Will machine intelligence become the dominant species ?, page 2
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reply posted on 17-6-2009 @ 07:14 PM by zetabeam
Originally posted by shadowwolf0
lolthis question is repetative..... NOT YET we would need a load more reserch b4 we can sighn our own death warrant.


I think you're not appreciating just how rapidly we're acquiring technological knowledge and how quickly the future is rushing towards us.

Examples are easy to find:

The invention of alternating current is just over 100 years old and yet we have completely wrapped the entire globe in an energy grid and power our cities with AC.

The 1st successful heavier than air flight took place just over a 100 years ago ... it took less than 40 years from that point for global air transport to become common place.

The 1st successful rocket was developed during WWII (the V2) and in less than 30 years after that we landed on the moon.

The 1st transistor was developed in the late '50s and less than 50 years after that we have a world that couldn't exist without electronics.

And so many other examples of technology could be cited. But the main point is that all these marvels have been created in less than 100 years starting from almost no technolgical infrastructure or knowledge preceeding it.

So to state that we need a lot more research before MI could possibly happen is taking a very, very short sighted look at the incredible speed at which we are acquiring technological sophistication/knowledge. How long did it take to put a mobile phone in the hands of a huge percentage of the global population ? 30 years ? 20 years ? how about 10 years ? It's got to the point that almost as soon as a new discovery/invention happens, that the entire world is almost immediately affected ... HD tv, dvd players, lasers, etc, etc.

So no, I disagree with you ... research in so many different fields is progressing so rapidly that once the minimum necessary breakthough takes place, then the technology based on that breakthrough matures almost over night so to speak.

MI is on the horizon and we as a species are rushing headlong to meet it.


reply posted on 19-6-2009 @ 02:33 AM by DragonsDemesne
I've actually been thinking about this sort of thing a lot lately, with watching Technocalyps (I think I mentioned that earlier), as well as reading 'The Way' trilogy by Greg Bear right now. It's a sci-fi series where a society lives most of the transhuman dreams. I won't spoil the story (and in fact am still on the second novel of three) but if you like scifi and transhumanism, you'll love these. Best scifi I've read in a long time.

One interesting idea in there that I suppose I will spoil is what Bear calls 'partials'. It basically involves copying your entire personality and downloading it into a new body, sort of like a clone. People make partials of themselves to share in a workload or do something dangerous, since they are expendable. It's an idea I don't remember seeing anywhere else, though the concept of putting your consciousness into computer is not new; it is the idea of duplication, rather than backup, that I'd never seen.

There are a lot of other great ideas in there, some of which are familiar, a few of which are new, at least to me, but I won't spoil it. You can probably read wiki for a plot summary or something if you want to see what I'm talking about.

Just think, though, if you could have multiple copies of yourself, either in physical cloned bodies or in computer form or something. Odds are you'd probably work pretty well as a team, at least in that you would cooperate very well. You'd all be thinking the same way, though, so you'd be unlikely to come up with anything more creative together than alone. Or, imagine cloning the smartest people and setting them to work on different projects.


reply posted on 20-6-2009 @ 12:14 AM by SevenThunders
reply to post by DragonsDemesne


I think this is where so called artificial intelligence is headed. Man will try to enhance himself by replacing his flesh with machines. It's either a form of immortality or a way to enslave your soul.

Note though, the actual record of AI research is very dismal. It's been around for over 30 years with almost none of their promised advances materializing. Where is the Hal 9000? Can you talk to your computer? No you have to program it, which is still a very tedious process.

However, I think only the elites will be permitted to use this immortality technology. There is talk about how our knowledge has increased exponentially and how rapidly we are advancing. I'm afraid I disagree. Technology is being viciously suppressed. If Tesla's flying cars and free energy devices of the late 19'th and early 20'th century are any indication, we may have taken a few steps backwards or at least in the wrong direction.

Theoretical physics, for example, has in some ways stagnated for the last 30 years or so thanks to the red herring of string theory. They have very few predictions or exploitable effects. We still use chemical rockets despite things like Searle disks and the Biefield-Brown effect etc. Cancer may well have been cured by Royal Rife in the 1930's, and certainly his microscope has not been equaled.

So perhaps we will get this technology, but it may be reserved for a very few. Maybe an AI device is already running things behind the scenes!
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