This November you can find me at SFContario, where I’ll be on a bunch of panels as both a participant and moderator. Here’s my schedule:

Friday 10 PM – Ballroom A

Cyborgs AI and Androids in Anime
Japan leads the world in developing humanoid robots and anime productions
address the question of what it means to be human if the human body is
increasingly mechanized. Conversely when does a self aware system become
worthy of being regarded as equal or even superior to a human? Should we
worry about the implications of developing our technology too far? (Madeline
Ashby(M), Jeff DeLuzio, Derwin Mak, David Stephenson)

Saturday Noon – Room 207

Tor.com Kaffeeklatsch

Sunday 11 AM – Ballroom A

Writing the Future
A lot of people seem to thing the future will be like the past but with
better gadgets. How do you create a credible near future (up to 50 years
from now)? What things are likely to change and what will stay the same?
Technological and scientific change are important but they aren’t the whole
story. How do you incorporate probably or possible changes in the
environment, economy and politics, culture and social mores into a
believable future? (Madeline Ashby, Ira Nayman, Dr. Alex Pantaleev, Hayden
Trenholm(M), Robert Charles Wilson)

Sunday 2 PM – Courtyard

The Yellow Peril and Exotic Asia Refracted Through SF/Fantasy
The Panel will explore and discuss the manner in which the Yellow Peril of a
century ago became part of the mainstream popular culture in North America
and defined for many people the exotic, and therefore, the alien. This
influence then defined aliens in comics and early SF, Buck Rogers and Flash
Gordon. Even after the Yellow Peril subsided, the influence (Asian defines
Other) remained, visible in the original Klingons (and, arguably even the
Vulcans and Romulans) of Star Trek and the Trade Federation of the Star Wars
prequels. To what degree do these images remain harmful? And is mainstream SF inherently racist in its treatment of aliens? (Madeline Ashby(M), Eric Choi, Derwin Mak, Jeff DeLuzio.)