The final list of speakers has been announced for Singularity Summit 2012, an annual futurist confab that brings together some of the world's leading thinkers on such topics as robotics, regenerative medicine, artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfacing, and of course, the Technological Singularity. And this year's lineup features a diverse bunch, from science fiction author Vernor Vinge to neurodiversity and autism awareness advocate Temple Grandin.
The Singularity Summit is considered one of the leading academic forums for discussions on the Technological Singularity, which is the hypothetical creation of smarter-than-human intelligence. It will be held in San Francisco from October 13 to 14.
Other speakers include futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil, neuroscientist Steven Pinker, the Nobel Prize winning economist Daniel Kahneman, science writer Carl Zimmer, genomics pioneer Linda Avey, and Google Director of Research Peter Novrig.
Speaking to io9, event organizer Michael Anissimov said they made an extra effort this year to pull speakers from a wide array of backgrounds and disciplines. "We did so in order to address some of the most exciting areas of technological development and philosophical thought — while continuing to focus on artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and medium-to-long-term futurism."
Read more about SingSum12, including the full schedule and how to get tickets.