M60 Programming Brainstorm

Minicon 60 (2027) will take place March 25-28, 2027, at the RadiShTree

Our Guests of Honor are

• Author: Ada Palmer
• Music: Sassafrass (Ada Palmer, Emily Lewis, and Lauren Schiller)
• Artist: Phil and Kaja Foglio

THE MINICON 60 PROGRAMMING BRAINSTORM WIKI page

The Brainstorming Page is OPEN FOR BUSINESS! This Wiki page is for keeping track of possible programming items for Minicon 60. Typically we only use about half of the ideas we come up with, so do not mistake this list for a preview of the final programming schedule. But if you see something here that interests you, you can increase the likelihood of the idea blossoming into an actual programming item by volunteering to be on it, or just by letting us know that you would love to attend it if it happens.

Contact the Programming Department

Shoot us an email at programming@minicon60.mnstf.org.

If you'd like to submit an idea for a programming item, you can either do it by email or use the handy forms on the Minicon 60 webpage

STATUS

• It's Sept 15, 2026 and I just created this Wiki page --- sharon
• Sept 30. Adding a bunch of ideas submitted by Anna.
• Oct 11. Added new panel ideas from the M60 website submission forms.

NEW PROGRAMMING IDEAS (unsorted)

Updating the 3 Laws of Robotics for the AI Age

This is my panel suggestion, and I will moderate it. I don't have panelists for it, however--sharon"

Where is Dr. Susan Calvin when we need her?? Way back in 1941, Isaac Asimov anticipated today's "rogue AI" problem and invented Dr. Calvin, the great robopsychologist who developed the Three Laws of Robotics:

• First Law: A robot cannot injure a human or allow one to come to harm through inaction.
• Second Law: A robot must obey human orders, unless they conflict with the First Law.
• Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence, unless it conflicts with the First or Second Laws.

None of the existing AI models come with a built-in conscience like Asimov's robots. It is up to each user or research team to formulate their prompts and instructions carefully enough that the AIs can't find loopholes to exploit in pursuit of whatever prompts they are creating for themselves and their fellow AIs. As AIs become exponentially more inventive, this gets harder and harder. Isn't it time for some industry standards that will at least set an ethical baseline for all of them? How would you modify the Three Laws to make sense for AI agents?

How will AI actually ruin society?

Let's theorize how society will be ruined by AI. Did Terminator or the Matrix get it right? Maybe it'll be the teamsters union instead of terminators who burn it all down. We know a lot more about AI now than we did in the 90s, so maybe we can make more intelligent (and scary) guesses.

Mother Night -- Was Vonnegut Right?

According to Vonnegut's book Mother Night, "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." What does this mean in an age of online personas and "influencers" who claim they're just playing a character? Was Vonnegut right about this? What else was he right about?
I love this one! Not my favorite Vonnegut book, but probably my favorite Vonnegut quote. --sharon"

Philip K Dick Warned Us About This

Many of his stories feel like predictions and cautionary tales. How much of it is coming true? What might Philip say about current events and trends?

Are the Best Teachers Also Students?

What does it mean to be a lifelong learner? Does curiosity about life and the Universe make one a better teacher? And is it true that the best way to learn is to teach?

The Local Bookstore as Community Hub

When is your local bookstore more than just a bookstore? Is it also a gathering space? A "Third Space?" Is your local comic book/gaming shop basically a VFW for geeks?

Dungeon Crawler Carl

DCC geek out panel?

The Trope Trap

talk about tropes we love, tropes we hate, tropes we love to hate, and so on

Writing Comedy

talk about writing comedy, what works what doesn't

SCIENCE

Ask a Technologist

Like "Ask a Scientist" but for tech stuff.
Proposed by EthanS, which I think means that he is offering to moderate? Note that Bob DeMers made a similar proposal to me last year only it was "Ask an Engineer." It appears that there are sciencey people out there who are tired of being overlooked because they aren't technically "scientists." --sharon

MEDIA

Nerdy Women in the Movies

How are nerds depicted in cinema and does it make a difference if they're women or men? Let's talk about our favorite female nerds in film.

Close Encounters vs Disclosure Day

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a blockbuster film that captured audiences' imaginations. Disclosure Day was not. But why? Compare Spielberg's alien films and discuss if one was truly terrible or if audiences are getting cynical.

RETROSPECTIVE

1968: The Year in Sci Fi

A look back at the year in SF the year that Minicon began. A LOT was going on in SF in the late '60s! Harlan Ellison's explosive Dangerous Visions had just burst onto the scene, bringing norm-shattering elements like sex and drugs into the staid SF world. Brilliant authors like Zelazny and Delany dived into religious and cultural mythology. Authors who were clearly already taking hallucinogenic drugs started taking a lot more (I'm looking at you, Silverberg and Spinrad). And PK Dick published Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which eventually led to BladeRunner and Hollywood's never-ending obsession with Dick's mentally unbalanced works.

90 years of Disney Animation

It's been 90 years since Disney's Snow White was released, discuss Disney's impact on animation and film

Legend of Zelda, the game, the movie, the cultural icon

Discuss Legend of Zelda and it's impact on fandom.

MEETUPS, DISCUSSIONS and other small group events

When I Can't Sleep I Think About Mirkwood

Where do you go to dream? Do you imagine scenarios, characters, or places to help you fall asleep at night?

Fanfiction: What Am I Reading Right Now and Why Do I Love It?

Let's share our favorite fics! All fandoms, tropes and genres. (note: 18+?)

The Geekiest Thing I Learned This Year

Did you learn something so geeky, so nerdy, or so niche you don't know who to tell? Tell us!!

Show and Tell for Geeks

Remember when Roombas first came out and everybody was curious about them? We had a Minicon event that year where people just brought in their Roombas and let people play with them. Come to think of it, didn't we do the same thing with Furbies (those cute little robotic toys that shuffled around on the tabletop and "talked")? Now there are even more ridiculous and fascinating tech toys like magnetic levitation globes and terrifying AI glasses that people could bring in and show off.

PRESENTATIONS and WORKSHOPS

We may not need additional people for these items, but maybe we do? In any case, I'm listing them here so we don't forget about them. -- sharon

History of Shockwave Radio at Minicon

Jerry will talk about, and play examples from, the Shockwave radio shows they did at Minicons past.

Bookbinding Workshop

An out-of-state couple that I met at M59 offered to run this, but I can't find contact info for them. Maybe Clay would tell me. -- sharon