William Ledbetter
William Ledbetter is a Nebula Award winning author with two novels and more than seventy speculative fiction short stories and non-fiction articles published in five languages, in markets such as Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog, Escape Pod and the SFWA blog.
He's been a space and technology geek since childhood and spent most of his non-writing career in the aerospace industry. He is a member of SFWA, the National Space Society of North Texas, and a Launch Pad Astronomy workshop graduate. He lives near Dallas with his wife, a needy dog and three spoiled cats.
"Level Five" and "Level Six" the first two novels in his Killday Series are available from Audible Originals and in paper and e-book from Interstellar Flight Press.
3:00 PM | Location: Boomer B
Teaching a Robot to Be Kind: The Ethics of Autonomous Systems in Fiction and IRL
Autonomous systems are great at hard-coded inputs and pretty good at keeping the show on the road without a lot of oversight. As these systems begin to manage whole aspects of our society, how do we teach them to be ethical, despite our own less-than-perfect nature?
Moderator: Mel White
Panelists: Dara Fogel, PhD, Loretta McKibben, Mel White, Pigeon, Tim Frayser, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Culture & World Affairs, Science Fiction, STEM, Internet Life
7:00 PM | Location: Embassy Hotel: Interior Courtyard - Atrium
Literary Beers
Join panelists in the hotel lounge for lively conversation. BYO beverages, please.
Moderator:
Panelists: Chaotic Neutral Cosplay, Crazy Red Artist, Dara Fogel, PhD, Elizabeth Leggett, J.H. Fleming, Julie Barrett, Kent Cordray, Kimber E Chessmore, La Blanke, Mel White, Phillip Drayer Duncan, Rook Riley, Scott Zrubek, Shai Fenwick, Sherri Dean, Sue Sinor, Tall Chick Cosplay, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Meetup, General Interest, Writing & Publishing, Art
9:00 AM | Location: Embassy Hotel: Interior Courtyard - Atrium
Koffeeklatch
Join panelists in the hotel breakfast area for morning networking and conversation. BYO coffee, please.
Moderator:
Panelists: Craig Wolf, Crazy Red Artist, Daniel Erickson, Dara Fogel, PhD, David J. Pedersen, J.H. Fleming, John Allen Small, Julie Barrett, Kathleen M. O'Brien, Kevin Dilmore, Kimber E Chessmore, Liz Campbell, Loretta McKibben, Mace Kendu, Mel White, Mike Kennedy, Phillip Drayer Duncan, Rhonda Eudaly, Shai Fenwick, Tall Chick Cosplay, Tommy B. Smith, Trina Jacobs, vickey malone kennedy, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Meetup, General Interest
5:00 PM | Location: Boomer B
2023: Welcome to the Singularity. Sorta.
We've talked for a long time about how AI would someday reach “the Singularity.” With things like the recent deployment of ChatGPT, is that day today? Whether this is a positive development or a negative one remains unknown. As a society, what's our role in steering this technology towards a positive direction rather than one that destroys our perception of facts, critical thinking, and language composition? Are things that desperate?
Moderator: Daniel Erickson
Panelists: Brian A. Hopkins, Daniel Erickson, Loretta McKibben, THE james k burk, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Writing & Publishing, STEM, Culture & World Affairs, General Interest
10:00 AM | Location: Boomer A
Designing Your Fortress of Solitude or Evil Lair of Evil
Lay out the specs for your own supervillain (or hero) hideaway. In a volcano? On a satellite or the Moon? Get creative with anti-burglary tech. What would you display in your own Museum of Victory?
Moderator: Mel White
Panelists: Bradley H Sinor, James Hollaman, Mark Alfred, Mel White, Mike Kennedy, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Pop Culture & Entertainment, Writing & Publishing, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Comics
Noon | Location: Embassy Hotel: JQH Boardroom presented by Morningstar Storage
Author Readings
Authors read selections from their various works.
Moderator: William Ledbetter
Panelists: A. Lee Martinez, B. J. Thrower, David J. Pedersen, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Writing & Publishing
1:00 PM | Location: Boomer B
Immortality or the Singularity
Would you rather have the option to be immortal in your corporeal form, or upload your consciousness to a digital format that could evolve otherwise? How is this question addressed in speculative fiction and reflected in real world research and cultural considerations?
Moderator: Jan S. Gephardt
Panelists: Jan S. Gephardt, Rhonda Eudaly, Selina Rosen, Ted Pennella, William Ledbetter
Tracks: Pop Culture & Entertainment, Science Fiction, General Interest