Metaknowledge in the Metaverse: The Kira Institute is exploring the use of virtual worlds in developing new forms of research and education that are rooted in scientific and scholarly traditions, but are not confined by the usual disciplinary and academic boundaries. In the same way that wikipedia introduced a collaborative and free content approach to static knowledge gathering and sharing, Kira workshops are extending this approach to dynamic knowledge exchange through virtual worlds.  Professionals, amateurs, teachers, and students mingle freely together in the virtual world, creating a sort of emerging virtual public sphere. In this setting, Kira facilitates peer based collaborations between professionals and amateurs in fields as diverse as science, art, philosophy, emphasizing "metaknowledge" by exploring the experiential core of traditional approaches to knowledge. 

 

Speaker Bio:

 

Saki Bailey is Project Manager at the Kira Institute, a non profit founded by Piet Hut,  Head of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.  Kira is a virtual worlds organization and non profit based in Second Life, exploring virtual worlds as a medium for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration. Saki holds a J.D. from UC Hastings and her work coordinating initiatives in virtual worlds is being funded by IAS. In Second Life she is known as Genesis Zhangsun.