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I'm sure this has lots of typos and grammatical errors so please bear through it 
6 or 7 years ago I typed into google "what is the meaning of life". The first result I found was a page essentially about technological singularity. Looking back on it, I wouldn't be surprised if the reason it was the first result was because 1 or more people working for google at the time were supporters of this concept.
I was a believer that it will happen then, and I still am today.. even moreso actually.
In those 6 or 7 years technology has advanced alot and now I feel like I can post about the idea here without having a huge amount of people call me an idiot or make posts asking how this idea is something they should care about. so here goes
What is technological Singularity?
There are many trends in technology. Almost all of these trends work on an exponential basis. A fairly well known example of one of these trend's is Moore's Law, which deals with chip complexity. It essentially deals with an exponential growth, per every couple years, in chip speed vs chip price. For the sake of simplicity this is the only example I will give, but trust me, there are more.
The reason I say this is that all of these trends are pointing at one thing: Technology is more and more advanced, and it's doing it faster and faster.
Technological Singularity is the point at which an intelligence is created that surpasses human intelligence.
So how do we reach singularity?
It could be done through many different ways, but two of the most likely and well known methods are Bionics, and Seed AI.
I'm going to use Seed AI as an example first.
Seed AI is essentially the idea of artificial intelligence with the ability to understand it's code, modify it's code, and improve it's code. If a program could do this, then it could increase it's own intelligence at an exponential rate, eventually learn everything in the universe, and life would change as we know it. Seed AI is not fantasy, very brilliant people in the field of AI say it can be done and projects are underway. In fact, the human brain and seed AI both follow the same basic structure(and the human brain is slowly but surely being reverse engineered). The only difference is seed AI would be synthetic, not biological. Therefore it would not get bored, it would not sleep, it would not die, it could improve power simply by adding more processors, and im sure there are many other benefits that I cannot think of.
Bionics, meanwhile, is essentially the mixture of machinery + biology. In this sense, it would mean replacing or improving upon organic parts of humans with machine parts. This has already started happening, and there are MANY examples. Here are just a few that currently exist, that I know of:
Braingate: It's a computer chip that can be inserted into your brain to allow you to do things remotely, such as control a mouse cursor.
BionicEar: Allows deaf people to hear. As long as it's a problem with your ear and not your brain, it will work.
IIP-Tec retinal implants: lets people with damaged retinas see.
Spinal Cord Stimulation System: It's a small chip inserted into your body that helps control pain signals sent through your spinal cord.
BioHybrid Arm: A synthetic arm that you can move through thought. Recently, they were able to add the sense of touch to synthetic limbs as well.
AbioMed's artificial heart: self explanatory.
Victhom's urinary implant: controls bladder problems.
Synthetic hip replacements: self explanatory.
Cyberhand: Like the arm I was talking about, except it's a hand.
Rheo Knee: A synthetic knee that adapts to how the user walks.
And this is just what is currently out in the market. MIT has developed nanotechnology that can repair damaged neurons in the spine. They've already got it to successfully work with mice. USC students are developing a synthetic hippocampus replacement, which also works with mice. Synthetic brain parts, seriously thats crazy. One of the most fervent believers in Singularity as well as a very brilliant man, Ray Kurzeil, recently got an implant in his finger that allows him to sense electro-magnetic fields. It works just like any other sense. Just imagine the behind the scenes technology that exists in the millitary. From reading Ray's Book(he's one of 3 or 4 advisors to the millitary regarding the budgeting of money for technological research), I know that the millitary is very close to having nanotech shots that can enhance muscle performance for soldiers, allowing them to carry huge guns or machinery for long distances. And this kind of technology is just the start.
So if singularity happens, what then?
We will most likely be able to live forever, should we choose. Our bodies will be vastly different, if we even exist within bodies. We will have programmable blood. No more blood cells, instead they will be replaced with nanomachinery. We most likely would not have most organic parts of our bodies in fact.
We will have virtual reality that most likely will not have restrictions. We will be able to do anything and experience anything.
If warfare still exists, it will be on a different scale entirely(precision wise). With technology comes more precise warfare, if you look at trends regarding casualities in war, less and less people have died as technology has increased, despite the fact that more and more people are living on the planet.
Ray Kurzweil hypothesizes that eventually the entire cosmos will become aware, intelligent, whatever you want to call it. The entire issue regarding singularity brings together alot of philosophical issues regarding the nature of consciousness, however. I plan on making a thread about consciousness soon !
So if this happens, how long until it does?
Most supporters in a position to speculate estimate 15-30 years.
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On September 28 2006 18:30 travis wrote:One of the most fervent believers in Singularity as well as a very brilliant man, Ray Kurzeil, recently got an implant in his finger that allows him to sense electro-magnetic fields. It works just like any other sense.
...
So if this happens, how long until it does?
Most supporters in a position to speculate estimate 15-30 years.
haha wtf (@ both)
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This is pretty damn interesting.
But how realistic is this? And what practical benefits would there to be to having a machine that can think and improve on itself? I've probably just seen too many sci-fi movies, but what if this super-smart computer tries to kill everyone? 
Also, I heard about nanotechnology in my economics class, and how they were planning on developing microscopic machines that would be able to go into a human body andd find bacteria or some other problem and then work on it.
This is nuts. 
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So if singularity happens, what then?
That's easy, the machines will enslave us, put us in jars and eat us.
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These kind of things are extremely interesting. I however do not believe that a machine can learn/understand more than it's creator. Unly do it faster. Or can a machine understand anything? It can be instructed to give a detailed description about a topic on command, but what is understanding? Can a machine ever comprehend? I don't know, im not a brilliant researcher.
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On September 28 2006 18:37 rpf289 wrote:This is pretty damn interesting. But how realistic is this? And what practical benefits would there to be to having a machine that can think and improve on itself? I've probably just seen too many sci-fi movies, but what if this super-smart computer tries to kill everyone? Also, I heard about nanotechnology in my economics class, and how they were planning on developing microscopic machines that would be able to go into a human body andd find bacteria or some other problem and then work on it. This is nuts.
It's very easy to question the point of doing anything whatsoever.
But this isn't just about increasing machine intelligence. The purpose is to increase human intelligence as well, and the overall goal is to increase quality of life.
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On September 28 2006 18:44 WOstick wrote:
These kind of things are extremely interesting. I however do not believe that a machine can learn/understand more than it's creator. Unly do it faster. Or can a machine understand anything? It can be instructed to give a detailed description about a topic on command, but what is understanding? Can a machine ever comprehend? I don't know, im not a brilliant researcher.
There are problems with semantics. Try as we might, most words are not properly defined. By understand do you mean be aware of the meaning of or do you mean be able to properly respond to?
I'm gonna have to make that other post I was talking about now.
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Rofl, i'm imagining a microscopic duke nuken that gets implanted in my nose. And he runs around in my body just owning up any bad guys, makin me feel healthier as the days go on. Pretty useful.
The thing that's cool is just how exponential the tech increase really is. As new tech comes in, that tech can be used to research new tech, and THAT tech can be used to research more tech.. much like way humans or rats reproduce at an exponential rate.
I believe it
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Unless we choose to destroy all attempts at building better AI. Which we won't. It's just like the Matrix story, people will only recognise it when it's too late.
And my guess would be a bit longer. In 15-30 years, maybe some organs can be replaced or stuff like that, maybe walking robots will be more common. The mechanical part is not to be underestimated tho, to have complete human-like robots (either with human brains or full AI) walking on the streets will be a bit longer, like 50-70 years. Also, whether the robots cause accident or are dangerous will greatly determine the effort put into building them, when the first person gets killed too soon development may be stopped for a good while.
Actroid. This thread needs some chicks at least^^.
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Great thread travis. I love reading about things like this. I've read that in the next 12 years there will probably be a new surgery that will allow humans to see new colors. This is because right now we are only able to distinguish 3 (red blue and i forget the 3'rd) but the new surgery will allow for a 4th color to be distinguished.
Travis here's a link to a related story you'll probably enjoy. An inventor machine.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/thenewexplorers/0e13af26862ba010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
P.S I found the surgery im talking about on that website along with some other things so maybe you'll run into them if you search ^^
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matrix, terminator anyone?
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"They promised us robots, Kitty!"
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Yeah I see these machines finishing the "make a sandwhich" function, and then execute "kill all humans". Pretty creepy if you ask me.
A guy with like a terminator arm would creep the hell out of me.
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On September 28 2006 18:53 aseq wrote:Unless we choose to destroy all attempts at building better AI. Which we won't. It's just like the Matrix story, people will only recognise it when it's too late. And my guess would be a bit longer. In 15-30 years, maybe some organs can be replaced or stuff like that, maybe walking robots will be more common. The mechanical part is not to be underestimated tho, to have complete human-like robots (either with human brains or full AI) walking on the streets will be a bit longer, like 50-70 years. Also, whether the robots cause accident or are dangerous will greatly determine the effort put into building them, when the first person gets killed too soon development may be stopped for a good while. Actroid. This thread needs some chicks at least^^.
You're doing what so many other people do and forgetting about the effect of future technology on the ability to develop future technology. It's happened to experts in all different technological fields and it's why so many predictions from 30 years ago are so far off regarding where technology will be today.
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How exactly would AI be able to learn something that humans don't know? Like what are we talking about? How could they learn everything in the universe? Very vague
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It's very vague because I wanted to write a few paragraphs, not an entire book.
AI already has learned things that humans don't know. I'm pretty sure it was AI that has solved pie to as many digits as we currently know. There, that's an example.
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ty for the links heavens
the inventing computer was really cool
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ya been reading this stuff for sometime now, planned to post about it weeks ago but what do you think? bam! tempbanned for trolling.
[warning- slightly biased text ahead]
Anyway I believe singularity is inevitable, and I see it as a major change in human nature comparable to the rise of homo sapiens. Also rpf saying he heard about nanotechnology in economics class, thats pretty cool I think economists are realizing now that this new tech will have a major impact to the point of making capitalism (and current production systems) obsolete.
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Disclaimer: I am a hater and not up to date on all the Kurzweilians modern day thinking.
So.. yeah, I hate Kurzweil, and the idea of upgrading the human body. I don't think it will work in the next 50 years.
I don't even believe in God, but this is God's territory. It is impossible to trust some human with control of it. It's kind of the same as many feel about people living forever. Who gets to live forever?
If it is me, then I'm for it, if not, very against
I also dislike it because it is practically like a religion. Besides having a nearly religious belief that it will happen, the thing that I *really* dislike is, like certain other religions, it attracts people who aren't happy to be human. The worst is when people want to get a computer for self-improvement instead of actually trying to do it themselves.
In an ideal scenario, I am attracted to the idea. That scenario was actually in Deus Ex 2, and here it is explained in as one of the people trys to convince you to side with an AI and integrate humanity into it. I can't remember his exact words, but I'll give the gist even though it isn't as appealing. He says that society power and influence in current society is determined by things like how well you are born into and how much money you have. But in their ideal society, where every human has the same intelligence and ability, what separates us is our choices, our personal integrity.
If it could happen like that I'd be interested :p
Kurzweil is also an enthusiastic advocate of using technology to achieve immortality. He advocates using nanobots to maintain the human body, but given their present non-existence he adheres instead to a strict daily routine involving ingesting "250 supplements, eight to 10 glasses of alkaline water and 10 cups of green tea" to extend his life until more effective technology is available.
Damn life extending old people. Die already and stop taking up my space. Thankfully, most people are too lazy to take that many supplements :O
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EPT
