Public release date: 9-Oct-2001
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Contact: Monica Amarelo
mamarelo@aaas.org
202-326-6431
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Conference explores what it means to be human

The multi-disciplinary conference, "Becoming Human ... and Beyond," will explore recent scientific developments and the implications for human self understanding through a series of presentations involving scientists, philosophers, religious scholars and science fiction authors. The three-day program will explore fundamental questions on what it means to be human in light of new research from the Human Genome Project, paleontology, neuroscience, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

Speakers include:
Robert Martin, Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Field Museum

Todd E. Feinberg, M.D., Chief of the Betty and Morton Yarmon Division of Neurobehavior and Alzheimer's Disease at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York

Merlin W. Donald, Department of Psychology at Queens University at Kingston, Ontario

Rodney A. Brooks, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sherry Turkle, Professor of the Sociology of Science Program in Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A complete program of events is available at http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/becominghuman.htm.

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