General introduction to the workshop
Under the roof of Neuro Augmentation, the workshop focuses on enhancement of brain functions in three interdisciplinary themes:
- Brain Hacking – reading in the brain
- Hybrid Brains – chimeras and non-human primate transgenesis, brain capacity enhancement through genetic engineering, transplantation of neuro-organoids
- Artificial Cognition – robotics with neural-based and brain-inspired AI
Workshop Venue
The Villars Palace and Victoria Residence provide a unique venue with state-of-the-art conference facilities in the Swiss Alps. It is easily reachable from Geneva International Airport and has access to top skiing facilities.
The workshop will be structured around the three themes described previously and will allow for ample discussion and exploration space between sessions.
Workshop setup
The workshop will be structured around the three themes and will allow for ample discussion and exploration space between sessions.
During the workshop, each session begins with four to five 15 minutes input presentations by participants immediately followed by a short Q&A. The session closes with an hour discussion moderated by the session Chair. Discussions happen under Chatham House Rules, meening that no quote will be attributed to a participant.
The outcomes of the conference will be published and included in the 2023 GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar. They will provide the basis for further debates at GESDA's High-Level Summit on 11-13 October in Geneva and foster interactions with member of the GESDA Diplomacy Forum about the implications of these advances and what the global community can do to reap the benefits of anticipated advances, while ameliorating risks and undesired societal impacts.
About GESDA – Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator
The governments of Switzerland and Geneva founded GESDA in 2019 as an independent foundation to leverage the anticipative power of science with diplomacy organizations and citizens working in Geneva and around the world.
They created it based on the growing awareness:
- That the world is experiencing breakthrough science and technological discoveries at an unprecedented speed;
- That these breakthroughs will reshape how we view ourselves as humans, how we relate to each other in society and how we care for our environment;
- That humanity, especially people living in less advanced or emerging countries, cannot afford to miss the potential of those science and technology advances for global well-being and inclusive development.
The Foundation aims, in favour of multilateralism, to leverage the International Geneva ecosystem to anticipate, accelerate and translate into concrete actions the use of emerging science-driven topics. It does so by:
- anticipating the possible scientific breakthroughs that will impact the world, highlighting their potential impact for people, society and the planet;
- accelerating the discussions (with politicians, diplomats, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, NGOs, citizens) around global initiatives to be developed to make sure everybody benefits from those scientific advances;
- translating these solution ideas into concrete projects by bringing together the coalitions to implement them, in collaboration with multilateral institutions.
During the past two years, GESDA has consulted extensively over 1200 scientists globally about which scientific advances in the coming 5, 10 and 25 years could have strong implications about the future of human-kind and our planet.
It has the ambition to provide:
- a unique space of convergence that allows direct reflections with leading scientists in related but distinct areas of science;
- an innovative space for anticipation that permits discussions about future cutting-edge research in areas related to brain- and neuro-enhancement outside of one’s immediate core research area, and;
- a direct bridge to diplomacy that extends to interactions with leaders from diplomacy and impact in a dedicated follow-up meeting in summer and culminating at the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipation Summit in October 2023, a high-level event that gathers scientists, diplomats, ministers and decision-makers in Geneva and which will be held for the third time to discuss and act on the implications of those anticipated advances in science.