The NAP Convention of the Future

Todd Crowder, PRP

On the last day of the NAP convention, an NAP delegate sat at the desk in her hotel room and put on her Virtual Reality (VR) headset. She was impressed with the realism of the VR meeting room. She saw that the trainee at the presiding workshop was holding up well. Various AIs, posing as members of an assembly, made rarely used motions, stacking motion upon motion so fast that it was impressive that the trainee could keep up. The workshop marked the first time a presiding trainee was expected to admonish members for lingering in the “entrance.”

The delegate removed her VR headset and proceeded from her hotel room to the convention hall. Only a few workshops were VR for now, but she feared the entire convention would someday be VR. There was nothing like a casual conversation in the hallway for her. However, she had heard an app was in development for even that.

She checked her HallScan, CrowdMood, DecorumGuard, and MotionOdds apps for any alerts. MotionOdds had one indicating that, according to its algorithm, she should be wary of dilatory tactics from an opposing faction during a proposed bylaw amendment that she strongly favored.

When delegates debated a motion, even one not on the agenda, their speeches often involved quickly composed audio-visual mini presentations with cited facts and figures. Votes were held by a blockchain-based system. Blockchain, a type of unalterable and tamper-proof digital ledger, assured transparency, and instant verifiability in the voting process.

One of the candidates for treasurer withdrew, saying that despite his current lead, statistical modeling showed his odds of winning less than 5%, and he wanted to save everyone’s time.

A delegate moved to add a convention standing rule to prohibit a list of electronic devices in the meeting, including VR, AR, and “eavesdropping” devices, and to require smartphones to be turned off in the hall. He spoke advocating a return to “old school” deliberative assembly. A delegate from the China Association participated fluently in the debate using an automated translator. After much discussion on enforcement, the motion failed. Still, the convention adopted a subsequent resolution to create a committee to study the issue.

During a recess, the convention received an address from an AI-generated speaker, programmed with a dataset consisting of the collected writings of all past NAP presidents. The topic was the history of the NAP and the changes the composite “past president” had seen. The delegates were rapt at both the medium and the content.

After adjournment, as the delegate rode to the airport, she reflected on how different the convention was from prior ones and wondered about the next one. She felt both excited and uncertain about the future, but she knew the warmth and camaraderie of an in-person convention were irreplaceable. NP