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From: John Brockman To: Jeffrey Epstein Cc: ==l > Subject: Demis Hassibis - EDGE event in London in April Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2016 23:27:20 +0000 Attachments: NATURE.pdf; Digital_intuition Nature_News_&_Comment.pdf JE, Last month, I hosted a dinner in New York for Demis Hassibis, the acknowledged leading thinker among the new wave of AI researchers exploring what has become known as "deep learning". TI actually demanded that Danny Hillis show up because Hassibis, 35 years later, is the next really brilliant young man. Danny did take the train from Boston. He was not disappointed. The evening sparkled, a stunningly interesting experience. (See below for information about Demis). I will be in London for a week beginning April 7th. Demis, who works in London, has agreed to do a reprise as an EDGE event while I am in town. The best dates for that evening are Thurs- Sunday nights, Feb 7-10th. Can you join us? This time, rather than having just scientists present, I want to focus on people who think about intelligence and learning through different kinds of prisms, i.e. Brian Eno, Ian McEwan, Terry Gilliam, Alfonso Cuaron, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tom Stoppard, among others. I see this more as a dinner conversation, rather than a talk by Demis, hopefully videotaped, unless his new corporate masters at Google shut that down. There's a precedent here for the dinner motif. It was in 1968 in a six-part avant garde series at the 92nd St Y Poetry Center in NY that John Cage hosted a dinner onstage for about 8 people in front of an full house. If it is a dinner, and it's videotaped, it would be best to limit it to a maximum of 12 people sitting around a single table. I can see a variety of venues, all of which have attractions and also issues. Some ideas: A private dining room at a quiet restaurant or club; the home of a philanthropic arts patron an artist's studio such as Eno's; even the Serpentine Gallery. We're probably better off in a full-service restaurant or the home of someone who is into hosting big sit-down dinners. Why ideas? Feedback, please. And I hope to see you soon. Best, JB mobile III. Pay special attention to two new EDGE pieces. Ed Boyden on optogenetics, published last week and David Reich on ancient DNA, which is being published tomorrow. Two brilliant young guys. So exciting!! About Demis Hassibis DEMIS HASSIBIS was the co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, a neuroscience-inspired AI company, bought by Google in Jan 2014 for a reported $400 million in their largest European acquisition to date. He is now Vice President of Engineering at Google DeepMind and leads Google's general AI efforts. Demis is a former child chess prodigy, who finished his A-levels two years early before coding the multi-million selling simulation game Theme Park aged 17. Following graduation EFTA00328942 from Cambridge University with a Double First in Computer Science he founded the pioneering videogames company Elixir Studios producing award-winning games for Microsoft and Universal. After a decade of experience leading successful technology startups, Demis returned to academia to complete a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at UCL. His research connecting memory with imagination was listed in the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2007 by the journal, Science. Demis is a 5-times World Games Champion, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and the recipient of the Royal Society's Mullard Award. LINKS/RECENT PRESS Google Deep Mind http://deepmind.com/ Home Page http://demishassabis.com/ Deep Mind Publications http://deepmind.com/publications.html NATURE 28 January 2016 "Google AI algorithm masters ancient game of Go" "We're pretty confident," says DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis. "This is a really big result, it's huge," says Remi Coulom, a programmer in http://www.nature.com/news/google-ai-algorithm-masters-ancient-game-of-go-1.19234 NATURE - EDITORIAL 28 January 2016 "Digital intuition" A computer program that can outplay humans in the abstract game of Go will redefine our relationship with machines. http://www.nature.com/news/digital-intuition-1.192301 THE GUARDIAN Feb 16, 2016 "The superhero of artificial intelligence: can this genius keep it in check?" --Demis Hassabis has a modest demeanour and an unassuming countenance, but he is deadly serious when he tells me he is on a mission to "solve intelligence, and then use that to solve everything else". Coming from almost anyone else, the statement ... http://www.theguardian.c0m/technology/2016/feb/16/demis-hassabis-artificial-intelligence- deepmind-alphago BBC NEWS 27 January 2016 "Google achieves AI 'breakthrough' by beating Go champion" --DeepMind's chief executive, Demis Hassabis, said its AlphaGo software followed a three- stage process, which began with making it analyse 30 ... http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35420579 WIRED January 27, 2016 --In a Huge Breakthrough, Google's AI Beats a Top Player at the game of Go http://www.wired.com/2016/01/in-a-huge-breakthrough-googles-ai-beats-a-top-player-at-the- game-of-go/ PBS NEWS HOUR EFTA00328943 Jan 27, 2016 How a computer program became champion of the world's trickiest board fame --DEMIS HASSABIS, Google DeepMind: So, our program combines lots of different techniques together. And for the first time ever, AlphaGo, our ... http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/how-a-computer-program-became-champion-of-the-worlds- trickiest-board-game/ EFTA00328944