Announcing Talk Series—🤯 Frontiers of Consciousness: 🤖 Our Future with AI

The Frontiers of Consciousness series is rebooting for 2025, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence and how it is and will profoundly affect our world, and that our level of consciousness will be critical to guiding it for either greater human good or possibly having grave outcomes.

Each monthly session will focus on a topic to support a better understanding of AI, its capabilities, and its potential risks and rewards. Here is the tentative topics for the next 6 months. The days won't change, but specific topics may change, depending upon what is most relevant at the time. All sessions will start at 3pm Pacific Time, which is 11pm GMT. Sessions will be in person at 1212 High Street, Auburn, California and on Zoom. See links below for Zoom of each meeting.

Schedule

January 25, 2025 3-4pm PST - 🧠 AI & Human Cognition: We are More Alike than We May Like

February 22, 2025 3-4pm PST - 🐑 Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? The Big Question of Consciousness

March 22, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 🤓 Current GPTs: Idiot Savants who Think They Know Everything, but Can't Tie their Shoes

April 26, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 🧑🏽🏫 Prompt Eduneering: The Art & Science of Getting AI to do what you Want

May 24, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 👔 What is Going to Happen to Our Jobs in the AI Economy?

June 28, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 🗿 How did we Get Here? The History of AI

July 26, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 🛐 The Church of AI

August 23, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 🤥 AI Bias: Human Bias Amplified

September 27, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 🥵 AI Environmental Costs

October 25, 2025 3-4pm PDT - 👾 Artificial General Intelligence: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

November 22, 2025 3-4pm PST - 😇 AI: What could Go right? And what can we do to get there?

December 27, 2025 3-4pm PST - 📈 The Exponential AI Future

About the Presenter

Jacob's lifelong fascination with technology started when he was about 10 years old and told not to touch his parents' computer. His love for teaching started when he was asked by neighbors to help them use their computer. And while he is now graying a bit, this childhood curiosity remains vibrant in his heart,. His soul is dedicated to transforming education in profound ways, ensuring humanity not only survives but thrives in an ever-changing world.

As part of this journey he has:

• Wrote California's educational content standards for software development and technology support.
• Advised the Western Association of Schools and Colleges on changes to one of their accreditation protocols.
• Worked with leaders such as Frances Hesselbein, who Peter Drucker called the best leader in America.

The journey has winded through a diverse landscape of opportunities, such as:

• Co-founding Psyberware Communications, the first Internet Provider in Placer County.
• Being instrumental in reinventing an adult school so it could survive in an environment that lost state funding.
• Co-founding an adult charter school and being instrumental to developing its initial policies. And then standing up against corruption within the school.

While at the same time Jacob had been on a continuous path of learning, both in school and outside the classroom, including:

• Earning his Bachelor's degree in the Individualized Studies of Technology, Education, and Systems. Nearly a quarter of the credits earned towards this degree was through passing rigorous exams, and completing independent study projects, such as an archeological study of the ancient bathhouse in Nazareth.
• Earning his Master's degree in brain-based education, which focused on learning how advances in our understanding of neuroscience can be used to improve how we teach and support learning.
• Completed all courses in the Microsoft Data Science Professional program, and is now enrolled in a Doctor of Business Administration, focusing on using AI in educational organizations.

And he has gotten a few accolades over the years including:

• Being recognized as the Twin Rivers Adult School Teacher of the Year.
• Earning a perfect score on the Microsoft Excel Expert Certification.
• Receiving letters of recognition and/or gratitude from former Senator Barbara Boxer, Frances Hesselbein, and most importantly from many of the students who have learned from him over the years.

Jacob has now turned his attention back to teaching, because with the world changing so rapidly with AI, he can see that if we don't learn quick enough how to live with AI, we are going to be left behind. This is as true for business as it is for individuals. So to support others in keeping up he is doing the following:

• Publishing the daily blog 🦾⃢🤖 Actually Useful AI , as well as his personal blog, that has 13,000 followers.
• Doing this monthly talk titled, Frontiers of Consciousness: Our Future with AI.
• Teaching a diploma program in AI Prompt Engineering through Global SchoolONE. And also developing a Master's program in AI Social Innovation.
• Serving on the board of Playful Programming, which is a nonprofit dedicated to helping people learn technology.
• And, offering corporate training, school professional development, and conference presentations.

The best way to reach Jacob is to send him a connection request on LinkedIn at his profile: www.linkedin.com/in/jacobjwalker