading Consciousness, by David Ross; Nanotechnology and Faith, by J. Storrs Hall; The Making of a Small World (fiction), by R. Michael Perry; Genetic Algorithms, by Simon! D. Levy; Time Travel and Computing, by Hans Moravec; Futique Neologisms 3; Exercise and Longevity, by Fran Finney; The Transhuman Taste (Reviews): The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, The Blind Watchmaker, The Ultimate Resource, Population Matters, The Resourceful Earth, Bionomics.

#8 Vol.3 No.2 (Winter 1991-92): Out of print.

#7 Vol.3 No.1 (Spring 1991): A Memetic Approach to ‘Selling’ Cryonics, H. Keith Henson & Arel Lucas; Privately Produced Law, Tom Morrow; Order Without Orderers, Max More; Futique Neologisms; Neurocomputing 4: Self-Organization in Artificial Neural Networks, by Simon! D. Levy; Forum on

Transhumanism; Reviews of Smart Pills, Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman, Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition; and more…

#6 (Summer 1990): Transhumanism: Towards a Futurist Philosophy, by Max More; The Thermodynamics of Death, Michael C. Price; The Opening of the Transhuman Mind, by Mark Plus; The Extropian Principles, by Max More; Neurocomputing Part 3, by Simon! D. Levy; Forum on Arch-Anarchy and Deep Anarchy; Reviews: Order Out of Chaos, The Emperor’s New Mind, A Neurocomputational Perspective, Loompanics Greatest Hits, The Machinery of Freedom; Extropian Resources, and more.

#5 (Winter 1990): Forum: Art and Communication; Leaping the Abyss, by Gregory Benford; Arch-Anarchy, by A; Deep Anarchy, by Max O’Connor; I am a Child, by Fred Chamberlain; Perceptrons (Neurocomputing 2), by Simon D. Levy; On Competition and Species Loss, by Max O’Connor; A Review of Intoxication, by Rob Michels; Intelligence at Work, by Max O’Connor and Simon D. Levy; Extropian Resources, by Max O’Connor and Tom W. Bell; The Extropian Declaration, by Tom W. Bell and Max O’Connor; Our Enemy, ‘The State,’ by Max O’Connor and Tom W. Bell.

#4 (Summer 1989): Forum; In Praise of the Devil, by Max O’Connor; Neurocomputing, by Simon D. Levy; Why Monogamy? by Tom. W. Bell; What’s Wrong With Death? by Max O’Connor; Reviews: Are You a Transhuman? Postscript to “Morality or Reality” by Max O’Connor; Efficient Aesthetics, by Tom. W. Bell; Intelligence at Work: Advances in Science by Max O’Connor.

#3 (Spring 1989) Out of print.

#2 (Winter 1989): Review of Mind Children, by Max O’Connor; Darwin’s Difficulty, by H. Keith Henson and Arel Lucas; A Truly Instant Breakfast, by Steven B. Harris M.D.; Wisdomism, by Tom W. Bell; Nanotechnology News, by Max O’Connor; Weirdness Watch, by Mark E. Potts.

#1 (Fall 1988): A brief overview of extropian philosophy and an introduction to some of the topics we plan to address: AI, Intelligence Increase Technologies, Immortalism, Nanotechnology, Spontaneous Orders, Psychochemicals, Extropic Psychology, Morality, Mindfucking, Space Colonization, Libertarian Economics and Politics, Memetics, and Aesthetics; “Morality or Reality,” by Max O’Connor.

Continued from page 37

Extropian cybercommunity continues to expand, now encompassing the main Extropians e-mail list (now three years old), the Exl Essay list, five local e-mail lists for arranging meetings, parties, and other joint activities, and now an Extropian presence in the Metaverse (initiated by Geoff Dale). (See the back cover for information on most of these cyberfora.)

For outside perspectives on Extropian activities, take a look Charles Platt’s “Taking the N Out of Entropy” in the current issue of Science Fiction Eye, and the expected coverage of the conference in Wired (probably the September issue).

THE FUTURE: This year’s successful EXTRO conference (whose keynote speaker was roboticist Hans Moravec) will be followed by the bigger and better EXTRO 2 in June 1995. Watch out for the list of speakers in upcoming issues. We will be fostering the growth of more local discussion groups and international chapters of Exl, and we will publish a new

Members’ Handbook. We look forward to the continued development of the Extropians cyberculture. As finances allow, Exl will expand the range of tapes, books, and other items for sale; we will build cooperation with other organization for shared goals and make contact with more scientists, technologists, philosophers, and artists to strengthen our network.

As we grow larger we will offer seminars and classes, publish and publicize public policy papers on aspects of technology, start discussion groups in more areas, supplement the general conferences with special-purpose conferences and seminars. Other ways of disseminating extropic ideas include producing extropic teaching materials for schools (e.g., critical thinking, thinking about the wise use of technology), the production of truly extropic TV documentaries, science fiction shows, and big-screen movies portraying the positive possibilities of the future.

We hope you will join us as an active participant in the Extropian movement. (See p.2 for membership information.) Help shape the future!

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