J. Storrs Hall

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J. ("Josh") Storrs Hall, Ph.D. is an independent scientist and author. Dr. Hall is a prolific writer on nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, machine ethics, and other social impacts of technology. He is actively sought out to speak about and be interviewed on diverse future technology-related topics, appearing for example in the movie "The Singularity is Near". He has over 30 years research experience in academia and industry.

Dr. Hall was the founding Chief Scientist of Nanorex Inc and serves on its Scientific Advisory Board. He is a Research Fellow of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing, and is an associate editor of the International Journal of Nanotechnology and Molecular Computation.

Dr. Hall's most recent book Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of the Machine (Prometheus, 2007), was the first full-length non-fiction treatment of machine ethics. He is active in the machine ethics and AGI (artificial general intelligence) research communities. His previous book was Nanofuture: What's Next for Nanotechnology (Prometheus 2005), which won the Foresight Communications Prize and the Bela Kornitzer prize.

His research background includes AI, compilers, microprocessor design, massively parallel processor design, CAD software, and automated multi-level design, and semi-empirical simulation of physical systems. He founded the Usenet's sci.nanotech group in the 1980s and was its moderator for ten years. His inventions include swarm robotic systems, self-bootstrapping automated manufacturing systems, adiabatic logic, and agoric operating systems. He holds a Ph.D. and a Masters degree in Computer Science from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Drew University.