Wall-E or Terminator: Predicting the Rise of AI
Tuesday, March 13, 9:30AM -10:30AM, by Chris Robson, Daniel Wilson, and William Hertling.

This fun and thought provoking session will look at fundamental issues about the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). When is human-level AI likely to emerge? When it does emerge will it be more likely to be friendly, hostile, or indifferent to humanity? What, if anything, can we do to influence these outcomes? Panelists will draw on their expert knowledge in the field as well as look at science fiction for inspiration.

Augmented Reality = ARPA’s Original Vision of Web
Tuesday, March 13, 9:30AM -10:30AM, by Chris Grayson.

Using a variety of original source material, Chris Grayson will give an overview of the global network, as envisioned by thinkers at ARPA before the creation of the ARPAnet. Examples include J.C.R. Licklider’s “Man-Computer Symbiosis,” 1960; Douglas Engelbart’s “Augmenting Human Intellect,” 1962; and Ivan Sutherland’s “The Ultimate Display,” 1965. Some focus will also be given to the people and personalities involved. Heidi Hysell will provide the technical explanation for many milestones in the evolution of the Internet, making the case that the human interface to the network has historically been limited by the available technology, and with Augmented Reality, we are now entering an era that truly begins to deliver on the original vision.

Human Language Technology and Where It’s Headed
Tuesday, March 13, 9:30AM -10:30AM, by Jason Baldridge.

Language is the holy grail of artificial intelligence. When we imagine sharing a world with smart machines, we don’t think about logic, or problem solving, or winning at chess. We hear HAL-9000 declining to open the pod bay doors, and the Terminator saying he’ll be baaack. Researchers have been working on building computers we can talk to for 60 years; in the 1990s, Bill Gates predicted that speech would soon be “a primary way of interacting with the machine”. So why aren’t we talking to our computers yet ….Or are we? Thanks to new developments in human language technology (also known as “natural language processing”) and text analytics, computers are analyzing everything from e-mail and tweets to clinical records and and speed-date conversations. How does the technology work, when does it work well (and when not), what’s it doing for us, and where is it headed?

3D Printing: Not Everyone Will Be Excited
Tuesday, March 13, 11:00AM -12:00PM, by Michael Weinberg.

If the growth of the internet taught us anything, it is that not everyone welcomes exciting, disruptive technologies. Impacted industries like film and music demanded that Congress protect them from the internet. In the near future, companies disrupted by the widespread adoption of 3D printing could set off a new wave of DRM and intellectual property (IP) expansion. To understand how this might happen, first you need to understand how IP law applies to things that can be 3D printed. Can you copyright a hammer? Can you patent a sculpture? After explaining how IP applies to objects coming out of a 3D printer, this talk will highlight steps being taken to protect 3D printing from being strangled in Washington, DC.

How Simulations Can Change the Future of Learning
Tuesday, March 13, 11:00AM -12:00PM, by Bjorn Billhardt.

Humans learn by doing. We master how to ride a bike not by watching a PowerPoint presentation but by trying it out and falling down. Yet, in school, most of our time is spent listening and memorizing facts. But the world is changing. As computer games become more social and computers become more prevalent in the classroom, the opportunity for true interactive multi-player learning through games and simulations is finally becoming tangible.

This interactive presentation will focus on how simulations can change the way we learn. Using examples from corporate training and the K-12 space, it will explore how simulations can teach children and adults in ways that increase engagement and retention of knowledge.

The presentation will include examples of both successful and unsuccessful simulations and chart a path of how simulations can revolutionize education by allowing learners — both young and old — to internalize knowledge through the process of learn-by-doing.

We Are Legion: Digital (R)Evolution
Tuesday, March 13, 11:00AM -12:00PM, by Brian Knappenberger, and Gregg Housh.

WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists (SXSW 2012) takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical “hacktivist” collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film traces the collective’s evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach. In the last year, Anonymous has been associated with attacks or “raids” on hundred’s of targets ranging from financial institutions, cyber-security firms to foreign dictators. They played a vital role in the “Occupy” movement and recently launched the largest DDoS attacks in history against Hollywood for their support of SOPA.

Armed with colleagues from the filmmaking and digital communities, writer/director Brian Knappenberger weighs in on the challenges of making the film, the roots of Anonymous, and their current battles with Hollywood.

The Future of Work and the Free Radical
Tuesday, March 13, 12:30PM – 1:30PM, by Althea Erickson, Benjamin Dyett, Josh Rubin, and Richard Schatzberger.

How we work is changing. But where we work isn’t.

Over the last ten years a new way of working has emerged, along with some people who live it every day. They’re available 24/7. They network endlessly, and then plug their skills into others’ in surprising combinations. They choose when and how they do what they do, on their terms. They don’t want job security — they want career fluidity. We call them free radicals. And they’re creating the future of work.

But when they look for a place to do all that, the options are weirdly outdated: office, home, or on the go – say, a café. Those are actually poor choices. Offices mean fixed cost and daily routine. Home is isolated and full of distractions. And cafés get old after the second latté.

Be transported by this panel of experts into the future of work, as they walk you through their vision of the ideal work experience for free radicals just like you.

The Ultimate Bruce Sterling Talk
Tuesday, March 13, 5:00PM – 6:00PM, by Bruce Sterling
The passionate closing remarks of this visionary thinker are a long-time tradition for SXSW Interactive attendees. Come hear what Bruce Sterling likes (and doesn’t like) about the tech industry and the world at large in 2012.