Submitted by Exponential Times on Wed, 2011-11-09 13:37
This is Hugo De Garis speaking about the future of topological quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and a war over whether to build artificial intellects, at Melbourne University in August 2011. Will humans stay the dominant species?
Submitted by Exponential Times on Tue, 2011-11-01 08:46
This was the last ECCO seminar of 2010-2011 (1 July, see http://ecco.vub.ac.be/?q=node/149). It is an attempt to combine some of our insights in cognition with Internet Innovation and see how far we can stretch our imagination
Submitted by Exponential Times on Fri, 2011-09-16 14:33
Down the rabbit hole. Through the looking glass. A paradigm shift altering everything we thoughts we knew. The technological singularity is coming. Here's some thoughts.
Submitted by Exponential Times on Wed, 2011-08-31 15:16
Building Gods - This film by Ken Gumbs tackles the issue of pending greater-than-human artificial intelligence and the possible ramifications. Different individuals with different backgrounds are interviewed on the subject, including a theologian, a philosopher, a brain builder and a cyborg. A wide spectrum of topics are discussed, including trans-humanism, mind-machine mergers, uploading, and artificial super-intelligence.
Even De Garis admitted that humans and machines may evolve and merge in concert, thus avoiding this kind of sociological split. He referred to the adherents of this middle way as the 'cyborgians,' but seemed embarrassed to have to say it. A middle way, after all, would ruin his alarmist non-normative SF action drama vision of the future.
While Building Gods certainly painted the future in a gray and ambiguous light, it was not explicitly anti-trans-humanist. At one point, a blurb on the screen noted that, "Trans-humanists advocate the ethical advancements of technology." For those familiar with these concepts, the video will be interesting and provocative; for those new to these concepts, the video may come across as quite frightening and alarmist.
Submitted by Exponential Times on Tue, 2011-08-30 04:53
A TED type presentation given by Dr. Kim Solez at the Singularity University reunion on August 28, 2011 in Mountain View, California. Includes comments by Singularity University president Neil Jacobstein at the end. Dr. Solez argues that we are not passive victims of the future, but can help to shape the future in positive ways, but new courses and new disciplines are needed within the university sector to accomplish this. Government leaders understand the importance of the Singularity but the idea has yet to reach the mainstream teaching of universities.
Submitted by Exponential Times on Mon, 2011-08-29 15:04
Vernor Vinge is a former San Diego State University math professor and a Hugo award-winning science fiction novelist. In Vinge's 1993 essay "The Coming Technological Singularity" Vinge wrote, "Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended."
We sat down with Vinge to learn more about his influences, his novels and the coming singularity.
Vinge's latest novel, The Children of the Sky, will be released in October 2011.
Produced by Paul Feine, Alex Manning and Zach Weissmueller.
Submitted by Exponential Times on Mon, 2011-08-22 05:42
Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of technological singularity is seen as an intellectual event horizon, beyond which the future becomes difficult to understand or predict.
Submitted by Exponential Times on Mon, 2011-07-04 12:41
Peter is not a very tall man but I have to say that he has the energy of a giant because interviewing him is like plugging into a nuclear power plant - afterwords I felt as if I got 10 gigawatts worth of energy straight into my batteries.
During our conversation we discuss issues such as: his personal background and early childhood dream to become an asteroid space-miner; his motivation, goals and aspirations for Singularity University; his personal 10^9 project (aimed at positively impacting the lives of a billion people within 10 years); the book on abundance that he is currently working on; his take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it.
Submitted by Exponential Times on Sat, 2011-07-02 06:38
Are we prepared for dealing with the prospect that humanity is not the end of evolution? Technocalyps is an intriguing three-part documentary on the notion of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism]transhumanism[/url] by Belgian visual artist and filmmaker Frank Theys. The latest findings in genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, bionics and nanotechnology appear in the media every day, but with no analysis of their common aim: that of exceeding human limitations.
