Will we soon be voting for "a great man-machine in history?"

[DigitalBuddha]

Will men and machines merge?

American author, inventor, and futurist Ray Kurzweil believes it will be possible.

He argues that the exponential rise in computing power we see today will continue to a point where in 2029, machines will be as smart as people. At that point, he says, people will inevitably begin to use technology in new ways, implanting powerful devices that augment our abilities.

Kurzweil calls this point in time ?the singularity?.



Welcome to the machine - http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121108-will-men-and-machines-merge

[Boston Rockbury]

Problem is that whenever we 'augment' or what have you there are unseen and unwanted changes that go with that. A bit like with GM food.

[BikerDude]

Will men and machines merge?

American author, inventor, and futurist Ray Kurzweil believes it will be possible.

He argues that the exponential rise in computing power we see today will continue to a point where in 2029, machines will be as smart as people. At that point, he says, people will inevitably begin to use technology in new ways, implanting powerful devices that augment our abilities.

Kurzweil calls this point in time ?the singularity?.



Welcome to the machine - http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121108-will-men-and-machines-merge

Cool.
But wouldn't it follow that once machines reach the point of being able to improve themselves then improvement sky rockets?
A machine that is as smart as us is immediately smarter because it can improve it's self faster that we can.

I'm sure Kurzweils vision will certainly happen in the same way as prosthetic limbs have.
As soon as we can design a prosthetic eye for instance it's simple to have an eye that is "better" than the original equipment. It's childs play to make it capable of seeing way farther and way more clearly than the human eye.
Or capable of seeing in the dark. That will certainly happen.
Of course the interface between that and the brain is the issue. Once they get that....
Then you get into a whole question of use.
I guarantee that there would be a lot of people in the military that would opt for one today if it was available.
Soldiers with eyes capable of zooming in on objects miles away or capable of seeing in almost zero light.
The morality starts to be questionable once people start opting to throw out there perfectly good set of legs for a set that can run 60 mph. It really start getting weird quickly.
I hope I'm around to see it.

[Rev. Gary (revgms)]

The difference in AI and our wet brains will be like the difference between us and a mouse. AI can be merged with, that would be a hive mind.

Basically, prepare for assimilation, resistance is futile.

[DigitalBuddha]

The difference in AI and our wet brains will be like the difference between us and a mouse. AI can be merged with, that would be a hive mind.

Basically, prepare for assimilation, resistance is futile.

[BikerDude]

The difference in AI and our wet brains will be like the difference between us and a mouse. AI can be merged with, that would be a hive mind.

Basically, prepare for assimilation, resistance is futile.

Welcome back Rev.
Haven't noticed you around in a while.

[BikerDude]

[Hominid]

Hard to think that artificial intelligence could ever be as complex and creative as we are... We keep diddling with it, as opposed to letting it evolve on its own like we did.  Interesting ideas...

[Rev. Gary (revgms)]

Yeah, hey dudes, never far away

When it comes to AI or the singularity we are talking about a huge jump in processing power. If we are simply wetware processors, which it really seems we are, then there is no significant difference between bio and artificial intelligence. We are talking about jumps in intelligence that will be the same as the difference between us and a dog's intelligence.

We can't even know what will we will be able to understand when we make that leap.

I also do not take the dystopic view of this, I see it as an inevitable feature of our evolution, it is our destiny to take control of our evolution, and technology is the means by which we will do that. Instead of clunky Borg looking to control the universe, we will be more ethereal and infused with the universe, our machines will reach deeply into the matter of our reality, and give us knowledge beyond our comprehension. Nano-bots will become part of the fabric of our "space" and we will feel and know everything they experience, we will literally know what it is to be a star, a rock an animal. We will begin to have real omnipresence and develop real omnipotence, we are to be gods.   

And we will be as one, the boundaries will disappear, we will feel each other, we will know each other, and we will exist as one.

But yeah, it could go the other way too, could be the rise of the Terminator.

[DigitalBuddha]

Good thoughts, Rev.

[DigitalBuddha]

Hard to think that artificial intelligence could ever be as complex and creative as we are... We keep diddling with it, as opposed to letting it evolve on its own like we did.  Interesting ideas...

I dig the way A.I does business, but I still jerk off manually.