Public Event

In Person

Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual Worlds: The Future of Sentience

RSVP

Jun

28

A Conversation with Google Visiting Scholar Steven Johnson, Cognitive Scientist David Chalmers, and AI investor John Borthwick, moderated by Next Big Idea podcast host Rufus Griscom

The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience? Will human experience extend into virtual worlds? These distinct technologies may eventually blend to spawn a surprising future, as our “real” world becomes digitally enhanced, and our machines behave increasingly like humans.

Join us for a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers, including Steven Johnson, Visiting Scholar at Google Labs, and author of Extra Life, Where Good Ideas Come from, How We Got to Now; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, author of The Conscious Mind, Reality+; Betaworks founder and AI investor John Borthwick, and Next Big Idea CEO and podcast host Rufus Griscom.

when

Wednesday
June 28, 2023
6:00 pm

LoCATION

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street • New York, NY 10014

agenda

Panel: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Dinner: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
*Limited spots available*

Speakers

Steven Johnson

Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
Biography

Steven is a Visiting Scholar at Google Labs and one of the creators of Google’s new AI-first notebook, code named Project Tailwind. He is the best-selling author of twelve books at the intersection of science, technology and personal experience, including Interface Culture, Everything Bad is Good for You, Where Good Ideas Come From and How We Got to Now. He hosted (or co-hosted) the PBS series How We Got To Now and Extra Life, and currently hosts the podcast The TED Interview.

David Chalmers

Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
Biography

David Chalmers is a cognitive scientist and philosopher, and author of the books The Conscious Mind and Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. He is well known for his theories on the topic of “the extended mind” and “the hard problem of consciousness.”

John Borthwick

CEO
Betaworks
Biography

John Borthwick has been a leader in the New York startup, technology business for over two decades. He is the Founder and CEO of betaworks, a New York-based startup platform that builds, accelerates & invests in early-stage consumer technology. Companies built by betaworks include Giphy, Dots, bitly, Tweetdeck, and Chartbeat. Investments & accelerated companies include Twitter, Tumblr, Kickstarter, Medium, Anchor, Gimlet and recently Hugging Face, RecRoom, Superplastic, and XMTP.

He serves on the boards of WNYC, New York Public Radio, Data & Society, and several DAOs. John holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University.

Rufus Griscom

Founder
Next Big Idea Club
Biography

Rufus Griscom co-founded Nerve.com, Babble.com, and most recently the Next Big Idea Club. He has discussed consciousness, AI and virtual worlds on the Next Big Idea podcast with thinkers like Steven Pinker, Yuval Noah Harari, Paul Bloom, Steven Johnson and David Chalmers.

Sponsors

In Person
Public Event

Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual Worlds: The Future of Sentience

June 28, 2023
6:00 pm

Postponed: New Date TBA

RSVP

About

A Conversation with Google Visiting Scholar Steven Johnson, Cognitive Scientist David Chalmers, and AI investor John Borthwick, moderated by Next Big Idea podcast host Rufus Griscom

The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience? Will human experience extend into virtual worlds? These distinct technologies may eventually blend to spawn a surprising future, as our “real” world becomes digitally enhanced, and our machines behave increasingly like humans.

Join us for a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers, including Steven Johnson, Visiting Scholar at Google Labs, and author of Extra Life, Where Good Ideas Come from, How We Got to Now; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, author of The Conscious Mind, Reality+; Betaworks founder and AI investor John Borthwick, and Next Big Idea CEO and podcast host Rufus Griscom.

When

June 28, 2023
6:00 pm

Where

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street • New York, NY 10014
RSVP

Agenda

Panel: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Dinner: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
*Limited spots available*

Speakers

Steven Johnson

Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
Biography

Steven is a Visiting Scholar at Google Labs and one of the creators of Google’s new AI-first notebook, code named Project Tailwind. He is the best-selling author of twelve books at the intersection of science, technology and personal experience, including Interface Culture, Everything Bad is Good for You, Where Good Ideas Come From and How We Got to Now. He hosted (or co-hosted) the PBS series How We Got To Now and Extra Life, and currently hosts the podcast The TED Interview.

David Chalmers

Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
Biography

David Chalmers is a cognitive scientist and philosopher, and author of the books The Conscious Mind and Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. He is well known for his theories on the topic of “the extended mind” and “the hard problem of consciousness.”

John Borthwick

CEO
Betaworks
Biography

John Borthwick has been a leader in the New York startup, technology business for over two decades. He is the Founder and CEO of betaworks, a New York-based startup platform that builds, accelerates & invests in early-stage consumer technology. Companies built by betaworks include Giphy, Dots, bitly, Tweetdeck, and Chartbeat. Investments & accelerated companies include Twitter, Tumblr, Kickstarter, Medium, Anchor, Gimlet and recently Hugging Face, RecRoom, Superplastic, and XMTP.

He serves on the boards of WNYC, New York Public Radio, Data & Society, and several DAOs. John holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University.

Rufus Griscom

Founder
Next Big Idea Club
Biography

Rufus Griscom co-founded Nerve.com, Babble.com, and most recently the Next Big Idea Club. He has discussed consciousness, AI and virtual worlds on the Next Big Idea podcast with thinkers like Steven Pinker, Yuval Noah Harari, Paul Bloom, Steven Johnson and David Chalmers.

Sponsors

Proof of Full Vaccination Required

Betaworks requires all visitors to show proof of full vaccination to enter. No exceptions. Two ways that you can show proof:
  • Official vaccine card with at least 2 weeks having passed since the date of the last required dose (1 dose for J&J/AstraZeneca, 2 for Pfizer/Moderna)
  • An active digital pass such as the NY State Excelsior Pass or the CLEAR app

Jun

28

Public Event

In Person

Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual Worlds: The Future of Sentience

Register Now

A Conversation with Google Visiting Scholar Steven Johnson, Cognitive Scientist David Chalmers, and AI investor John Borthwick, moderated by Next Big Idea podcast host Rufus Griscom

The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience? Will human experience extend into virtual worlds? These distinct technologies may eventually blend to spawn a surprising future, as our “real” world becomes digitally enhanced, and our machines behave increasingly like humans.

Join us for a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers, including Steven Johnson, Visiting Scholar at Google Labs, and author of Extra Life, Where Good Ideas Come from, How We Got to Now; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, author of The Conscious Mind, Reality+; Betaworks founder and AI investor John Borthwick, and Next Big Idea CEO and podcast host Rufus Griscom.

when

Wednesday
June 28, 2023
6:00 pm

LoCATION

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street • New York, NY 10014

agenda

Panel: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Dinner: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
*Limited spots available*

Speakers

Steven Johnson

Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
Biography

Steven is a Visiting Scholar at Google Labs and one of the creators of Google’s new AI-first notebook, code named Project Tailwind. He is the best-selling author of twelve books at the intersection of science, technology and personal experience, including Interface Culture, Everything Bad is Good for You, Where Good Ideas Come From and How We Got to Now. He hosted (or co-hosted) the PBS series How We Got To Now and Extra Life, and currently hosts the podcast The TED Interview.

David Chalmers

Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
Biography

David Chalmers is a cognitive scientist and philosopher, and author of the books The Conscious Mind and Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. He is well known for his theories on the topic of “the extended mind” and “the hard problem of consciousness.”

John Borthwick

CEO
Betaworks
Biography

John Borthwick has been a leader in the New York startup, technology business for over two decades. He is the Founder and CEO of betaworks, a New York-based startup platform that builds, accelerates & invests in early-stage consumer technology. Companies built by betaworks include Giphy, Dots, bitly, Tweetdeck, and Chartbeat. Investments & accelerated companies include Twitter, Tumblr, Kickstarter, Medium, Anchor, Gimlet and recently Hugging Face, RecRoom, Superplastic, and XMTP.

He serves on the boards of WNYC, New York Public Radio, Data & Society, and several DAOs. John holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University.

Rufus Griscom

Founder
Next Big Idea Club
Biography

Rufus Griscom co-founded Nerve.com, Babble.com, and most recently the Next Big Idea Club. He has discussed consciousness, AI and virtual worlds on the Next Big Idea podcast with thinkers like Steven Pinker, Yuval Noah Harari, Paul Bloom, Steven Johnson and David Chalmers.

Sponsors

6/28/2023

Betaworks

Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual Worlds: The Future of Sentience

Presented by

A Conversation with Google Visiting Scholar Steven Johnson, Cognitive Scientist David Chalmers, and AI investor John Borthwick, moderated by Next Big Idea podcast host Rufus Griscom

The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience? Will human experience extend into virtual worlds? These distinct technologies may eventually blend to spawn a surprising future, as our “real” world becomes digitally enhanced, and our machines behave increasingly like humans.

Join us for a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers, including Steven Johnson, Visiting Scholar at Google Labs, and author of Extra Life, Where Good Ideas Come from, How We Got to Now; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, author of The Conscious Mind, Reality+; Betaworks founder and AI investor John Borthwick, and Next Big Idea CEO and podcast host Rufus Griscom.

speakers

Steven Johnson

Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
Biography

Steven is a Visiting Scholar at Google Labs and one of the creators of Google’s new AI-first notebook, code named Project Tailwind. He is the best-selling author of twelve books at the intersection of science, technology and personal experience, including Interface Culture, Everything Bad is Good for You, Where Good Ideas Come From and How We Got to Now. He hosted (or co-hosted) the PBS series How We Got To Now and Extra Life, and currently hosts the podcast The TED Interview.

David Chalmers

Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
Biography

David Chalmers is a cognitive scientist and philosopher, and author of the books The Conscious Mind and Reality+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy. He is well known for his theories on the topic of “the extended mind” and “the hard problem of consciousness.”

John Borthwick

CEO
Betaworks
Biography

John Borthwick has been a leader in the New York startup, technology business for over two decades. He is the Founder and CEO of betaworks, a New York-based startup platform that builds, accelerates & invests in early-stage consumer technology. Companies built by betaworks include Giphy, Dots, bitly, Tweetdeck, and Chartbeat. Investments & accelerated companies include Twitter, Tumblr, Kickstarter, Medium, Anchor, Gimlet and recently Hugging Face, RecRoom, Superplastic, and XMTP.

He serves on the boards of WNYC, New York Public Radio, Data & Society, and several DAOs. John holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA in Economics from Wesleyan University.

Rufus Griscom

Founder
Next Big Idea Club
Biography

Rufus Griscom co-founded Nerve.com, Babble.com, and most recently the Next Big Idea Club. He has discussed consciousness, AI and virtual worlds on the Next Big Idea podcast with thinkers like Steven Pinker, Yuval Noah Harari, Paul Bloom, Steven Johnson and David Chalmers.

Schedule

6:00 pm

7:30 pm

Panel Discussion

About

The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience?

Join us for a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers.

ticket details

* Dinner is a ticketed event, not included with purchase of a Panel Discussion ticket *

Speakers

Steven Johnson
Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
David Chalmers
Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
John Borthwick
CEO
Betaworks
Rufus Griscom
Founder
Next Big Idea Club

8:00 pm

10:00 pm

Dinner Meets Artificial Worlds

About

Pull up a seat to the table. Join our panelists and fellow enthusiasts for a post-panel dinner where the conversation will continue to flow.

ticket details

* Dinner is a ticketed event, not included with purchase of a Panel Discussion ticket *

Speakers

Steven Johnson
Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
David Chalmers
Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
John Borthwick
CEO
Betaworks
Rufus Griscom
Founder
Next Big Idea Club

WHEN

Wednesday, June 28, 2023
6:00 pm

WHERE

Betaworks
29 Little West 12th Street
New York, NY 10014

Agenda

Panel: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Dinner: 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
*Limited spots available*

Tools
For
Thinking

How New Technologies are Changing How We Create, Share, and Build Knowledge

When

June 28, 2023
6:00 pm

Where

Betaworks • 29 Little West 12th Street • New York, NY 10014
Proof of Full Vaccination Required

RENDER is Over, but Camp is just beginning

We had some great speakers and participants turn out for Render, and we all got to participate in very interesting conversations. You can find recordings of all of our sessions below. If you're working on a Tool for Thinking and want to participate in our upcoming accelerator program, you can learn more here.

Building Bicycles for the Mind

A Conversation with Google Visiting Scholar Steven Johnson, Cognitive Scientist David Chalmers, and AI investor John Borthwick, moderated by Next Big Idea podcast host Rufus Griscom

The two hottest topics in tech right now are the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality with Apple’s recent push into spatial computing. Will silicon-based machines develop sentience? Will human experience extend into virtual worlds? These distinct technologies may eventually blend to spawn a surprising future, as our “real” world becomes digitally enhanced, and our machines behave increasingly like humans.

Join us for a provocative discussion with some big (human) thinkers, including Steven Johnson, Visiting Scholar at Google Labs, and author of Extra Life, Where Good Ideas Come from, How We Got to Now; philosopher and cognitive scientist David Chalmers, author of The Conscious Mind, Reality+; Betaworks founder and AI investor John Borthwick, and Next Big Idea CEO and podcast host Rufus Griscom.

Speakers

Howard

Rheingold

Author
Tools for Thought
@hrheingold

Steven

Johnson

Director
NotebookLM and Google Labs
@stevenbjohnson

David

Chalmers

Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher
@davidchalmers42

John

Borthwick

CEO
Betaworks
@Borthwick

Rufus

Griscom

Founder
Next Big Idea Club
@GriscomRufus

Schedule

11:30 AM
Doors Open
12:00 PM
Welcome
with MC
12:10 PM – 12:20 PM
How Do We Define Tools for Thinking and Why Do They Matter?
Join Jerry Michalski and John Borthwick as they talk about their interest in tools for thinking, and what excites them the most about the future of the category.
12:20 PM – 12:50 PM
Inflection Points for Tools for Thinking
What are the key inflection points that will supercharge Tools for Thinking in the near future? How will new technologies, user metaphors, and funding models change how people build these tools? John Borthwick will be discussing how the landscape is changing with the co-founders of Readwise, Daniel Doyon & Tristan Homsi.
12:50 PM – 1:00 PM
Q+A
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Demo: Protocol Design for Tools for Thinking
Gordon Brander will be presenting a brief demo on Subconscious and the Noosphere, products he and his team are working on to allow Tools for Thinking to become interoperable and better connected.
1:15 PM – 2:00 PM
Lunch and Networking
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
The History and Future of Software as Tools for Thinking
Some of the earliest examples of software explored by pioneers like Doug Engelbart, JCR Licklider, Alan Turing, and others were at their core technologies that help magnify, inspect, and spread our ideas. Jerry Michalski will be sitting down (virtually) with Howard Rheingold, author of Tools for Thought, to explore the history and future of "mind-amplifying technology".
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Q+A
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Tools for Thinking Product Demos
We’ll hear from builders and thinkers deep in the space and get to take a look at what they’re working on. We’ll be checking out Plexus, Re:Collect, Jerry’s Brain, Subconscious and more. 
4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
Leveraging AI and ML in Building New Tools for Thinking
Alice Albrecht and Linus Lee will be sitting down with Chris Pedregal to discuss their work in leveraging AI and Machine Learning for creating new kinds of tools for thinking.
4:45 PM – 5:00 PM
Q+A
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Idea Dimensionality and Representing Semantic Meaning
How do ideas - and the human brains that make and hold them - interact?  Get prepared for meta! Esther Dyson and Jerry Michalski, will discuss the idea of how people work together to shape, compare, intertwine and ultimately produce multi-faceted ideas and multi-dimensional idea spaces.  As David Waltz (Thinking Machines) once said, “Words are not in themselves carriers of meaning, but merely pointers to shared understanding.” Watch and lob questions as the two of them try to build and share the idea of how better ideas can be developed through collaboration.
5:30 PM – 5:45 PM
Q+A
5:45 PM – 7:00 PM
Closing and Happy Hour

Proof of Full Vaccination Required

Betaworks requires all visitors to show proof of full vaccination to enter. No exceptions. Two ways that you can show proof:
  • Official vaccine card with at least 2 weeks having passed since the date of the last required dose (1 dose for J&J/AstraZeneca, 2 for Pfizer/Moderna)
  • An active digital pass such as the NY State Excelsior Pass or the CLEAR app