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FutureTechPing!

An emergent technologies list covering biomedical research, fusion power, nanotech, AI robotics, and other related fields. FReepmail to join or drop.

[ClearCase_guy]

What if the exponential growth shown in Moore's Law applies not just to etching transistors in silicon chips, but to all of human progress and innovation?

I believe that Moore, at Intel, looked at historical data on transistor improvement. He charted what he found had occured, and he projected the curve into the future. Since that time, transistor improvement has pretty much kept pace. It was impressive for him to have spotted this trend based on historic data that was available to him at the time.

Now. Where is the historical data showing that all of human progress and innovation has been along an exponential curve. Hmmmmmmmm?

[doc30]

This is some profoundly distrubing stuff. And when I say disturbing, I don't mean it in a scarey, fear mongering way. I mean it quite plainly. The way we live, even the way we think of life will be profoundly changed. The way we live now will be disturbed, or rather disrupted, greatly. Science fiction authors have speculated about how profound these types of changes will be. A century or two from now, if we could travel to the future, we many not even be able to recognize civillization. It will be incredibly different. I do see a future where people and machines will by fused and our intellect will be partially, or even completely, digitized. We could very easily become chimeric hydbids of flesh and technology. What the moral and social implications will be are hard to tell, but I'm sure there will be plenty of debate.

I am also certain that the liberal moonbats will make the move to digitized intellect first since they will need less computing power to make the transition. McGyver could do it to them with an iPod, duct tape and paper clips.

[underbyte]

If Ray Kurzweil is 1/10 right we are in for a wild ride in the next 30 years

The Singularity is upon us

Call them what they are, socialists - They are not democrats.

[phs3]

I have been saying for years how with the increase in comp power we will see great innovations.

Just one example is rapid prototyping. e.g., 20 years ago if you wanted to invent something you would first need to design and engineer it, then physically build it to see if it works.

Now it can all be done in virtual space on a $1000 desktop computer.

And thats only the physical. We can now model and engineer the abstract. Meds, therapies, and so on. And its only going to move faster.

The best part it that this work is not just being done in the ivory towers of big universities. Its also being done by the ordinary guy in his basement.

[free_at_jsl.com]

We will never have significant technological innovation until software becomes reliable. Some software systems ARE reliable now (such as fire control systems, medical equipment, space borne processing, etc.). Mainstream software is the problem. Companies routinely rush a product to market with known bugs. They figure they can offer a firmware upgrade later on after the product is purchased.

RK has some wild ideas for sure. He thinks humans will evolve into machine intelligence. Specifically he thinks humans will invent a computer that will outperform the human mind and after that happens, humans will be obsolete and unnecessary.

[strategofr]

"Thrun predicts we'll have reliable urban robot driving by 2010, and that a majority of miles will be driven autonomously by 2030. You'll have more time to answer your e-mail, and arguments over who's going to be the designated driver would be a thing of the past."

Why even bother answering your e-mail? Just give your PC--- which by this time will be smarter than you and have a better personality---a general idea of the sort of the answers you like to give and let it answer the e-mails itself.

[ChadGore]

If I apply "moores law" to myself, I'd be twice as fast, occupy half the space, and consume 1/2 the power that I do now.

In 20 years I'd be 1/2 a foot tall, be blurting out pop-up adds uncontrollably and, would be a survivor of a horrific bio-comp rooting.

On the upside, I could boot Linux ;)

[TexasRepublic]

"In practical terms," Kurzweil added, "human aging and illness will be reversed; pollution will be stopped; world hunger and poverty will be solved.

To suggest human immortality or anything near it is folly. The nature of pollution might change as we shift from fossil fuels to nuclear power. Human nature will never change, and that is the biggest cause of hunger and poverty -- look at Zimbabwe, for example.