Futures Working Group Members Build Positive Relationships at Stanford University

On November 6th and 7th, 2004, two members of the PFI/FBI Futures Working Group (FWG) attended Accelerating Change 2004, the 2nd annual conference sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Accelerating Change. Held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, Dr. Andreas (Olli) M. Olligschlaeger, President of TruNorth Data Systems and Staff Inspector Thomas J. Cowper, New York State Police were among the more than two hundred of the world’s leading futurists gathered to discuss and debate the issues associated with living in today’s rapidly changing society. This year’s conference focused on three major futurist themes: The accelerating interconnectivity of the physical world; the increasing accuracy of the simulated world; and the growing intelligence of human-machine interfaces.
FWG exposure at the conference was significant. Inspector Cowper moderated a panel discussion between Dr. Olligschlaeger and two other notable speakers, technology journalist Dana Blankenhorn and Joachim Schaper, Vice President for the Americas at SAP Research, on the issues of Pervasive Computing. Dr. Olligschlaeger spoke on the use of information technology in law enforcement, the current state of the art in law enforcement technology as well as new technologies that are in development to aid in the wars on terrorism and organized crime. He also stressed the importance resolving the privacy concerns of the general public to overcome barriers related to the implementation of new technology.
Among the highlights of the conference was a debate between scientist, science fiction writer and author of the ground breaking non-fiction work “The Transparent Society” David Brin and Brad Templeton, Chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The two engaged in a spirited exchange of ideas regarding the best way to preserve Constitutional liberty in a society of increasingly smaller, more powerful and more widely available surveillance technologies, a topic of great concern to law enforcement. Another interesting and highly insightful panel discussion took place between computer scientist Jaron Lanier, who coined the term “Virtual Reality”, and Will Wright, inventor of the computer game series “The Sims”. These two events were indicative of the quality of speakers and the depth of the dialog produced at this important conference. The information and knowledge gained on issues regarding emerging technologies and the social changes they are creating in the 21st Century will be highly beneficial as the FWG continues to develop strategies for the future of law enforcement. The conference also provided a unique opportunity for FWG members to interact with a diverse and passionate group of concerned futurists who rarely get the opportunity to hear police and homeland security issues addressed by those directly involved in civilian law enforcement.