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Wired 8.04: Why the future doesn't need us.

Wired 8.04: Why the future doesn't need us.
Why the future doesn't need us. Our most powerful 21st-century technologies - robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech - are threatening to make humans an endangered species. By Bill Joy From the moment I became involved in the creation of new technologies, their ethical dimensions have concerned me, but it was only in the autumn of 1998 that I became anxiously aware of how great are the dangers facing us in the 21st century. Ray and I were both speakers at George Gilder's Telecosm conference, and I encountered him by chance in the bar of the hotel after both our sessions were over. I had missed Ray's talk and the subsequent panel that Ray and John had been on, and they now picked right up where they'd left off, with Ray saying that the rate of improvement of technology was going to accelerate and that we were going to become robots or fuse with robots or something like that, and John countering that this couldn't happen, because the robots couldn't be conscious. Page 2 >> Related:  Philosophy/ Psychology

Jaron Lanier Jaron Lanier is a computer scientist, composer, and visual artist. He is the author of You Are Not A Gadget: A Manifesto; and Who Owns The Future? His scientific interests include biomimetic information architectures, user interfaces, heterogeneous scientific simulations, advanced information systems for medicine, and computational approaches to the fundamentals of physics. He collaborates with a wide range of scientists in fields related to these interests. Lanier's name is also often associated with Virtual Reality research. He either coined or popularized the term 'Virtual Reality' and in the early 1980s founded VPL Research, the first company to sell VR products. From 1997 to 2001, Lanier was the Chief Scientist of Advanced Network and Services, which contained the Engineering Office of Internet2, and served as the Lead Scientist of the National Tele-immersion Initiative, a coalition of research universities studying advanced applications for Internet2.

Eliezer Yudkowsky: Scruter la Singularité (Hache/essais) La version courte : Si les vitesses de calcul doublent tous les deux ans, qu’arrive-t-il quand des IA informatisées font la recherche ? La vitesse de calcul double tous les deux ans. La vitesse de calcul double tous les deux ans de travail. La vitesse de calcul double tous les deux ans subjectifs de travail. Deux ans après que les Intelligences artificielles ont atteint l’équivalence humaine, leur vitesse double. Six mois ; trois mois ; 1,5 mois… Singularité. Prenez les valeurs correspondant aux vitesses de calcul actuelles, à leur temps de doublement actuel, et à une estimation de la puissance de calcul brute du cerveau humain, et les valeurs coïncident en : 2021. Mais personnellement, j’aimerais le faire plus tôt. 1. L’Histoire a commencé il y a trois milliards et demi d’années dans une flaque de boue, quand une molécule a fait une copie d’elle-même et est ainsi devenue l’ancêtre ultime de toute vie terrestre. Il y a cinquante mille ans avec l’émergence d’Homo sapiens sapiens. 2. 2.1.

SPECULATIONS ON THE FUTURE OF SCIENCE (KEVIN KELLY:) Science will continue to surprise us with what it discovers and creates; then it will astound us by devising new methods to surprises us. At the core of science's self-modification is technology. New tools enable new structures of knowledge and new ways of discovery. The achievement of science is to know new things; the evolution of science is to know them in new ways. What evolves is less the body of what we know and more the nature of our knowing. Technology is, in its essence, new ways of thinking. New informational organizations are layered upon the old without displacement, just as in biological evolution. I'm willing to bet the scientific method 400 years from now will differ from today's understanding of science more than today's science method differs from the proto-science used 400 years ago. Compiled Negative Results — Negative results are saved, shared, compiled and analyzed, instead of being dumped.

Singularité technologique Au-delà de ce point, le progrès ne serait plus l’œuvre que d’intelligences artificielles, ou « supraintelligence » qui s’auto-amélioreraient, de nouvelles générations de plus en plus intelligentes apparaissant de plus en plus rapidement, créant une « explosion d'intelligence » créant finalement une puissante superintelligence qui dépasserait qualitativement de loin l'intelligence humaine[1],[2],[3]. Le risque serait que l'humanité perde le contrôle de son destin[4]. L'auteur de science fiction Vernor Vinge est même convaincu, dans son essai La venue de la singularité technologique, que la singularité signifierait la fin de l'ère humaine[3], la nouvelle superintelligence continuant de s'améliorer et d'évoluer technologiquement à une vitesse incompréhensible pour les humains[5]. Cette notion de singularité technologique aurait été envisagée par John von Neumann dès les années 1950[6] et ses conséquences ont été débattues dans les années 1960 par I. Loi de Moore[modifier | modifier le code]

D. Kahneman: presentation to tech titans: Thinking about thinking A SHORT COURSE IN THINKING ABOUT THINKING Edge Master Class 07DANIEL KAHNEMAN Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford, CA, July 20-22, 2007AN EDGE SPECIAL PROJECT (click for slideshow) ATTENDEES: Jeff Bezos, Founder, Amazon.com; Stewart Brand, Cofounder, Long Now Foundation, Author, How Buildings Learn; Sergey Brin, Founder, Google; John Brockman, Edge Foundation, Inc.; Max Brockman, Brockman, Inc.; Peter Diamandis, Space Entrepreneur, Founder, X Prize Foundation; George Dyson, Science Historian; Author, Darwin Among the Machines; W. INTRODUCTIONBy John Brockman Recently, I spent several months working closely with Danny Kahneman, the psychologist who is the co-creator of behavioral economics (with his late collaborator Amos Tversky), for which he won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002. While Kahneman has a wide following among people who study risk, decision-making, and other aspects of human judgment, he is not exactly a household name. The event was an unqualified success.

The Singularity Is Not Near What's the Latest Development? Professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, David Linden doesn't believe man will be fused with machine any time soon. At least not in the way that futurist Ray Kurzweil envisions the (near) future. One of Kurzweil's predictions is that by the 2020s, minuscule nano-robots will enter our brains, non-invasively through our capillaries, and be able to manipulate our sensory receptors to create the first true virtual reality. Linden responds: "Even if our intrepid nanobot were jet-powered and equipped with a powerful cutting laser, how would it move through the brain and not leave a trail of destruction in its wake?" What's the Big Idea? Kurzweil predicts that by the 2030s, we will be able to upload our minds into a highly sophisticated computer, at which point the distinctions between brain, mind and machine would fall away.

9 Mind-Bending Epiphanies That Turned My World Upside-Down Over the years I’ve learned dozens of little tricks and insights for making life more fulfilling. They’ve added up to a significant improvement in the ease and quality of my day-to-day life. But the major breakthroughs have come from a handful of insights that completely rocked my world and redefined reality forever. The world now seems to be a completely different one than the one I lived in about ten years ago, when I started looking into the mechanics of quality of life. It wasn’t the world (and its people) that changed really, it was how I thought of it. Maybe you’ve had some of the same insights. 1. The first time I heard somebody say that — in the opening chapter of The Power of Now — I didn’t like the sound of it one bit. I see quite clearly now that life is nothing but passing experiences, and my thoughts are just one more category of things I experience. If you can observe your thoughts just like you can observe other objects, who’s doing the observing? 2. Of course! 3. 4. 5.

The Singularity and Its Discontents | Think Tank In February, 2011, a powerful IBM computer called Watson became the Jeopardy world champion. Immediately, the media went crazy with headlines about machines obliterating mankind. As a media professional, I am not at all surprised by this – the more powerful our machines become, the more our attitudes toward them become polarized between paranoia on the one hand and weak-kneed submission on the other. Playing upon those fears and desires is a guaranteed attention-getter – the stuff of multi-digit pageviews and retweets. What's the Big Idea? The concept of “the Singularity,” a moment in the not-too-distant future when we will manage to create superhuman intelligence, either in machine form or by augmenting our own brains with biotechnology, is particularly effective at inspiring this kind of technophobia or technophilic zealotry. The movement has its fervent detractors. Paul Root Wolpe: Physics also thought it was going to find its grand unified theory a long time ago.

Portrait of an INFP As an INFP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit into your personal value system. Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition. INFPs, more than other iNtuitive Feeling types, are focused on making the world a better place for people. INFPs are highly intuitive about people. Generally thoughtful and considerate, INFPs are good listeners and put people at ease. INFPs do not like conflict, and go to great lengths to avoid it. INFPs are flexible and laid-back, until one of their values is violated. When it comes to the mundane details of life maintenance, INFPs are typically completely unaware of such things. INFPs do not like to deal with hard facts and logic. INFPs have very high standards and are perfectionists. INFPs are usually talented writers. Check us out on Facebook Careers for INFP INFP Relationships Personal Growth Contact us

Altruism Giving alms to the poor is often considered an altruistic action. Altruism or selflessness is the principle or practice of concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religious traditions and secular worldviews, though the concept of "others" toward whom concern should be directed can vary among cultures and religions. Altruism or selflessness is the opposite of selfishness. Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty. Pure altruism consists of sacrificing something for someone other than the self (e.g. sacrificing time, energy or possessions) with no expectation of any compensation or benefits, either direct, or indirect (e.g., receiving recognition for the act of giving). Much debate exists as to whether "true" altruism is possible. The notion of altruism[edit] The concept has a long history in philosophical and ethical thought. Individual variations[edit] A 1986 study estimated that altruism was half-inherited.

Compassion Compassion personified: a statue at the Epcot center in Florida Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help.[1][2] Compassion is often, though not inevitably, the key component in what manifests in the social context as altruism.[citation needed] In ethical terms, the expressions down the ages of the so-called Golden Rule often embodies by implication the principle of compassion: Do to others what you would have them do to you.[3][original research?] The English noun compassion, meaning to love together with, comes from Latin. Theories[edit] Three theoretical perspectives of compassion have been proposed, which are contrasted by their predictions and approaches of compassion. Identifying with another person is an essential process for human beings. Psychology[edit] Compassion has become related and researched in the field of positive psychology and social psychology. Neuropsychology[edit] Medicine[edit] Fatigue[edit] Applications[edit] Practicing[edit]

Kindness Kindness is a virtue in many cultures and religions. The above picture is from a Laotian temple, depicting the parable of Buddha and the elephant Nalagiri. Devadutta, jealous of Buddha and wanting to hurt him, sends an angry elephant named Nalagiri into a street where Buddha and his colleagues were walking. As the angry Nalagiri approached them, Buddha's loving kindness and friendliness tames Nalagiri. The parable suggests kindness affects everyone. Buddhists call such kindness in virtuous state of perfection as Mettā,[1] while some Indian literature refer to it as maitrī (Sanskrit: मैत्री).[2][3] Other[edit] In 2009, analysts warned that 'real kindness changes people in the doing of it, often in unpredictable ways. They also argue that, in a relationship, 'real kindness, real fellow-feeling, entails hating and being hated - that is, really feeling available frustrations – and through this coming to a more real relationship'.[8] In literature[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]

Patience Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. Antonyms include hastiness and impetuousness. Scientific perspectives[edit] In evolutionary psychology and in cognitive neuroscience, patience is studied as a decision-making problem, involving the choice of either a small reward in the short term, or a more valuable reward in the long term. Religious perspectives[edit] Three virtues by Jan Saenredam after Hendrik Goltzius. Judaism[edit] Patience and fortitude are prominent themes in Judaism. Christianity[edit] In the Christian religion, patience is one of the most valuable virtues of life. Islam[edit] Buddhism[edit]

Mark Pagel, evolution. biol. : "Infinite Stupidity" (text +vid) It might be useful, with such a statement like that, to review some of these big events. Obviously one of the big events in our history was the origin of our planet, about 4.5 billion years ago. And what's fascinating is that about 3.8 billion years ago, only about seven or eight hundred million years after the origin of our planet, life arose. That life was simple replicators, things that could make copies of themselves. And we think that life was a little bit like the bacteria we see on earth today. That life ruled the world for 2 billion years, and then about 1.5 billion years ago, a new kind of life emerged. It was another 500 million years before we had anything like a multicellular organism, and it was another 500 million years after that before we had anything really very interesting. After about 500 million years ago, things like the plants evolved, the fish evolved, lizards and snakes, dinosaurs, birds, and eventually mammals. A lot of that sounds familiar to us.

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