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Futurist Sees Machines, Humans Merging in 2045 (Ray Kurzweil alert)
LA Times ^ | 4/16/2006 | James Harkin

Posted on 04/22/2006 3:47:09 PM PDT by Dark Skies

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To: Fitzcarraldo
If God exists, He certainly doesn't need a "human singularity" to do business here.

On the other hand, He might find a post-singularity civilization more interesting to hang out with. People talk to their dogs more often than their goldfish.

61 posted on 04/22/2006 4:58:44 PM PDT by ThinkDifferent (Chloe rocks)
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To: Fitzcarraldo

It's just another way of reframing the Cartesian dilemma. Whatever the case may be, my personal view is that indefinite lifespans will come around before total upload is possible, so the question is largely moot. As for total upload, there will probably be a merging of man & machine by increments anyhow, so when it finally comes along it won't seem like such a leap.

PS. I'm not saying everyone will undergo said merging. Perhaps even only a select number of technophiles. Whatever the case, there will probably be Luddites who will resist such technologies for a very long time to come.


62 posted on 04/22/2006 4:59:08 PM PDT by AntiGuv (The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: Fitzcarraldo

I agree. Surely you must agree that the more we know, the more we appreciate our God and Father.

Knowledge is a good thing, a positive thing, and more is better. If there is to be a singularity, I have no doubt as to who led us there.


63 posted on 04/22/2006 5:00:13 PM PDT by Gulf War One
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To: Gulf War One

Whatever. People have been whining about technological advance for as long as I can remember, yet they still seem to stampede to the local WalMart or Best Buy every time The Next Big Thing comes along....


64 posted on 04/22/2006 5:05:07 PM PDT by AntiGuv (The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: ThinkDifferent
On the other hand, He might find a post-singularity civilization more interesting to hang out with. People talk to their dogs more often than their goldfish

LOL I'm sure they thought the same thing at the Tower of Babel.

65 posted on 04/22/2006 5:05:26 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: Gulf War One
Thx for your thoughtful question.

I don't think that "exponentially increasing intelligence would somehow lead us away from God"...I think that exponentially increasing intelligence will clarify the eternal fork in the road. One way leads to self and egoism...and the other leads to Love.

And to our Creator.

And BTW, thx for your service to our Country!!!

66 posted on 04/22/2006 5:06:27 PM PDT by Dark Skies
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To: the invisib1e hand; Dark Skies
kurzweil, noted genius, has been having megalomaniacal delusions for years.

The dude is looony tooons. Well, not really. He's making a mint. Snake oil still sells in many guises. This is one of them.

67 posted on 04/22/2006 5:07:41 PM PDT by tallhappy (Juntos Podemos!)
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To: AntiGuv
Perhaps even only a select number of technophiles. Whatever the case, there will probably be Luddites who will resist such technologies for a very long time to come.

This just gets better all the time. Let's just hope the Luddites don't become such a nuisance that they become eligible for the Third Reich treatment.

68 posted on 04/22/2006 5:08:20 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: the invisib1e hand
let's see, in MY humble opinion, there was "Lady" and "Lorelei," which rocked. Straight downhill from there.

No way! There was "Grand Illusion", "Blue Collar Man", and "Foolin' Yourself."

I will admit that when the album "Cornerstone" ("Babe", etc) was released, it was all over.

69 posted on 04/22/2006 5:09:31 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: AntiGuv
yet they still seem to stampede to the local WalMart or Best Buy every time The Next Big Thing comes along....

I wish I had your confidence that Singularity Intelligence, if and when it arrives, will even tolerate human thought patterns.

70 posted on 04/22/2006 5:10:13 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: Gulf War One
If you bother to read him, you may find his prognostications all seem to be tracking.

Apparently he did actual work in fields such as OCR once upon a time.

His current stuff is pure gibberish new age type snake oil song and dance.

Not harmfull (generally) but not to be taken seriously.

He's gotta eat, can't begrudge him.

71 posted on 04/22/2006 5:11:06 PM PDT by tallhappy (Juntos Podemos!)
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To: Fitzcarraldo
Here's a helpful website for whenever you get tired of living with modernity: Amish Life FAQ's.

Question: How can I join the Amish community and become an Amish person?

Answer: Anyone can live in an Amish community by simply moving to where the Amish live in a specific area. If a person wants to join the Amish church, the person must move to an Amish community, live there for a length of time (which could be years), accepting the Amish and the Amish accepting you (it is really a mutual issue), being willing to live within the rules of the Church (Ordnung). To become a member of the Amish church requires a genuine religious commitment which is much more than just moving to an Amish community and living the Plain lifestyle of not using electricity, cars, telephones, etc.

Get back to me whenever you call to get your power switched off. Oh, wait....

72 posted on 04/22/2006 5:13:00 PM PDT by AntiGuv (The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: Dark Skies; nickcarraway
Image hosting by Photobucket
73 posted on 04/22/2006 5:17:35 PM PDT by martin_fierro (I got squirrelly nieces & nephews)
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To: AntiGuv
Thanks for the Amish FAQ. Sometimes I think they have more sense. They choose their technologies with care to preserve their purpose in live, which is to live simply and get to Heaven.

That aside, why can't the Singularity be partitioned off for a while? Just to see if everything is working and it doesn't decide to turn the Earth into computronium or worse? Why this all or nothing scenerio?

74 posted on 04/22/2006 5:18:59 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: goldstategop
The Borg: You Will Be Assimilated. Resistance Is Futile. The Collective Is All.

Could be worse...


75 posted on 04/22/2006 5:21:52 PM PDT by uglybiker (Don't blame me. I didn't make you stupid.)
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To: Fitzcarraldo
That aside, why can't the Singularity be partitioned off for a while? Just to see if everything is working and it doesn't decide to turn the Earth into computronium or worse? Why this all or nothing scenerio?

Things won't happen overnight. It's not as if we're gonna wake up tomorrow and "the Singularity" will be upon us. There should be plenty of time to get things more or less right. If someone is stupid enough to build SkyNet, then oh well: Sucks to be us! :)

76 posted on 04/22/2006 5:25:16 PM PDT by AntiGuv (The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: Fitzcarraldo

But for the record, if it all comes down to it, I for one will welcome our new supercyborg overlords, and then hopefully they'll let me join them. :p


77 posted on 04/22/2006 5:28:02 PM PDT by AntiGuv (The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty is bad for America and bad for humanity - DUMP IT!)
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To: Fitzcarraldo
That aside, why can't the Singularity be partitioned off for a while?

"The Singularity" is not a specific object or event. But you're certainly right that any potentially world-changing technology should be extremely well tested before widespread release.

Just to see if everything is working and it doesn't decide to turn the Earth into computronium or worse?

Depending on the specifics, that could be a good thing...

78 posted on 04/22/2006 5:29:18 PM PDT by ThinkDifferent (Chloe rocks)
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To: AntiGuv
not as if we're gonna wake up tomorrow and "the Singularity" will be upon us.

It's possible. Once nanotech is under the direction of AI anything could happen. Exponentially increasing matter transformation. It might not even be the Singularity, just "dumb" self-replicating robotic devices birthed in an average 2025 industrial park, bulldozing your house and neighborhood without warning to make way for the next robot factory.

Check out the "grey-goo scenerio" and the novel "Blood Music".

79 posted on 04/22/2006 5:34:25 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: the invisib1e hand

All I know about Kurzweil is that I've got his keyboard, and he can't have it back.


80 posted on 04/22/2006 5:38:12 PM PDT by mhx
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