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To: Texas Fossil

I remember an old, old, old Sci-Fi short story in the era of “pulp” Sci-Fi.

Seemms they built a big powerful comupter and connected it to all he world’s libraries, and asked it, “Is there a God?” The giant computer said, “Unknown — insufficient data.”

Time passed, and every few years, they’d ask the same quetion and get the same answer.

After a long time of soaking up information, one day they asked the same question, and the computer said, “There is now.”


7 posted on 01/26/2025 9:54:14 AM PST by William of Barsoom (In Omnia, Paratus)
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To: William of Barsoom

After a long time of soaking up information, one day they asked the same question, and the computer said, “There is now.”


just a variation of a theme from history.

and the roman emperor said, “there is now”

and Stalin said, “there is now.”

and the democrats said, “there is now”


16 posted on 01/26/2025 10:02:40 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued, but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere)
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To: William of Barsoom

Sounds like “The Last Question”, by Isaac Asimov. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Question

I wonder if all of this AI development somehow “backdoors” into nuclear power being a thing again. Green isn’t going to do it, current tech isn’t, that leaves the boogeyman of nuclear. And if that’s on the table, there’s no stopping AI development. “Let there be light” indeed.


68 posted on 01/26/2025 12:37:59 PM PST by Retrofitted
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