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.
Well, if someone were against the increasingly rapid advance of technology, he might be interested in sending mail bombs to prominent scientists. (Where have I heard that before?)
In the book, Kurzweil asserts that the only thing that could stop the Singularity is a worldwide totalitarian dictatorship. And I am most certainly against dictatorship.
Nobody needs to be responsible for the results of their, um, creativity because "the machine made me do it" and "is" is relative. This looks like the Clinton persona (narcissism) packaged for resale.
The fat borg were probably all rendered down for their constituent compounds and minerals. All for the good of the collective!
I propose Christian AI.
Christian AI ping
Redefining "the very nature of what it means to be human", as per your introductory comments.
First, I must say that humans or sentient robots will never be God. God is infinite perfection. The most we can do is advance ourselves to previously unimaginable heights. We can never be infinitely perfect.
Is it wrong to want to rid the world of disease and hunger?
Is it wrong to want to put an end to human suffering?
Is it wrong to want to live forever (or as long as we want to?
Maybe this universe is not all there is. Maybe this universe is just a pimple in an infinite-dimensional superspace. Living here for eternity might be compared to setting up eternal room service in a train station restroom.
I think it was around 1995, when Clinton used the OKC bombing as a way of slandering his conservative critics. You learn from him well.
In the book, Kurzweil asserts that the only thing that could stop the Singularity is a worldwide totalitarian dictatorship.
So? His specialty is computer science, not political or social science. His opinions in those areas carry no more weight of authority than anyone else's.
Yes he did do serious practical things early on, but this is all showbiz. All sizzle, no steak.
I was glad to see Tom Bethell comment on Kurzweil's charlatanism in the recent American Spectator.
I agree. Future humans, cyborgs, AIs, etc. should not only be extremely powerful. They should be extremely good as well.
Which is why they shouldn't try to play the part.
Is it wrong to want to rid the world of disease and hunger? Is it wrong to want to put an end to human suffering? Is it wrong to want to live forever (or as long as we want to?
There's nothing wrong with wanting any of these things. Playing God in order to achieve them, on the other hand, is another matter.
Thanks for the reference.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Eternal life in the body will be
combined with the raising of the dead,
our past lifes remembered with
the accompanying judgement.
Time comes to an end when interstellar
flight and thereby time travel becomes
part of our reality connecting us with
the heavens.
I think it was around 1995, when Clinton used the OKC bombing as a way of slandering his conservative critics. You learn from him well.
I wasn't referring to Clinton.
I was referring to the unabomber.
I'd recomment "The First Immortals" by Halperin as a good read for anyone interested in the idea of science providing answers to physical death in the near term future. It is a novel, but well researched.
I'd also recommend "The Truth Machine" by the same author as a future history where we have been able to 100% detect when someone is lying, and what that would mean to society.
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