[TankGirl]

Originally posted by walktalker
Living in an Artificial World
Typical technology conferences focus on the latest gadgets and gimmicks designed to make daily activities easier, faster and more convenient. But at the annual PopTech conference, there are no vendors hawking their wares or cavernous exhibit halls filled with crowds of people listening to the latest pitch. Instead, about 400 big thinkers will gather in this small coastal town for a weekend of reflection and discussion about the many ways that technology affects society. "People tend to sort of zip through the year and never pause and think about 'how is this technology changing me?'" said Anthony Citrano, one of the founders of the conference.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,55867,00.html

Interesting stuff...

"We've become increasingly fascinated with the way humans tinker with the world they live in," Citrano said. "We're hitting this cusp where people can just change anything."

Yet at the same time people manipulate their world online, for example, the ability to develop this technology is threatened, said Bruce Damer, author of Avatars: Exploring and Building Virtual Worlds on the Internet and a first-time speaker at this year's conference.

"I would say that the message of today is the health and viability of cybersociety in the face of large monopoly players; laws that may restrict freedom of expression or content; intellectual property restriction on innovation such as software patents; a dry well of investment capital and a government-perceived need to control and monitor communications," Damer said.

"When it comes down to it, the whole infrastructure and the people in it and their trust in it -- that future is being challenged right now from almost every aspect," he said.

Originally posted by walktalker
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- tg