Other Events

This is where we will publicize other selected Chicago area computing related events.
If you know of an event that should be posted here, contact acm@chicagoacm.org .
update automatically as participating organizations update their calendars.

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies

posted Sep 5, 2014, 6:39 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM

Superintelligence asks the questions: What happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence? Will artificial agents save or destroy us? Nick Bostrom lays the foundation for understanding the future of humanity and intelligent life.

Monday, September 8th, 2014 5:00pm
Hughes Auditorium
303 E. Superior Street
60611 ChicagoIL
See map: Google Maps

The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. If machine brains surpassed human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become extremely powerful—possibly beyond our control. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on humans than on the species itself, so would the fate of humankind depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.

But we have one advantage: we get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed Artificial Intelligence, to engineer initial conditions so as to make an intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled detonation?

This profoundly ambitious and original book breaks down a vast track of difficult intellectual terrain. After an utterly engrossing journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the human condition and the future of intelligent life, we find in Nick Bostrom's work nothing less than a reconceptualization of the essential task of our time.

Nick Bostrom is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University and founding Director of the Future of Humanity Institute and of the Program on the Impacts of Future Technology within the Oxford Martin School. He is the author of some 200 publications, including Anthropic Bias (Routledge, 2002), Global Catastrophic Risks (ed., OUP, 2008), and Human Enhancement (ed., OUP, 2009). He previously taught at Yale, and he was a Postdoctoral Fellow of the British Academy. Bostrom has a background in physics, computational neuroscience, and mathematical logic as well as philosophy.

Copies of Bostrom’s book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies will be available for purchase and signing at the event for $20.
After his engagement with C2ST, Bostrom is scheduled to speak at the Microsoft Research Lab,
Google Headquarters and the Machine Intelligence Research Institute at UC Berkeley.

ACM members may register at the student rate at this link:

The Current Landscape of Patentability for Computer Implemented Inventions

posted Mar 25, 2014, 3:17 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM   [ updated Mar 25, 2014, 3:17 PM ]

April 10th, 2014 
 
Social and Registration:  6-7pm   - Light refreshments will be provided. 
Presentation 7-8pm, with Q&A afterwards. 
 
LOCATION:  BRINKS GILSON & LIONE  
                      NBC Tower - Suite 3600, 455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, Chicago, IL 60611 

The IEEE Technology Management Council and the IEEE Computer Society announce a joint meeting with the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) 

This presentation explores the current landscape of patent eligibility, including Federal Circuit and Supreme Court decisions on eligible subject matter under 35 USC 101.  This presentation also provides suggestions for how to prepare patent applications in view of the current landscape, including recommendations for the specification, claims, and drawings. 

Please see the attached PDF for full details and how to register for the meeting

Codebreaker - Feature film about Alan Turing - December 6

posted Nov 28, 2012, 3:41 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM

CODEBREAKER tells the story of one of the most important people of the 20th century. Alan Turing set in motion the computer age and his World War II codebreaking helped save two million lives. Yet few people have heard his name, know his tragic story, or understand his legacy. In 1954, Turing committed suicide at age 41 after being forced to undergo chemical castration to “fix” his sexual orientation. He left behind a lasting legacy and lingering questions about what else he might have accomplished if society had embraced his unique genius instead of rejecting it.

Join the Computer Science Teachers Association in bringing a screening of this movie to Chicago.

The movie will premiere in Chicago on December 6th [details below] if there are 50 reservations.  You can follow the link below to the reservation page. 

http://tickets.todpix.com/codebreaker/chicago/

More information about the film at its website: http://www.turingfilm.com/

FLOURISH! 2012 March 30-31, 2012

posted Mar 13, 2012, 5:09 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM   [ updated Mar 13, 2012, 5:15 PM ]

CELEBRATE INNOVATION WITH CHICAGO'S LINUX & OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE ENTHUSIASTS AT FLOURISH! 2012

*From March 30th-31st, Free Technology Conference Brings Sixth Year of Insightful Talks and Hands-on Workshops about Open-source Software, Technology, and Culture*

WHAT

An annual gathering of, for, and by enthusiasts of open-source software, technology, and culture, taking place at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

FEATURED SPEAKERS and TOPICS

Flourish! 2012 Speakers include:
- Brian Fitzpatrick, Engineering Manager at Google, on Data Liberation
- Bryen M. Yunashko, a prominent voice of accessibility, on the openSUSE project
- Chris McAvoy, Product Lead at Mozilla's Open Badges project
- Meg Ford, member of the GNOME foundation, on GNOME outreach efforts and opportunities to contribute to the project
- Jason Huggins, co-founder of SauceLabs, on extreme mobile testing...with robots!
- Phil Gomes, Senior VP at Edelman, addressing the outcome of corporate involvement in engaging Wikipedia
- Julie Samuels, Staff Attorney at EFF
...and more on our speakers page:

FEATURED WORKSHOP

Get some hands-on experience with soldering and electronics at our Beginner's Arduino Workshop. For the first time, Flourish! Conference has partnered with Pumping Station: One ( http://pumpingstationone.org/ ) to provide a workshop to learn how to program Arduino chips. Arduino has been used to create some cool projects ranging from a miniature
pocket piano to an RGB combination door lock!

WHEN

March 30th - 31st, 2012
March 30th, Afternoon Program
Reception 12:30pm-1:00pm
Keynotes start 1:00 pm

March 31st, Day-Long Program
Morning Reception 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Conference starts 10:00 am
Android Workshop starts 1:00 pm

Tentative schedule posted here:

WHERE

UIC Student Center East
750 South Halsted Street
Chicago, IL

WHO

Flourish! is organized by the Computer Science department of the University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC's) College of Engineering, as well as the University's Linux user group and chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM). The conference is sponsored in part by fused.com, Google, Linux Journal, Linux Pro Magazine, Spantree Technology Group, Orbitz, Dotomi, and nextag.

HOW

Registration is free at:

SUPPORT

If you would like to become a part of us financially, we would be delighted. Sponsorship has helped us quite a bit in the past with providing attendees more interactive pieces to the conference, like social networking events, workshops, and other mini-events.

Do check out the sponsorship page here for more about what could be possible with any help in this vein:

CONNECT

Join us on Facebook at

as well as Google Plus:

Conference updates and conversation-starters on Twitter at

November 15, 2011: Chicago C/C++ Users Group, Featured speaker: James Grenning

posted Nov 1, 2011, 8:56 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM

Full info here:
http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-C-CPP-Users-Group/events/39162962/

Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 6:15 PM

DePaul CDM Building

243 S. Wabash Ave.ChicagoIL (map)

Room 212

Mr.Grenning will elaborate on his recent book

http://pragprog.com/titles/jgade/

and on test-driven development strategy as presented here:

http://www.renaissancesoftware.net/papers/39-test-driven-development-for-embedded-software.html

 

James offers this additional background and a little reassurance:  

"There are other related papers and topics here

http://www.renaissancesoftware.net/papers.html  http://www.renaissancesoftware.net/blog  Don't worry if you are not doing embedded C. This talk is useful for C and C++ programmers, embedded or not."

BARcamp Chicago "Unconference" July 9th & 10th

posted Apr 27, 2011, 7:32 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM

The sixth annual BARcamp Chicago "Unconference" will be held on July
9th & 10th at the community makerspace Pumping Station: One.  BARcamp
Chicago is a great place to learn new skills, network with the best of
Chicago's tech community and maybe even get a head start on founding
your own business.  But unlike regular conferences, at BARcamp it is
the attendees who hold the talks and run the activities.  If you are a
technology enthusiast and have a desire to teach or learn, BARcamp
Chicago is an event you will not want to miss.

Right now we are trying to get an idea of who is planning to attend
this year.  While registration is not required, if you are planning to
attend we would appreciate it if you sign up on our EventBrite:
http://barcampchicago.eventbrite.com/.

If you would like more information about BARcamp Chicago, our website
is http://www.barcampchicago.org/.  If you would like to provide
suggestions about what you want and don't want to see at this year's
BARcamp, please do so at http://barcampchicago.uservoice.com/.
Finally, if you are interested in helping plan BARcamp Chicago, please
sign up on our planning list here:
http://groups.google.com/group/barcamp-chicago/.

BARcamp is only possible by generous contributions from sponsors.  If
your company is interested in sponsoring BARcamp Chicago, please
e-mail Kevin at kharriss@barcampchicago.org.

TEDx ASU West - Redefining Video Games - (Phoenix area)

posted Apr 11, 2011, 2:51 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM

This will be an annual event and our first theme will be: 

Redefining Video Games

It is clear that video games have become a huge part of our world and have a tremendous influence in our society. Pioneers of the industry are redefining the medium. This event is showcasing the wide variety of thoughts, discussion and research from those pioneers.

April 30, 2011, 8:30 am 

KIVA Lecture Hall @ ASU West
4701 W. Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ 85306

What is TEDx? In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx.

TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxASUWest, where x=independently organized TED event. At our TEDxASUWest event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection about the future of video games. 

WindyCityGo - Saturday, April 9, 2011

posted Mar 29, 2011, 3:19 PM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM

WindyCityGo is Chicago's mobile developers conference where Android, iOS, and mobile web developers will learn how to create better mobile apps and how to sell them effectively. Developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and investors all find value in WindyCityGo.

All-day activities: Drop by the Groupon Octagon to pair with Groupon's world-class mobile dev team. Visit the ThoughtWorks conversation space to learn how mobile apps are impacting lives in the developing world. If you're a mobile designer or developer with a great app, and if you want to build a steady supply of customers for your app, go to WindyCityGo. If you're an entrepreneur or investor looking to build an outstanding technical team, go to WindyCityGo.

WindyCityGo will be held on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at the Westin Chicago River North. Visit http://windycitygo.org for details.

Flourish 2011 Open Source Conference, April 1-3

posted Mar 28, 2011, 6:53 AM by ACM Chicago Chapter of the ACM   [ updated Mar 29, 2011, 9:31 PM ]

CELEBRATE INNOVATION WITH CHICAGO'S LINUX & OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE ENTHUSIASTS AT FLOURISH! 2011


http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/

*From April 1 - 3, Free Technology Conference Brings Fifth Year of Insightful Talks and Hands-on Workshops

about Open-source Software, Technology, and Culture* WHAT An annual gathering of, for, and by enthusiasts of open-source software, technology, and culture, taking

place at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This year, you can also take your exams for certification by the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) and 

BSD Certification Group (BSDCG). FEATURED SPEAKERS and TOPICS Flourish! 2011's list of speakers include: - Chris Palmer, Technology Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, on Internet decentralization efforts - Chris McAvoy, VP of Technology at Threadless, on "What Should You Build?" - Ryan "Icculus" Gordon, professional Linux 3D game developer - Vinod Kutty, CME Group, on migrating to Linux on x86 - Cathy Malmrose, CEO of ZaReason, on stress-testing Linux hardware - Mark Meeker, Principal UI Engineer for Orbitz Worldwide, on real-world Web development - Edward R. Swiderski III, partner at GreenCanyon, on "Is Software Licensing Still Relevant?" - Daliah Saper, Principal of SaperLaw, on the legal aspects of open source - Italo Vignoli, The Document Foundation, LibreOffice - Mitch Altman, CEO of Cornfield Electronics, on forming communities - Dru Lavigne, Community Manager of PC-BSD, on the PC-BSD desktop - Dean Wampler, Principal of Aspect Research Associates, on Scala Complete list of speakers at http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/speakers WHEN April 1 - 3, 2011 April 1, Evening Program Reception 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. Keynotes start at 4:30 p.m. April 2, Day-Long Program Morning Reception 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Main conference starts at 10:00 a.m. April 3, Mid-Day Program Morning Reception 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Day starts at 11:00 a.m Certification exams take place from 11am - 3pm. 

Go to the Flourish! website for more details: http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/exams Complete schedule will be available at http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/schedule WHERE UIC Student Center East 750 South Halsted Street Chicago, IL WHO Flourish! is organized by the Computer Science department of the University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC's)

School of Engineering, as well as the University's Linux user group and chapter of the Association of

Computing Machinery (ACM). The conference is sponsored in part by GreenCanyon, Linux Journal, the

Linux Professional Institute, Orbitz, O'Reilly, SourceForge, Times Two Technology, Threadless and Ubuntu. HOW Registration is free at http://www.flourishconf.com/2011/registration Join us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/flourishconf/ Conference updates and conversation-starters on Twitter at http://twitter.com/flourishconf/


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