Future Salon

5+5[+5] Sessions Oct 14 Thrivable Future Salon

We love the diversity of sessions that participants are going to present, tomorrow, Wednesday the 14th of October at theThrivable Future Salon [register now].

After an introduction to Thrivability and the Future Salon, we are having 5+5[+5] open mike sessions: 5 minutes of introduction to a theme. 5 minutes of discussion in the room, and if the activity in the room is high, we add another 5 minutes to the discussion before we start the next session.

The Lineup is posted further up. 

5+5[+5] Basic Innovation Income

At the Thrivable Future Salon on Wednesday the 14th of October at Pivotal Labs in San Francisco, Jean will do a short introduction to Thrivability. After that we are having 5+5[+5] Open Mike Thrivable Future Salon Sessions. Their format is as follows:

• 5 minutes to introduce your idea.
• 5 minutes to discuss the idea and any aspects that may make it succeed or fail.
• If after 5 minutes of discussion the energy is high in the room, with lots of viewpoints that have not been explored yet, we extend this discussion for another 5 minutes.

After that the next idea is presented. Thus the 5+5[+5] name. (Open to a better name, if you have one.) Past Future Salon presenters often told me that my audience would ask the most interesting questions and I am convinced that this will be the case on the 14th too. Basic Innovation Income will be the idea that I will share this time in my 5+. What I like about it is, that it makes sense to me, but it feels like there is a lot of room for improvement or aspects that I haven't thought about. Therefore I can't wait for the discussion. AI and robotics will make most of our current jobs obsolete. Check out this cooking robot, that will be able to create Micheline star chef meals every time.

We are going to work, or as Jon Robb calls it turking, more and more for the algorithms.

Many people put food on the table of their families by driving for Uber actually for the Uber algorithm.

Elon Musk is on track to have fully autonomous Teslas on the road by 2018. Now Uber promised to buy all the self driving cars that Tesla can build, as for them, their algorithm has expanded to the last mile.

All Uber, Taxi, Truck, Golf card, … drivers will have to find another job, just out of reach of the algorithms (until the algorithm catches up again). Therefore, it will be ever harder for most people to keep up.

According to the Economist we are living in a StartUp economy. Again John Robb in his post: Thinking Clearly in a Nation of Start-ups.

He calls what is needed is Basic Innovation Income to transition into the post scarcity society.

The winners in our StartUp economy are getting exponentially rewarded for their success. The more people that we as a society can free up, via Basic Innovation Income, to tinker on the next, dare I say it “Unicorn”, the better are the chances for that economy to have these run away successes. The flip side is, we have to set up a system where these exponential rewards pay for everyone else's Basic Innovation Income.

Studies have shown, that after a certain threshold, back then it was around $70K per year, there is almost no difference in how happy you are from making more money.

Basic Innovation Income let’s us sleep at night!

On the day we implement Basic Innovation Income, if you listen closely, you will hear a universal sigh of relief. A weight will be taken off our collective shoulders. All the worry and the stress will be gone, that comes with the need to hustle to have food on the table of our families, to have a roof over the heads of our loved ones, that we can pay our bills for our basic needs …

All that will be gone. We will finally have time to heal ourselves, heal our relationships, have time to look around and see what needs to be done in our communities and do that together. In other words we will finally be able to sleep in peace, be well rested, and play.

That universal playfulness will be the best environment for us to come up with new ideas and ventures to grow the economy in a positive direction.

Can't wait to discuss this idea and any other that you bring to the table aka fill out the form to present or just come to the Thrivable Future Salon on the 15th of October at Pivotal Labs in San Francisco.

Thrivable Future Salon 14th of October

The wait is over. I am super excited to see many of you again on Wednesday 14th of October at Pivotal Labs in San Francisco for the Thrivable Future Salon. Register today!

So much has happened. Elon Musk thinks dropping some nuclear bombs on the poles of Mars may make that planet livable. That is super fascinating and exciting. Yet, let's not forget to make earth more livable for more people. Everyone please step up. Come out and create a thrivable future for all. 

I left SAP and under the umbrella of Playful Enterprise am now implementing ideas by playfully tapping into community passion. Happy to infuse a culture of excellence into your organization. Ping me if you are interested. 

I met, fell in love and married a wonderful woman Jean Russell. Her focus on Thrivability was what intrigued me from the beginning. The tag line on Jean's Thrivability book is: Breaking Through to a World That Works. Future Salon's tagline is: Boldly Creating A World That Works For All. Coincidence? We think not :-) 

What a sunrise over the Bay Area this morning. How appropriate for this announcement. 

Thrivable Future Salon Oct 14

October 14, 2015 at 6pm

Run by: Jean Russell and Mark Finnern

Hosted by: Pivotal Labs, 875 Howard Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco

Welcome!

Future Salon, please meet Thrivability… and Thrivability, allow me to introduce the Bay Area Future Salon! [If you don't understand this, check history further down]. Hello all. Welcome to the Thrivable Future Salon where we meet to discuss and challenge each other in co-creating a more thrivable future that works for all. We have some audacious goals for the future, sure, and we are having a fun time together moving in that direction. If you are curious or even passionate about creating the future, imagining new possibilities, or wanting to thrive in your life, work, and community, then come join us! [Register] Can’t make this one and want to learn about future events, online and in person? Join our mailing list. [caption id="attachment_5" align="alignright" width="272"] Get a Thrivable Life and World[/caption]

Topics

From the angle of “what will make me, us, and all of us more thrivable” we want to have discussions at this and future events about:

• Collaboration and co-creativity in practice
• Open source and other forms of network production
• Tips about personal thrivability
• Open government and the future of democracy
• The future of work
• The future of learning
• add your Thrivable Future topic here!

Open Mike

For this relaunch event, we would like to solicit topics from you! Open Mike style. If you want to present a 5 minute talk on your own thrivable future topic, let us know by filling out this form.

Sharing Online

Possible Tweet: Want to thrive in life, work, and community? Join us 10/14 @pivotallabs San Francisco Thrivable Future Salon! #TFS http://www.eventbrite.com/e/thrivable-future-salon-tickets-18766424882 Webcast: For those not in the room, we will try to webcast via http://spreecast.com. Try this link. However our focus is on the in person event. Let us know if you want to help with organizing the webcast. Can’t make this one and want to learn about future events, online and in person? Join our mailing list.

Agenda

• Doors open at 6pm for you to connect with each other and grab a beer.
• At 6:15, our formal event begins, including a warm and hearty welcome.
• Introduction to Thrivability by Jean Russell Future Salon by Mark Finnern.
• 5+5 minute Open Mike talks (sign up now if you want to offer one).
• Summarize and synthesize together, answering the question: “What can you do for a more thrivable world now?”

We hope you join us afterwards for casual conversations and drinks nearby. [Register] We hope you join us afterwards for casual conversations and drinks nearby.

Sponsor

Map to Pivotal Labs at 875 Howard St, San Francisco, CAWe thank Pivotal Labs for sponsoring this event by providing our event space as well as refreshments. We are seeking a food sponsor. Contact us if you like what we are creating and would like to be a general sponsor for Thrivable Future Salons. Send an email to mark at finnern dot com.

History

Mark has been hosting the Bay Area Future Salon since 2002. The Future Salon has provided our audience with riveting speakers on topics that lead toward a world that works for all, including David Brin, Nicole Lazarro, Mickey McManus, Howard Rheingold, Doug Engelbart,  and more. Ten years later, Mark met Jean Russell, a founder of Thrivability. Jean co-created the Thrivability Sketch with 70 amazing collaborators in 2010. And then in 2013, she released, through Triarchy Press, Thrivability: Breaking Through to a World that Works. The tagline for the Future Salon has been: Bolding Creating a World that Works for All. And so, with a tremendous shared sense of purpose and practice, not only did they marry, they are weaving the Future Salon and Thrivability together into Thrivable Futures. [Register] Make sure you are signed up to get our updates about upcoming events online and in person.

  

Thrivable Future Salon

To freely quote Mark Twain: The death of the Future Salon has been greatly exaggerated. Please help us to make it thrive again by filling out the following form: https://goo.gl/AlVyrs.

My partner, Jean Russell, has written the compendium for how we might be able to thrive:
Thrivability -- Breaking through to a world that works.  

It is the essence of what we are doing with the Future Salon to help create a world that is playful and thriving for everyone.

Some of you may have heard that I quit SAP over a month ago. Via my consultancy Playful Enterprise, I am now implementing ideas by playfully tapping into community passion. Join me next Friday 19th of June where I will be keynoting Playcamp in South San Francisco.

If you have enjoyed the Future Salon in the past and would like to influence the new chapter under the Thrivable Future Salon umbrella please fill out the following form: https://goo.gl/AlVyrs.

Can’t wait to see you all again at a Thrivable Future Salon.

P.S. Also sign up for the new mailing list on Thrivable Futures.

Recording of our Future Salon with David Brin

That was a really enjoyable Future Salon with David Brin. Thank you John Smart for making the connection. Thank you also SAP for opening your doors and hosting us the setting really worked. 

 

If you don't need the Future Salon intro you can jump to minute 7:30m where David Brin starts. Don't miss him doing a little Al Sherman homage at minute 57.24m. Here is a link to a record of Al Sharman on YouTube for folks like me that didn't know him. That is also the start of the Q&A part of the Future Salon. 

Oh and you may want to turn it off before the last minute, if you don't want to hear my little twist to the Auld Lang Syne song. 

Some quick notes from the Future Salon: 

• Folks really liked the format with a 10-15m group discussion in the middle. Ping me with your improvement suggestions. 
• David Brin thinks the next 10 years will be critical timeframe within which we will either be able to keep our freedoms and prosperity for most or fall back into a feudal system with an oligarchy having absolute power. 
• I was surprised that David thinks that lie detectors will be one of the deciding factors and whether citizens will be able to turn them on the rich and powerful too. 
• Who is spending the most on AI? The investment bankers to improve their algorithms for high frequency trading. This is done in absolute secrecy, without any oversight. The investment bankers are developing the most ruthless predatory AI imaginable to wring out every little advantage from the system, which is of great concern. I asked him later whether the Tobin Tax [small tax on all trades to make high frequency trading unprofitable] would mitigate that risk and he enthusiastically agreed. 
• The conversation before and after a Future Salon with the people in the room are always super interesting too: Scientists have switched on a gene in mice that lead to enlarging and folding of their brain. These reserachers claim to have killed all of the mice before checking whether they were smarter, but who knows what is really going on. If it's only a matter of activating one gene, would expecting parents want to activate it, to give their baby a head start? Intelligence is less about the size of the brain, but connected to the number of folds and neurons. Now if scientists give rats brains a couple of more folds, they would sure find a way to break out of the lab. Michael Crichton book coming to a bookstore near you in 3-2-1 ;-) 

We are living in interesting times. Thank you all for coming. Let's go out and make all of our futures bright.

Future Salon with David Brin Webcast 5th Feb

Last Sunday Jon Reed @jonerp and I with a couple of friends gave G+ HangOut another try, but even with the Q&A module it fell short. You are not able to chat with anyone that isn't in the HangOut, which has a limit of 10 participants. 

That's just not enough interactivity for our taste. Back to the good and tested Adobe/SAP connect: 
https://sap.na.pgiconnect.com/fs 

We will stream starting 6:30pm PST. If you can't be there in person, join us remotely. Crossing fingers that everything works out. 

David Brin answers 3 Future Salon Questions

 

Photo attribution: sean dreilinger durak.org

Please check below and join our Google HangOut Prep Event tomorrow Sunday noon PST. 

We are at capacitiy for the Future Salon with David Brin this Wednesday 5th of February. If you have a ticket and can't come, please let us know right away. You will make some on our waitlist happy. Even better using your eventbright confirmation email you can release it yourself. If you don't have a ticket yet, but want to come, put yourself on the waitlist just below all the ticket types. Some may open up, see above or join our HangOut on Air remotely. 

To get us all excited about the upcoming Future Salon we have a tradition to ask our destinguished guest 3 questions: 

Q1: You wrote the book The Transparent Society at the end of the 90s. Did anything surprise you about where we are right now? The Snowden revelations?

David Brin: I never thought it would be so hard to get across a simple concept -- that it is more important to supervise and interrogate and scrutinize the mighty, than to futilely try to blind them.  But yes, many things are unfolding as predicted.  Last year, the wearable cameras began sprouting on lapels of police officers all over the place, and citizens won the all-important right to aim cameras back at authority.  Of course the creepiest page of prediction was p206 of The Transparent Society. [He speculates the consequences of terrorist would succeed in toppeling both towers of the World Trade Center 3 years before it happened.]

Q2: Is the February 11^th Day we Fight Back against Mass Surveillance https://thedaywefightback.org/ a step in the right direction?

David Brin: Not at all.  The emphasis is on whining and bitching and moaning and yelling "Don't look at us!"  A total distraction from the truly important issues at-hand

Q3: Popular science recently switched off comments at their publication. Has opinion won over scientific discourse?  

David Brin: We need online reputation systems that automatically rise and fall the way regular reputations do, in real life.  In that case, journals could have a threshholded system that still welcomes a morass of snarkers, down below, but allows wisdom to rise higher. A billion dollar business awaits those bold enough to create this.  There are some methods....

I snuck in a 4th one Q4: Future Salon tagline is: Boldly creating a world that works for all. What are the most important things to tackle to create such a world?

David Brin: Seeking the win-win... the positive sum game. Ways to spread freedom AND safety, effectiveness and accountability. wealth-driven markets while remaining free from plutocracy.  These are all possible!  We are living proof.

This is super exciting. 

See you all there. 

Room: Cafeteria SAP Labs Building 3. 
3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map]
[Best to park in SAP Labs building 2 3412 Hillview Avenue [map] parking lot and walk over.]

P.S. Update: Our tests with G+ hangouts didn't provide the interactivity that we are looking for. Therefore please join the SAP/Adobe connect session:  https://sap.na.pgiconnect.com/fs We will stream starting 6:30pm PST the latest. We will record and later share.