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"GASP" Planning meeting
The group discussed and finalized several upcoming presentations and meetings, including a potpourri session on July 2nd featuring Oliver Marsh's research and potential talks on methylene blue and AI. They addressed scheduling changes for various presentations, including moving Dick's talk to September and confirming dates for future meetings while being mindful of religious holidays. The group explored new topics for upcoming meetings, including presentations on robots, volcanic activity, and AI applications, while also planning to watch and discuss selected videos during future sessions.
The group discusses upcoming meetings and plans for a potpourri session on July 2nd. Oliver Marsh is scheduled to present for 45 minutes on his British Antarctic Survey Research. Jerome offers to give a 12-15 minute talk on the history of methylene blue as a backup. Dick proposes a 5-10 minute presentation on AI, which the group agrees might require more time for discussion. They decide to assess the timing after Oliver's presentation to determine what additional topics can be covered.
The group discusses scheduling for upcoming meetings and presentations. They decide to move Dick's presentation from July 23rd to September 10th due to his time constraints. John raises concerns about potential conflicts with Jewish holidays in late September, but they confirm the scheduled dates do not overlap. The group also discusses rescheduling a potpourri session and potentially arranging a tour of Lex Media, with Steve offering to organize it once a suitable date is determined.
John Day proposes organizing a small group to explore a topic using AI tools and report back to the main group. The suggested topic is Jacques Monod's book "Chance and Necessity," which examines the role of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics in genetics. The group plans to use AI to analyze the text and investigate its impact on the field. This "AI Lab Report" session is tentatively scheduled for November 5th, allowing about two months for the group to meet every two weeks and prepare their findings. Some members express interest in this more participatory approach, while others question the relevance of the chosen book to AI.
John Rudy proposes inviting Susan Liebman, a geneticist and author of The Dressmaker's Mirror, to speak on October 8th. The book discusses genetic issues related to deaths in her family. Peter agrees to schedule her for that date, asking John to confirm if she can accommodate the regular meeting time despite the 3-hour time difference from Reno. John will contact Sue to confirm her availability.
John Rudy and Peter discuss scheduling upcoming presentations and topics for their meetings. They confirm Will Strauss as the speaker for a presentation on drones tentatively scheduled for September 24th, though John notes Strauss's busy travel schedule may require flexibility. George agrees to present a video on the history of space travel on July 9th to fill an open slot. They decide to postpone discussions on federal science priorities and climate change updates due to current uncertainties. Ted mentions he is still trying to schedule Hannah Barnackna for a future presentation, likely in the fall. The group also considers merging or removing some tentative topics from their list due to similarities or lack of new developments.
The group discusses potential topics for upcoming meetings. John agrees to curate a session on robots for September 3rd, with the exact title to be determined. Ted suggests presenting on the Rubin Observatory as part of a potpourri session on August 6th. The group reviews and updates their list of potential topics, including optical AI, water pollution, and microplastics. Ted takes ownership of a topic about an asteroid potentially hitting the moon. Harry agrees to work on a presentation about a museum collection related to Draper, aiming for an October date.
Ted agrees to give a presentation on volcanic activity on August 13th. He mentions that volcanic activity is currently peaking compared to the last few decades, with new technologies including AI providing interesting insights. Peter confirms the scheduling of this talk and notes that there are now two open slots on July 23rd and July 30th. The group discusses the status of other potential talks, including one on past predictions of future technology and science, which is no longer possible for the originally planned date.
The group decides on two upcoming video presentations for their meetings. For July 23rd, they select a video about new results from the Event Horizon Telescope, which is about an hour long with some Q&A at the end. For July 30th, they choose two videos: "A Hacker's Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules and How to Bend Them Back" by Bruce Schneier (59 minutes) and "Solving Wordle Using Information Theory" (31 minutes). They also tentatively plan to watch an American Experience episode about Edwin Land on October 22nd, with the intention of having more discussion about the videos they watch.
Peter discusses potential topics for upcoming meetings, including a presentation on Windows PowerToys and a discussion on transforms in AI. Dick volunteers to research and present on transforms, while Ted suggests a topic on twisted graphene stacks and other multi-layer materials, referred to as "twistronics". Ted agrees to reach out to contacts at MIT to potentially arrange a speaker on this topic. The group also discusses scheduling and administrative matters for future meetings.