Posted on 11/19/2005 11:34:03 AM PST by Momaw Nadon
At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and the most thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged, as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity.
For over three decades, the great inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. 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.
That merging is the essence of the Singularity, an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly nonbiological and trillions of times more powerful than it is todaythe dawning of a new civilization that will enable us to transcend our biological limitations and amplify our creativity. In this new world, there will be no clear distinction between human and machine, real reality and virtual reality. We will be able to assume different bodies and take on a range of personae at will. In practical terms, human aging and illness will be reversed; pollution will be stopped; world hunger and poverty will be solved. Nanotechnology will make it possible to create virtually any physical product using inexpensive information processes and will ultimately turn even death into a soluble problem.
While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, The Singularity Is Near maintains a radically optimistic view of the future course of human development. As such, it offers a view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny.
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 :-)
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.
I expect there to be a new arm of "homeland security" instituted to neutralize outbreaks of runaway technology.
Actually that would probably accelerate the process; therefore I support it.
How do you intend to neutralize the opposition?
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.
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.
Singularity Juggernaut ping
Nanoterrorism is going to be a bitch.
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.
We (America) has no choice except "full steam ahead"!
singularity juggernaut ping
Thanks for the link LibWhacker!
How do I get it to play?
I already tried Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.
In short, Kurzweil is prophesying intelligent design.
But it's permissible because he's an atheist.
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.
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.
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