The Singularity Is Near

http://singularity.com ^ | September 22, 2005 | Ray Kurzweil

[Lloyd227]

"...if cats were to get smarter and learn to read, we would all be in big trouble"

All my cat needs is an opposable thumb for my family to be concerned about their safety while sleeping at night.

Cats are simply evil :-)

[AD from SpringBay]

Smarter, faster, stronger (think Steve Austin), wealthier, live nearly forever = a baby boomer's wet dream.

Remember boys & girls, we're still getting old and we still have to die. Be ready for what's on the other side because the chip won't really save us.

[inquest]

What, if anything, can stop exponential technological advances which will lead to the Singularity?

Stop? A reply ago you were saying "forestall". I suppose I can't really say what will happen a billion years from now, but within our own lifetime, there are plenty of options to slow things down to the point where things don't get completely out of our control.

For starters, eliminating patent protection for "advances" in that direction will help take the wind out of the sails.

[Fitzcarraldo]

For starters, eliminating patent protection for "advances" in that direction will help take the wind out of the sails.

I expect there to be a new arm of "homeland security" instituted to neutralize outbreaks of runaway technology.

[ThinkDifferent]

For starters, eliminating patent protection for "advances" in that direction will help take the wind out of the sails.

Actually that would probably accelerate the process; therefore I support it.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Actually that would probably accelerate the process; therefore I support it.

How do you intend to neutralize the opposition?

[inquest]

Actually that would probably accelerate the process

Doubtful. This process requires huge investments of research capital. Without the incentive that comes from patent protection (and, if we cut off government research funds for this sort of thing), not many people are going to want to put up the money.

But if you still want to support the idea, I won't get in your way.

[Fitzcarraldo]

At the moment, AI and nanotech are in search of venture capital, so it makes sense for them to paint a rosy picture of the future with their products. What more could you offer the world than immortality and God-like powers through nanotechnology?

The fact is they don't have a crystal ball.

They present us with a scenerio that ultimately, humans will lose control of the process.

Nobody in their right might is going to willingly lose control of the process, no matter how wonderful the supposed benefits.

File this one under "S" for Singularity.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Singularity Juggernaut ping

[johnwayne]

"... and you will be like God," the serpent said. Be VERY careful.

"and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

This is already water under the bridge, too late to go back.

[marktwain]

"Without the incentive that comes from patent protection (and, if we cut off government research funds for this sort of thing), not many people are going to want to put up the money."

There is not much incentive anymore. Technological progress is often outdated long before the patent runs out. Companies can do better by keeping industrial secrets. Not to mention that the scofflaw countries such as Russia and China. Eliminate progress in the US, and you push it toward less responsible regimes and cultures.

[Fitzcarraldo]

you push it toward less responsible regimes and cultures.

Nanoterrorism is going to be a bitch.

[inquest]

Companies can do better by keeping industrial secrets.

If all research is confined to individual companies working independently, without collaboration across (taxpayer-funded) academia, it will slow things down considerably.

Let me ask you this: What do you think would happen to the quantity of output of various types of literature and art if copyright protection was taken away? Do you really suppose it would be any different with patent protection?

Eliminate progress in the US, and you push it toward less responsible regimes and cultures.

If another culture comes up with a technological advance, there's nothing stopping us from making use of it as well, except our own insane willingness to agree to treaties that prohibit that. We put ourselves in greater danger from irresponsible use of this technology by continuing with the mad rush toward making it cheaper and more powerful, than we would by adopting policies that slow down our contributions to it.

[Fitzcarraldo]

We (America) has no choice except "full steam ahead"!

[Fitzcarraldo]

singularity juggernaut ping

[LibWhacker]

Ray Kurzweil interview

[Momaw Nadon]

Thanks for the link LibWhacker!

How do I get it to play?

I already tried Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.

[JCEccles]

In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he presented the daring argument that with the ever-accelerating rate of technological change, computers would rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now, in The Singularity Is Near, he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our own creations.

In short, Kurzweil is prophesying intelligent design.

But it's permissible because he's an atheist.

[LibWhacker]

Hi, MN!... Are you using Firefox? I couldn't get it to work with Firefox. But once I shut it down and fired up IE, it worked fine... I've noticed it before...Windows Media Player doesn't like Firefox.

[Moonman62]

P.S. Kurzweil might just be a major-league stoner.

Maybe. My impression is he's a genius, was a child genius, a successful entrepreneur, an egomaniac, and is now a self promoting carnival barker. He is right about some things such as the power of exponential growth, but I think he goes too far in underestimating all the negative forces out there to counteract it. He's not a formal researcher, or subjects his theories to peer review. He writes books for the masses, so he can get his ego stroked and not have to subject himself to tough criticism.

Carl Sagan's brain turned to jello when he became a stoner.