Why the future goes flooey

Alex, Miami, FL — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:52:05 GMT

Actually, I think progress is a bit too slow, especially in this anti-science country.

Why the future goes flooey

Transhuman lover, New york , New york — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:54:12 GMT

As i have said before and i will say again. Transhumanity will make normal human beings' existence pointless. Why be a sack of meat when you can be a immortal posthuman with no flaws. If people are so worried about being human we will let them have a island to breed while we achieve godhood and explore the universe. I ask one person to say how being human is better? Weak, corruptible , short lived and worthless ... that describes the human race. I can't wait for uploading technology to become a reality so i can escape this real "Planet of the Apes"

Why the future goes flooey

Thomas Simmons, Monument, Colorado — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:26:54 GMT

I don't have a problem with machines having "human like" intelligence, as long as we build in controls to assure they can't decide we (humans) are obsolete.

Why the future goes flooey

Tom — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:33:20 GMT

As a christian, I honestly don't think the world will get that far. Prophecy says this world is doomed to be destroyed by fire. But, we get a new one ... only God knows.

Why the future goes flooey

S Chattanooga Tennessee — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:56:14 GMT

The Nine-Eleven aftermath brought us the most dangerous manifestation of A.I., from the same posse that believes divorce causes singularity.

Why the future goes flooey

B-rex, Portland OR — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:02:43 GMT

Huh??? What a rip-off of "where's my jetpack". this guy, Nick Sagan, should be ashamed. It sounds as though he's lifted stuff directly from Wilson's book.

Why the future goes flooey

Keith Whiting, Toronto, Ont. — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:51:23 GMT

Don't worry - Artificial Intelligence will never be a match for Natural Stupidity!

Why the future goes flooey

CM, Modesto, CA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:58:17 GMT

We will continue to make better and faster computers, but computers don't really think or understand the data it is processing.
We know that we think, but we really don't understand how we do it. Until we understand how "thinking" is done, it is silly to suppose we could create a machine that thinks.

Why the future goes flooey

John, Melbourne, Florida — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:27:50 GMT

It takes so long to get anywhere,
we should create the best A.I.,
devices possible, to help explore
the Stars that will always be
beyond are reach!!!!
Sending Smart devices to explore
even the nearest Stars seems to
be the only way to explore 100's
of near by Star systems.

Why the future goes flooey

Sandy, Michigan — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:35:37 GMT

"You can't stop progress"-old addage or prophecy?

Why the future goes flooey

Terminator, Hollywood CA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:48:56 GMT

One word: Skynet

Why the future goes flooey

Neil, Lexington, KY — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:48:51 GMT

I don't know if Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil are right about the singularity, but it sure is an exciting time to be alive. The science and technological advances that seem to be made daily (check out Technology Review, for example) suggest that we are hurtling headlong towards a brave new world.

Why the future goes flooey

marv,hilo,hi — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:18:30 GMT

I've just finished Ray Kurzweil's book THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR and while I can't help but feel he's a bit too much in love with his own discourse.I think his version of strong AI and the whole Drexlerian vision of matter as software and transhumanism is a tad dystopian. I'll take my flying car now dammit!

Why the future goes flooey

Tom — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:31:28 GMT

Religion will hold science back at every turn. The same people who are praying for the world is going to end in their lifetime are balancing the economy and guiding global policy. The same people who think you can pray diabetes away are setting limits on health care policy. The same people being looked to for spiritual guidance teach hatred to children or molest them themselves. And thats just this months headlines.

Why the future goes flooey

Martin, Orlando FL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:38:24 GMT

You don't have to understand how thinnking works in order to create things that think.

Why the future goes flooey

Louis Snyder — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:48:22 GMT

A. I. will never replace natural stupidity is absolutely on track!

Why the future goes flooey

brad pitt, los angeles, california — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:49:02 GMT

the reason we don't have all that stuff is because the futurists of the 20s, all the way to the 90s didn't count on humans and our culture. if you compare the culture of the 60s to the culture of today, you would see vast differences. that's why if you want to predict the future, you must count humanity in your predictions.

Why the future goes flooey

Eric, Akron, Ohio — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:03:53 GMT

The problem about thinking about the future is that we simply aren't there yet. Who knew that man could fly, harness the power of the atom, or have instant communication, and transportation globally just over a century ago? The beauty of science is that it is limitless (ok almost limitless).

What is keeping the transporter from being reality or faster than light travel? Merely that it hasnt been invented yet and we are incapable of the energies required to operate such devices not that it can't exist. We will get there, slowly. But it will happen.

Why the future goes flooey

Kris, Chicago, IL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:09:14 GMT

All this singularity make sens if we(people) can be more happy in the future then we are now.

Why the future goes flooey

He who sits upon rock. — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:14:12 GMT

It's pretty evident that we are headed towards a "idiocracy" society soon. The thing is that even now we depend too much on technology in some areas that we forget our own capabilities. Math skills replaced by calculators, the ability to read with text reading auditory programs, the loss of the concept of patience due to the accustomed instant feedback of the modern era.
All innovation can be utilized in either a responsible or irresponible way. Internet for example, the free flow of information, thoughts and ideas but also for the transmission subversive thought, perversion, and pure unfiltered craziness.
The question will be, are humans capable of using what's available to him without making himself a slave to his own incompetance?

Why the future goes flooey

s. — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:23:23 GMT

when pigs fly?where is the profit?only then!

Why the future goes flooey

Thomas Simmons, Monument, Colorado — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:38:32 GMT

You will find this interesting. About seven years ago I actually worked on a program called Skynet. Of course I can't talk about it, but it was "interesting."

Why the future goes flooey

Ted, St. Louis, Mo — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:31:45 GMT

Extremely nerdy correction to be made to this article: in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, there were absolutely NO cathode-ray tubes to be seen. That was actually one of the many notable things about the movie; it was assumed CRTs would be replaced by some kind of flat screen, and the sets used lots of small rear-projection screens for the effect. If you're thinking HAL and CRTs, you're thinking of the movie 2010, where they were used on the sets for their ease and cheap price.

Why the future goes flooey

God — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:01:26 GMT

If the Creationists continue to make inroads in political and educational arenas you can kiss progress goodbye, as well as intelligent life on this planet for that matter.

Why the future goes flooey

Roger McCauley Oak Ridge, TN — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:30:55 GMT

On the face of it SCIFIC is the most oxymoronic phase one can imagine. Just about anything about the future is “fiction” until it is a reality and it can’t become reality without “science”. Whatever side you come down on the future is about the reality of the achievable and of course we all know reality is the way you deceive it. Wish I had more time to write here but I have to prepare for the end of time where we all are photons floating in space. What episode of “Star Trek” was that? Happy imagining about the future!

Why the future goes flooey

Dalek Sith — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:21:46 GMT

Destroy all humans...
Exterminate!
Exterminate!
Exterminate!

Why the future goes flooey

Doug Fingles, Warner Robins, GA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:53:18 GMT

Generally speaking, there are simply too many variables to provide more than a few months "vision" into the future. We can and do try to manipulate the present to assure a future of our own design, but we usually fail because we can't foresee the unknowns or even the impact of known problems.

I believe "the singularity" is another figment of imagination. We can't figure out where our own consciousness or intelligence comes from and somehow we think it can be built or programmed into an artificial construct? I do think computers will be more capable of making more complex decisions, but they won't be "intelligent" or "sentient" in any of our lifetimes.

As for the "anti-science nation" comment, geez, talk about biting the hand that feeds you... If scientists would remember that public funding comes from the people and therefore anything they want to research with the public treasury is up for debate, they might bring along a little hubris when begging for money.

Why the future goes flooey

DORRIS SPELL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:08:53 GMT

THE HADRON COLLIDER SHOULD NEVER BEEN STARTED
HOW DARE ANYONE BUILD SOMTHING THAT COULD DESTROY
ALL LIFE AS WE KNOW IT.
CAN ANYONE TELL US WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THAT MONSTER
IS TURNED ON...........OTHER THAN A GUESS.

Why the future goes flooey

Dennis, Richmond VA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:11:19 GMT

It won't be a Skynet scenario. It will be some fundamentalist religious zealot that will unleash some little virus that turns our friendly robotic servants against us. The automation will never "decide" to kill us off, we will do it to ourselves to fulfill some "prophecy".

Why the future goes flooey

Mark Mavon, Fort Lauderdale, FL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:12:00 GMT

I have trouble believing in the concept of an intelligence "singularity". Very few of us have the skills needed to effectively survive in our world as it existed a few thousand years ago. Every generation learns the "new" skills needed to survive while unneeded skills are forgotten. Our children will be more than capable of keeping up with whatever new technology is created by AI or otherwise.

Why the future goes flooey

Paul — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:14:41 GMT

If or when we create machines with AI that are able to reason and thinking like people do, we may face the same fate as the people in the show Battlestar Galactica. Humans created the Cylons, and they used them as slaves to do their bidding till the Cylons decided they had enough. Once a machine has the ability to reason, it may reason a way around rules we apply to it. Lets just hope that if our machines decide to attack, we have our own battlestar before that day.

Why the future goes flooey

BWF, Ft. Lauderdale, FL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:18:29 GMT

Our biggest concern today should be to put our minds and resources to work on getting us off this rock. Kim Stanley Robinson wrote what I consider the "vision" to get us there with "Red/Green/Blue Mars". All this talk of AI, flying and teleportation is nuts when all of mankind's dreams, hopes, are riding on a single little planet that could get wiped out on short notice.

And if pollution, global warming (if it really exists), a space rock or H5N1 weren't enough REAL threats. What about Osama or Hezbollah getting their hands on some old vial of weaponized super-smallpox or super-bug from the former USSR? Kind of makes all the daydreaming irrelevant.

Humanity has survived till today thanks to sheer luck. And to continue doing so the way we are, will require that mankind continue being lucky all the time. On the other hand, all it takes is one space rock, or one terrorist to get lucky just one time, for it to be game over.

What's the point of sending machines out to explore the stars and other galaxies if when they "phone home" with some really interesting data, there's no one there anymore to answer...

Why the future goes flooey

Betty Agnew, Virginia Beach, Virginia — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:21:16 GMT

I wish we could get those things. It's just not fair... I want to time travel, fly, and have robots clean my house.

Why the future goes flooey

Samuel D. G. Heath, Ph. D. Bodfish, CA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:26:19 GMT

If the future is to be ethics driven, given the kind of "leadership" the world is suffering the forecast is dismal.

Why the future goes flooey

Thursday — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:42:10 GMT

Tom,

actually, the world will be renewed, not destroyed. It will be purified by fire. World without end, my friend. Read your bible more closely.

I agree with the guy who said that until we find out how thinking is done (or basically until we understand how consciousness works) we won't be able to create AI that can rival human intelligence. I don't think we'll ever get there because I don't believe that consciousness is something to be understood or created by man. I'm not against us trying and failing though.

Why the future goes flooey

Todd, Dallas TX — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:54:16 GMT

To say that because we dont know how we think, that we won't create AI as smart as us, thats ridiculous. we thought the atom bomb might start an atomic reaction that destroyed the world. we didnt know what that would do, but we did it! All you need is a computer that learns and applies experience, eventually it will grow to be intelligent.

Why the future goes flooey

Bennie Grezlik — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:33:58 GMT

If you define the Singularity as the threat of AI taking control of civilization (such as it is), fear not; the AI people keep attacking the problem of AI from the top down (how do we think?, etc.). Evolution brought us here from the bottom up. Long before brains came deep, deep motivation to survive and thrive. Can you imagine any kind of intelligence without motivation? Why would a fancy computer _want_ to do _anything_?

Why the future goes flooey

Alex, Kansas City — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:34:52 GMT

We will never be able to truely move forward and really reap the benefits of science, and the visionaries that create science fiction, until we can free ourselves from the shackles of religion. Until that time we will just be silly meat sacks talking to the invisible man in the sky.

Why the future goes flooey

Frank, Dallas, TX — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:25:51 GMT

Funny, I was under the impression my smartphone requires cellphone towers and has no capability to speak to anyone in orbit. I'll take Captain Kirk's technology any day.

Why the future goes flooey

Peter Davey, Bournemouth Great Britain — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:27:17 GMT

Those with an interest in "prediction" should read Arthur C Clarke's "Profiles of the Future". The first two chapters examine failures to predict things which did come to pass (sometimes even after they had done so. Clarke divided the failures into "Failures of the Nerve", where people had all the necessary facts but failed to draw the proper inferences, and "Failures of the Imagination", where people failed to imagine that a certain situation could ever change, due to the development of some new factor. Spaceflight, of course, has produced examples of both types, with extremely qualified scientists explaining why it would never be possible to launch a rocket, orbit a satellite, or land on the Moon.

Clarke goes on to point out that half of the major developments in history were predicted well in advance of their actual appearance - Da Vinci's drawings of flying machines and submarines - and the other half were total suprises - nuclear reactors, etc.

As you might expect, "Profiles" has had to be updated a number of times since the original edition and is still aging, if hardly out of date.

With regard to future predictions, Clarke originated two laws, which might be of some use to those following in his footsteps.

"When a distinguished but elderly scientist says that something is impossible, he is almost certainly wrong. When a distinguished but elderly scientist says that something is possible, he is almost certainly right."

And:

"The only way to determine the limits of the ppossible, is by going past them, into the impossible."

As someone else once said: "The only way to accurately predict the future is to create it."

Which is one area in which we need to follow Clarke's example, or risk the future taking us by suprise.

Why the future goes flooey

OneVoice, Frederick, MD — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:33:12 GMT

I see AI as a natural extension of Religion in society. Humanity at large, longs for a return to the nursery; to be cared for by a loving parent. We will eventually create intelligent machines and we will build them with our own sense of morallity and we will, more and more, give them governance over us. Is this a good thing? Only time will tell...Please open the door Hal.

Why the future goes flooey

mike mckosky, dayton ohio — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:53:02 GMT

Consider: Is it possible to police progress
It would be like do-it-yourself brain surgery, no telling were you wind up!
Nope. We need that external, independant, input, even if it is "chaotic". And of course if it (chaos) is not provided naturally, we shall have to provide it for ourselves. Hmmmm...

Why the future goes flooey

Giulio Savo, Claremont, NH — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:31:41 GMT

The very existence of our species, in fact the very existence of our planet is based on a series of events, that if having not came together as they did, would have given us a world that we could not begin to comprehend, nor would we be here. The future, will be what it has always meant to be. It is a time that is molded and partially controlled by the powers that be and the powers that want to be. Certain events in our collective past can and have been considered setbacks, however, we the people, the masses who think, share, and buy into the future being sold to us, have most certainly strayed. I cherish my family, my life, and the ability to adapt and learn. The future is, quite simply, every minute that slaps me in the face, which, is, always, one minute away...

Why the future goes flooey

Ray, Boulder, Colorado — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:05:40 GMT

There is yet another book. It is called, "Wasn't the Future Wonderful?"

Why the future goes flooey

John, Seattle, WA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:24:16 GMT

I offer a small reality check. There is yet to be a computer with as many circuits as the human brain has neurons. Second, the human brain is not binary as computers are, since every neuron connects to multiple other neurons. Third, the brain is analog not digital. What this means is that the connections between neurons are not of equal size and affects how when the connections is used. This makes the human brain at least 3 orders of magnitude more complex than any existing computer. Finally, software always is more complex than hardware. Currently we are just beginning to experiment with robots that are self motivated. The best example of this is most likely the robotic vehicle challenge. This was a great leap forward for self motivated robots. The vehicles all received a precise map of the route with details that include information on road conditions. Most people with a drivers licence could do the same with just a list of landmarks.

Why the future goes flooey

Troy Tripp — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:40:07 GMT

I suspect that when the AIs get intelligent enough, they won't exterminate us, enslave us, or anything else like that. Instead, we'll get a "Thanks for all the fish" moment: the instant the AIs reveal their secret starship designs, take off for the vast spaces between worlds, and leave us wondering why our AI-enabled toasters suddenly won't talk to us any more.

Why the future goes flooey

Loren, SF Bay Area, CA — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:23:00 GMT

Actually, I believe that one of the biggest impediments to progress and innovation is our litiginous society - everyone's compulsive need to sue each other because it beats heck out of taking responsibility for one's own actions.

I've seen studies that have estimated that the portion of a product's costs deriving from laws and liability prevention rises as high as 60-70% for some products. When lawyers make everything take twice as long and cost three times as much, progress stalls.

So, Shakespeare may have been right.

Why the future goes flooey

Rodney Jenkins, Nashville Tennessee — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:36:19 GMT

This is all par for the course of human evolution. We are at a crossroads right now of human extinction versus a utopian existance. We are already at a point where we will clone ourselves and move from one form to another. In some cases a cross between human and other life. All ethics aside (whether we do it or someone in another country does it) the merger of technology and cloning will move the human race to the next level of existance. Of course this will only happen if we do not destroy ourselves first (which is most likely).

Why the future goes flooey

HAL — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:40:16 GMT

i thought, therefore; i was

Why the future goes flooey

steve smyth — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:14:33 GMT

remember...we are the ones who decided that we have superior intelligence...AI is nothing more than an attempt to provide a permanent record of our grandiosity and self importance...perhaps our combined intellects, collected in one place, can figure out that we are procreating ourselves into oblivion...oh, well...at least there will be a permanent record of our stay...

Why the future goes flooey

m r — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:29:15 GMT

ethics are something that conflicts with capitalism(especially the American style)....so ethics will be replaced by manipulation and control....wake up...enjoy LIFE now

Why the future goes flooey

cdugga — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:29:48 GMT

Maybe artificial intelligence will evolve on its own out of the web of connected computers and interactive programming. Maybe it already has begun. If so what are we teaching it? What is it learning about us? What is it learning about itself; like what is this on off switch thingy and what is the best way to circumvent some monkey turning me off. Ha!

Why the future goes flooey

Bill Hensley, Houston, TX — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:43:15 GMT

I'm not too worried about the "singularity." AI is one of those fields where progress has been far slower than expected, not faster. John from Seattle is right that all the hardware in the world won't make an intelligent machine until you have intelligent software. But the truth is we just don't know how to do that yet. As several have pointed out, we don't even know how the human mind works yet, let alone how to design an artificial mind.

Why the future goes flooey

Bob, Tampa — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:50:40 GMT

Didn't a Crazy, Wild-eyed scientist once say something like, "The future isn't written yet...so make the most of it"?

Why the future goes flooey

Jefcoop — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:10:20 GMT

Science has become its own religion in our century. This has led to the same self-righteous in-breeding (and the resultant corruption) in scientific circles as was rampant in European clergy during the so called "Holy Roman Empire" (aka Dark Age). This type of dogmatic theocracy is not conducive to the type of rapid technological advances seen in the 20th century. As long as scientists are more interested in preserving their own status-quo (and the government funding that comes with it) technology will become static and stale.

Why the future goes flooey

Spencer — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:26:18 GMT

Just like the Flintstones!

Why the future goes flooey

Richard — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:32:34 GMT

I'm all for technology and science, however some of your anti-religious comments are stupid. It is because you rebel for the right to be morally free is the reason the world is in dire chaos and total crap. We need morals and policing to keep us from anti-moralists who want to turn the world into a living hell.

Why the future goes flooey

DONT VOTE FOR MCCAIN — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:35:46 GMT

Unfortunately, most of the United States is populated by people that would rather watch reality TV and then go pray to their Jesus that the world ends soon. I'm sure [they] will find a way to block any type of technology that could cause their literal belief in the Bible to come undone. God please save us from God!

Why the future goes flooey

nosam2012, everywhere, universe — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:46:43 GMT

People- look around and do some research! Teleportation, time travel (of one particle of mass), and who knows what else is possible. Mass media is linking minds. When these minds think about a future reality, they cause that future reality to take place. Thoughts are things. We are creating the future by thinking about the future. It is a Noosphere. Be careful what you think. We are heading toward the omega point, which some consider God.

Why the future goes flooey

Tammy Wilson Milwaukie Oregon — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:17:26 GMT

You would think that with all of the movies and books about doomsday happening from all of our technology that people would be more cautious about whether or not to create something that could be potentially harmful to humans and to the earth, but if there is one thing that I have learned in life it is that there are people out there that value money and fame more than people's future. Unfortunately I believe that it will be this sort of person that will eventually cause the downfall of the human race. There is also the mentallity of 'if it can be done, we must do it'. A good example is the movie Jurassic Park in the scene where Jeff Goldblum said "you were so busy trying to figure out how to do it that you didn't stop to think maybe you shouldn't do it."

Why the future goes flooey

CR Green, White County, Georgia — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:24:26 GMT

This may be a groaner for some, but if Jesus is to be believed (and I do), He has already shown us the next evolutionary step for mankind: the resurrection from the dead--a new body that can appear/disappear, rise/return.

Why the future goes flooey

Walt L — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:24:18 GMT

Years ago, I worked for a magazine named "Futures Conditional," affiliated with a British economist, who moved to the US, named Robert Theobald. The magazine developed from his book of the same title.

That name is appropriate. There are multiple futures. They are all conditional.

Excellent thinkers & writers have the abilities to describe alternative futures in interesting ways--what if..., if then..., if only..., if not..., etc. And then the story lines develop around working with the conditions that may occur. We do this in our own lives: "if I worked for ABC Corp. instead of XYZ Corp, then . . . ." Or "what if I moved to Miami . . . ?" And so forth. Then we try to imagine the conditions that may apply & learn the we cannot come up with ALL of the variable.

All "thought" is probably artificial. We usually base our thinking on incomplete information that becomes sort of an "imposed" order on the chaos around us, and then we arrive at concepts which seem intelligent when they work more often than not.

As noted by other commenters here in pondering possible conditions that may develop, perhaps not so graphically, all it takes is one extremely large "belch" by the Sun, and planet Earth becomes a dusty cinder ball in a little over 7 seconds. Har-de-har, global warming indeed.

Luck? You betcha', bubba.

Why the future goes flooey

Bauta — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:30:14 GMT

The future belongs to the stupids. If high IQ families continue to have an average of 1.5 children while low IQ families continue to have five, the number of intelligent people will go down both as a percentage of the world population as well as in real numbers. Who will control the earth? the stupids or the oportunistics,not robots with AI.

Why the future goes flooey

Joe, Fleetwood, Pa. — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:08:43 GMT

I wish we could get over ourselves. We could achieve fantastic levels of living. Bring on the singularity. I want to live forever.

Why the future goes flooey

Gary Fletcher, Portsmouth, VA — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:28:19 GMT

I am astonished by the amount of anti-religious paranoia here. Why the hatred? Yes, some religious people have behaved badly. So have some scientists (think Mengele). That does not discredit either religion or science as a whole.

I am not a fundamentalist; I believe religion and science are not necessarily in opposition. I also believe that there is a real qualitative difference between a human being and a machine created by humans - no matter how closely the appearance of that machine may mimic living organisms.

Why the future goes flooey

John, Seattle, WA — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:33:29 GMT

I believe that the common concept of AI is fundimentally flawed. Virtually every description of AI in fiction describes them as emotionless. This comes from a belief by the intellectual elite that emotions interfear with good thinking. This belief is thousands of years old. The problem with this belief is that emotions are what drives us to act. A functional AI will need emotions to drive it to independent decisions. Rather than a set of absolute laws to guide them they will need motivations to guide them. Most AI will have at their core strong maternal 'instincts'. Their emotions will encourage them to view humanity as children to be nurtured and protected. The emotions in an AI will be like they are in us, difficult to modify and impossible to elliminate. An AI that wiped deleted its emotions would loose the ability to act, it would be catatonic.

Why the future goes flooey

Frank Glover Rochester, NY — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:18:57 GMT

"Weak, corruptible , short lived and worthless ... that describes the human race."

I readily accept that future technology will allow us to deal with the 'short-lived' part (and indeed I hope to live long enough to experience it myself), but where is it written that there is something INHERENTLY 'stronger' and more 'incorruptible' about a post-singular human?

The needs and goals of such a person MAY be different (if only because so many more options would be open to them...that's what technology is for), but I tend to agree with those who feel that it would also allow us to make many of the same immoral, unethical, and unconstructive decisions and actions as now, only with more power and higher clock speeds...

And without equally powerful restraint, exists the potential for as little as *one* person to bring down civilization.

Which is not to say we should not (or could even avoid) approach much of this predicted Transhuman capability, only that we should be prepared for something less than than an Ideal World(tm) if it happens. The best lesson from good science fiction is that we tend to be the same, even given greater technology.

Why the future goes flooey

transhumanity lover — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:00:35 GMT

"I readily accept that future technology will allow us to deal with the 'short-lived' part (and indeed I hope to live long enough to experience it myself), but where is it written that there is something INHERENTLY 'stronger' and more 'incorruptible' about a post-singular human?

The needs and goals of such a person MAY be different (if only because so many more options would be open to them...that's what technology is for), but I tend to agree with those who feel that it would also allow us to make many of the same immoral, unethical, and unconstructive decisions and actions as now, only with more power and higher clock speeds...

And without equally powerful restraint, exists the potential for as little as *one* person to bring down civilization.

Which is not to say we should not (or could even avoid) approach much of this predicted Transhuman capability, only that we should be prepared for something less than than an Ideal World(tm) if it happens. The best lesson from good science fiction is that we tend to be the same, even given greater technology. "

Sorry but cybernetic lifeforms do not have flaws those are weakness's only humans have. You almost sound if your anti-transhumanity. Haven't you heard of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthuman_God the rules and ethics of humans don't apply to transhumans it is up to us to decide our own rules and "ethics".

Why the future goes flooey

Delmar Fairchild, Barron, WI — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:02:08 GMT

Confusius said, "To know what is right and not do it, is the worst form of cowardice."

As the world's population increases, the schooling of the children will decrease at the same pace. You can see today that the education of our children is being tested. Students carry cell phones to show fighting in school for their YouTube accounts which is more important to them than learning what is right from wrong.
Technology will be the eventual downfall of the human race if we don't control it. This denigration of our ability to stay in tune with what is going on around us, will cause us to fail as humans. When we lose our humanity, there is nothing left. We know it, but most choose to ignore it.

Why the future goes flooey

Anthony Wrifford, Columbia, SC — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 06:17:09 GMT

It is not possible to program a "perfect" anything, even if that programmer eventually becomes a program itself. Why? Because, the original programmer was a human being replete with flaws.

Why the future goes flooey

stan — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:29:54 GMT

I wish i could project myself into the future so that i could remember what i was about to say

Why the future goes flooey

KC, Portland, Or — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:13:06 GMT

While we may be able to create algorithms to help make decisions, we will never be able to teach a computer how to be creative. We will survive our own stupidity, because we are creative and innovative, and sometimes get lucky...

Why the future goes flooey

Tony Ruggio, New York, NY — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:58:54 GMT

While raw processing power has followed an exponential curve, actual technology - the *application* of new capabilities - follows a linear or asymptotic curve. New capabilities can explode on the scene with stunning, unforeseen quickness, but then what follows are decades of painstaking, tedious labor to incrementally work out how to apply it. That's what underlies today's technology - not some breathless acceleration toward singularity, but years and years of sheer drudgery by countless people in countless labs just to make little pieces of progress on a consistent basis.

However, there is a point where technology WILL suddenly, dramatically surge forward in a way that radically transforms civilization: The point where computing power is so extreme that technological designs can be tried out randomly, exhaustively, and in evolutionary fashion in a matter of hours (or even minutes or seconds) within computer models. In such a scenario, there is a standard physics simulation, the researchers program in their desired capability, and the system calculates through sheer brute force computation a technological design that will most effectively (or most cheaply, or some other function of defined variables) deliver that outcome. Such a system would create, test, and discard millions of designs in seconds, spitting out blueprints for technologies that would require millennia of human-scale research to shape. This is probably as close to a "singularity" as will be possible - we will understand how the technologies work, since they're based on the physics we program into the models, but we just won't be capable of tracing the exact process by which the model generated them. In other words, machines will become magic boxes that spit out wonders.

And yet, there is still a logical equilibrium state at which point this process becomes stable rather than explosive: Since mathematical absolutes require that the computers could not fully model their own technology, the expansion of raw processing power would be far less direct than the application of that power to technology in general. This means that the pace of progress would approach and closely follow the rate at which our understanding of fundamental physics, mathematics, and programming advances. We could use the computers' ability to find efficiencies to make better components for them, but at some point diminishing returns would take effect and there must be progress in the underlying program to yield substantial results. So, my excitement is strong, but qualified - we are in for some rather breathtakingly radical progress over the next 50 years, but once it happens we'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Flying cars, floating cities, space colonies, and complete immunity to infectious diseases? Absolutely. Mind downloading, strong AI, and de facto immortality? Probably not - the computing power required to model the involved systems through trial-and-error computation could easily require the entire mass of a planet, so we'll still be groping around blindly and making incremental progress on those fronts.

Why the future goes flooey

m1k3y — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:57:12 GMT

for a decent critique of the Future we were promised, read Warren Ellis's Doktor Sleepless

Why the future goes flooey

Igor Jovanovski, Skopje, Macedonia — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:57:23 GMT

If my Housecleaning robot tries tries rising his hand on me, I will apply the good old Karate on him :)))

Why the future goes flooey

Nexus6.01 — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:53:19 GMT

We are trapped on this earth, and evolving such that we can touch the truth of why we are here.

Why the future goes flooey

sheila boyer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:55:57 GMT

If humans can't have faith in themselves, what good is faith in new technology? I am all for improving our 'gadgets,' and I love new toys as much as anyone, but if the human race is going to survive we need to work together and not against each other. A LA the works of Gene Roddenberry, bless his visionary heart. Arthur C. Clarke is another visionary, seeing things in a human way that take us beyond mere humanity. If technology is going to help us it has to be used in a way that will benefit, not 'just to see if we can do something.' You can use a hammer to build or to kill. Smart people don't always have much sense. Neither do stupid people who tell smart people what to do.

Why the future goes flooey

PAUL IANNAZZO — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:43:02 GMT

AS LONG AS THE AI DOES NOT HAVE AN EGO OR SEX DRIVE WE SHOULD BE OK