Date: 15–16 June 2013

Venue: Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, USA

Preliminary Congress Program

The second international Global Future 2045 congress will take place on 15-16 June 2013 at the Lincoln Center in New York, and will be focused on discussion of a new evolutionary strategy for humanity aimed at overcoming the 21st century’s civilization challenges. The strategy is based on carrying out two revolutions: spiritual and sci-tech. We believe this is the only way to overcome existing crises.

At the congress, a vision will be presented for the spiritual transformation of humanity, and new technologies will be demonstrated which are likely to form the basis of the sci-tech revolution. The congress will also showcase our Avatar science mega-project, aimed at accelerating the creation of technologies enabling a gradual transition from our biological bodies to an increasingly advanced artificial carrier of the human self.

Key Congress Themes

Challenges to our global civilization

Human civilization is experiencing one of the most critical episodes in its history where we actually have the ability to create our own future, leading us into a new stage of intensive development and neo-humanity. This theme is dedicated to a discussion of the challenges faced by a global civilization and the outlook for human evolution.

Evolutionary transhumanism as a development strategy for humanity

The basis of the strategy of evolutionary transhumanism is a major spiritual transformation of humans together with a similarly significant transformation of their bodies, which is to be achieved by means of the Avatar science mega-project. The speakers will discuss how realizing this strategy will cause transformations in all aspects of human life.

Android robotics and anthropomorphic telepresence — Avatar A

Under this rubric, leading specialists will discuss the latest developments in the field of anthropomorphic robotics, and present live demonstrations of robots which are almost indistinguishable from humans in their appearance. This theme will also comprise discussions of remote control systems for these avatar robots to achieve telepresence -”the next best thing to being there”- by means of, among others, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies, as well as the applications of avatars and associated developments, their social necessity and significance.

Life-support systems for the brain to extend human life — Avatar B

A team of Russian neurospecialists will present their project to create an autonomous life-support system for a human brain fitted with a neural interface implant, and to connect this brain to an avatar robot. Experts will discuss the scientific and social outlook for realizing the project, and the prospects for introducing intermediary results such as prosthetic bodies for quadriplegics.

Brain modeling — Avatar С

This theme is dedicated to the problem of modeling the human brain, developing technologies for partial and complete brain prostheses, and discussion of ways to fully replace the biological human brain with an artificial brain so as to cure neurodegenerative diseases, to significantly extend the healthspan and active life of a person and to create technologies to transfer the self to an alternative carrier: an artificial body. Scientists will demonstrate their approaches to modeling the brain and will give their predictions for the coming two to three decades.

Consciousness and subjective experience

A discussion of an evolutionary strategy for civilization, as wel as issues relating to achieving physical immortality and spiritual development, putting human consciousness at the center of attention. Scientists and spiritual masters will discuss what consciousness and subjective experience are, how consciousness is connected with the biological substrate of the brain, and their opinions as to the possibilities are for the transfer of consciousness to an alternative carrier.

Synthesis of science and spiritual traditions

Humanity is in need of new guidelines for its development which match the challenges of our times, and which reflect the achievements of leading technologies and the spiritual experience of civilization. Representatives of faiths and spiritual practices are the traditional keepers of this experience, which has been accumulated over millennia. However, modern society only accepts things that have passed the inspection of science. Therefore, in order to form a new evolutionary strategy for humanity, it is necessary to ensure a dialogue between science and spiritual traditions. Creating a constructive environment for this dialogue is one of the most important tasks of the congress.

A detailed program of the congress, with the dates and times of the speakers, as well as the exact titles of their presentations, will be published here later. All registered participants and registered visitors of this site will be notified of this.