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11 March 2005, Publieksdag "Philosophy of Information", Grote Zaal van Cristofori, Prinsengracht 583, Amsterdam

Date: Friday 11 March 2005
Time: 13:30-17:30
Location: Grote Zaal van Cristofori, Prinsengracht 583, Amsterdam

If we are to believe Hollywood, the reality we live in can be replaced by a computer model. Films and series such as "The Lawnmower Man", "The Matrix" and "Star Trek" (the Holodeck) have as their underlying premise that reality and consciousness are composed solely of information, and that that information can easily be manipulated using computers. Those following the rapid development of computer games have to conclude that the perfecting of interfaces is eroding the difference between game and reality. Happily (or regretfully) science itself has not quite reached this stage, but exciting things are happening nevertheless.

At the symposium Philosophy of Information John McCarthy, Keith Devlin, Pieter Adriaans and Tine Wilde will discuss the current state of affairs. Science is achieving new insights by viewing part of reality as a computational process. Taking this approach to its extremes, this begs the philisophical question: is it only a metaphore, a useful model, or something more? Is information going to turn out to be the science-of-everything?

For more information, an online registration form and a program, see http://www.klpoll.nl/pages/project.phtml?project=66

Please note that this newsitem has been archived, and may contain outdated information or links.