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Author | Topic: The Social Implications Of "The Singularity Moment" | |||||||||||||||||||||||
jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Nine side down.
Now let's see how Watson does on Jeopardy. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped! |
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
crashfrog writes: Ray Kurzwiels' pretty much predicting science fiction, but the notion that the rate of technological change will increase past our ability to culturally absorb the changes is clearly true. The rate of technological change has never decreased throughout human history. The people who are predicting that it will are the ones making predictions utterly at odds with history, not Kurzweil. Does that mean AI, teleportation, living forever in virtual worlds? Who knows? The point of the "singularity" is that it's the point at which technological change is happening so fast the results can't be predicted. And it just can't be argued that that is going to someday be the case. Of course they can be predicted. It will mean more infotainment. If Watson can win at Jeopardy, the "Big Brother House" can be next. Then who knows, "American Android", "Cyborg Island". Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
AZPaul3 writes: Well, I suppose if the pissing contest is over we might as well get back to the topic at hand. Please refer to my message Message 57 above as a starting point. Then maybe we can help answer Phat's OP. If we use Ray Kurzweil's own definition of the Singularity then, my dear Phat, we will all understand the new technologies quite well since we will all be plugged into the common human knowledge bank which will give us the intellect (augmented by technology) to understand. Or if history and reality is considered, we will mostly be home watching the latest entertainment while a very few understand the technology and play with it. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
AZPaul3 writes: A kill joy realist. Just think. After so many eons of intellectual development we end up with Ghost Hunters. Imagine the inanity we can achieve with a technologically-augmented thousand-fold intellect! See Message 4 and Message 8. It's really not even much of a challenge to see where we are headed. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
AZPaul3 writes: Don't knock Watson. The game was just a means to an end. The development of the data base, algorithms and speed of processing was the real achievement. If Kurzweil's singularity comes to pass we could all have a Watson. Well, not me, but these younger kids may see that capability in their own heads someday. Oh, I don't knock Watson, but I do look at iTunes, iPods, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Jon writes: It will mean more infotainment. Unfortunately, that is likely the outcome. I see no evidence that any major technological-development endeavors in the near future will be geared toward anything other than perfecting and promoting 'fantasy machines'certainly not in America! Jon Oh, there will be other uses, likely unexpected ones that fall out from research, but the majority of the population will simply USE the products, accept any benefits, without thinking about them, understanding them or "absorbing" the technology. That's almost always been the case. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
dwise1 writes: Oh, there will be other uses, likely unexpected ones that fall out from research, but the majority of the population will simply USE the products, accept any benefits, without thinking about them, understanding them or "absorbing" the technology. That's almost always been the case. True. When electronic pocket calculators hit the market shortly before 1970, my father said he knew exactly how they worked: "They've got chips!" When I was a computer technician in the USAF, our training NCO's theory of how electronics works was that it's all FM (fracking magic -- yeah, they had "frak" in those days). An engineer at work says (admittedly jokingly) that electronic devices run on smoke, "If you let the smoke leak out, it no longer works." In Isaac Asimov's first Foundation novel, the Foundation's rise to power was in exporting its technology, only they did it as a religion. They installed the tech and the local tech-priests they trained would operate it: to make it work you must say this particular prayer and then press the red button. Gene Roddenberry's approach to explaining his technology to the audience was to not explain it, but rather just have the character use it and we'd see the results.
Stargate SG-1 had an even better approach. Carter would start to explain the science behind something and O'Neill would shut her up fast. The last two examples seem to mirror reality closely. Use it and why it works is irrelevant. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Phat writes: jar writes: the majority of the population will simply USE the products, accept any benefits, without thinking about them, understanding them or "absorbing" the technology. It is always a minority of folks that actually want to go further. What is the purpose..the ongoing charge...for society in general, anyway? Not everyone is as excited about exploring the universe as you may be. People like to be served by technology...but few want to risk the cost of boldly going where no man has gone before. Of course, I have not mentioned either exploring the universe or going where no man has gone before. The charge is that the future will be dictated by those who understand and manipulate the technology. Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Or thirty years ago but we simply can't see it.
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jar Member (Idle past 423 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Stile writes: Solutions would involve focusing on education - things like putting money there, supporting policies that promote education, possibly even attempting to move towards cheaper (or even free?) education. Remember that in the US the pre-college portion of basic education is often determined at the lowest level by the individual school boards at the school district level. This is often not even county wide or city wide; plus the US also has more alternative non-public schools than public schools and many if not most of those base their education on a particular local Chapter of Club Christian dogma. There is no National Education policy or curricula.
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