Men and machines to merge

[Samildanach]

Ray Kurzweil futurist and AI expert has predicted that 2020 will be the year that humanity reaches a more or less critical mass which should allow mankind and machines to merge allowing a new glorious future to emerge.

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0...w=wn_tophead_5

[rcne]

By about 2020 I should be ready to begin my Borg transformation. The technology avalanche and merging technologies via the futuristic 'Internet' shortens the curve of implementation to an astounding level.

Sorry, I'm off on a babble. Nice article though.

[PatrickHenry]

I will be the Blade Runner who will execute all Borgified people! They are a threat to humanity.

[rcne]

Quote by: PatrickHenry I will be the Blade Runner who will execute all Borgified people! They are a threat to humanity.

That is of course until you meet Rachael and decide that we are human and only want to live also Off into the North Country you go.

PS - one of my favorite movies..

[Samildanach]

I think I would be quite happy to become a cyborg about that time. At least begin the transformation.
Implant a few useful communication implants maybe for starters. Also a few strength and durability enhancements....antibladerunner enhancement etc.. :)

[Compugasm]

Hmm, cellphone contracts make me feel trapped as it is.

[Milton Bradley]

Quote by: Samildanach Ray Kurzweil futurist and AI expert has predicted that 2020 will be the year that humanity reaches a more or less critical mass which should allow mankind and machines to merge allowing a new glorious future to emerge.

Isn't it a huge assumption to make the leap of faith that this will be a "glorious future"?



Sounds pretty nightmarish to me.

[Rave7pt0]

I actually read Age of the Spiritual Machine, and I think he might be onto something. I'm really looking forward to the advances in technology I'll see in my lifetime.

[phoenix_fire]

Resistance is futile. Goodbye, Mr. Anderson.

[Samildanach]

Isn't it a huge assumption to make the leap of faith that this will be a "glorious future"?

Well its going to happen whether you want it to or not. Fact is you can either look on it in a positive light or a negative one. I choose to take the positive path and choose not be afraid of the unknown just because it will be different.
While I will admit that this could be (in a worst case scenario) conceivably completely suicidal, at least I can be consoled with the knowledge that it was done to try and make things better than they are. Life is pretty nightmarish at the moment in my opinion, you live for no purpose then you die and thats it.
I would at least like technology to try to strive towards an indefinite lifespan, if not for me then for the next generation on the planet. Eventually I would like mankind to evolve to the point where they have the powers of the Q. This is but one small step along the way.

[Autolykos]

I have also read Age of Spiritual Machines and find Mr. Kurzweil's ideas to be interesting. However, I think he underestimates the human tendency to resist change, especially when it concerns one's own body. After all, the majority of people on Earth don't even have tattoos. People have fear and anxiety about even minor surgery. Implants are much more involved. Uploading is unthinkable.

IMHO, 2020 is too soon for such a man-machine merger as Kurzweil fantasizes about. Perhaps, though, that is because I fail to see how a sea-change in human attitudes towards machines will come about in 15 years. I could be wrong, but we'll have to wait and see, won't we?

There are, of course, dangers with the technologies Kurzweil describes. Computer viruses are only the beginning. I think that virtual reality, once it becomes realistic enough, will become an addiction for many people, perhaps even millions. The ability to extend not only life but also youth indefinitely will cause a lot of psychological adjustments, at first between those who undergo the treatment and those who do not (there will be plenty of the latter, I assure you). I predict that boredom will be the biggest social problem of the late 21st century. Many of the "chronically young" will go insane and eventually commit suicide, either through peaceful (euthanasia) or violent means (ever-increasing thrillseeking). Those among us today who are the most prone to tinkering with things, trying to figure things out, and creating new things may be the ones most likely to survive (i.e. will be the least bored) in the future. Ultimately, we seem to be heading for a "society of mind" -- a species of scientists. Whether that's a good thing or not is up to You.

- Rob

[belverron]

Quote by: Autolykos I think that virtual reality, once it becomes realistic enough, will become an addiction for many people, perhaps even millions.

Tad Williams. Otherland.

[phoenix_fire]

One of the greatest gifts humanity has is its general physical autonomy. I will admit that our bodies require some maintenance from time to time in the form of medicine, surgery, and in some cases, implants, but by and large, humans are capable of maintaining homeostasis by themselves. What one has to realize is that machines require a great deal of maintenance by skilled technicians. Humanity would enslave itself to the doctor/mechanic. Those with the ability would subject themselves to perpetual "augmentations" to such a degree that humanity is submerged in a web of wires. Those who refuse to integrate themselves to the technology would be outsourced. And what happens to the cyborgs when their hardware becomes obsolete? Does the man himself become obsolete? The more men are willing to make themselves slaves of the technology, the more they open themselves up to the possibility of tyranny: whether the tyranny of economical forces and biomechanical companies that charge literally an arm and a leg for what becomes an indispensible commodity, or the overt political tyranny of a government that finds itself able to very much more easily control what has become a nation, a world of automatons.

[Samildanach]

I am not in agreement with a lot of the statements above. I don't see boredom being one of the biggest problems of the late 21st century, space should be wide open by then and colonies if not in place at least expanding on Mars and maybe even further out. VR should be able to give you whatever environment you want when you want it. They may even have designer drugs with no side effects you can take to make you happy every day so you never feel bored. Just always at the peak of your game, calm and happy. As for implants requiring maintainence, the initial ones will breakdown until we reach a point where the implants are self maintaining. If we ever truly became a group of ageless immortals I don't think the transition will be that staggering as everyone thinks. I mean who out there thinks I am going to die today before they set out in the morning because a certain percentage of us every day will do just that....my point is when you get up you don't even think about dying, you just assume you are immortal, if you didn't age today would be just like any other day, an accident could still get you for example, you could still be incinerated by a flaming asteroid that dropped out of the sky.

The one thing I forsee happening is gaming taking on a much more significant role than it currently does in most peoples lives. I think that games and rankings are how such a society with so much individual free time will keep order and also will give social kudos.

[phoenix_fire]

You must be young. Life still holds surprise and adventure. It is not so once you have been around long enough. Everyone eventually tires of this world.

As to maintenance, you realize that mechanical components are often made intentionally to wear out after a certain amount of time so that people will be compelled to keep the manufacturers in business? Knowing what you do of capitalism and market forces, do you not think the same concept would carry over into biomechanical components?

[Samildanach]

You must be young. Life still holds surprise and adventure. It is not so once you have been around long enough. Everyone eventually tires of this world.

lol...not that young...I am 31 very nearly 32 and life doesn't hold much surprise and adventure but I still manage to look ahead with some optimism. The thing is components don't need to wear out to keep manufacturers in business. There are a lot of 386 and 486 computers still working around the place. I don't see many people using them. Upgrades is where the money is going to be in that kind of society, if they even use money anymore. Add that to the fact its pretty difficult to make an atom wear out if we are talking nanotechnology. The worst thing that can happen is if you look at our bodies, they are self repairing but we get unexpected interactions occurring which cause us to age.
A submolecular wrench thrown in the submolecular machines. Besides which there are plenty of things to do I haven't done yet, I have only explored about maybe 10% of the world so I have the other 90% to go....I can't imagine being bored either. I haven't been a painter, a builder, an artist, head of an international conglomerate, a tramp....there are so many things I would do if I was immortal that I haven't done yet, how could you ever get bored? I could understand if you were already immortal and had been round for about a million years or so.

[Osborn F Enready]

I think 2020 will look VERY different.

I think by 2020 the United States will no longer exist as it does today. I think by 2020, if things continue the way we are heading, there will either be mass revolt, or mass division between states, effecting secession. Time will tell, but my money is on mass cultural devolution, before another evolution of progress.

We are nearing a public distrust and displeasure with government that we had in the late 60's, and the authoritarian side of federalism has grown far more immense since then, as well as the technology of the protesters and tools of the extremists.

If things continue, I would predict a movement much like the Zapatista movement in Mexico, resulting in a fragmented nation, and set the stage for a final attempt at an all out power grab by the federalists which will most likely spark most of the extremists and fringe middle class. When the middle class gets involved, major things will happen.

[Rave7pt0]

I've thought about technological immortality, and I think that when that's possible the suicide taboo will have the stop. I think people will die when they choose to die, and that'll be ok. Thinking about the systematic reprocusions of that state of affairs can be interesting.

[samsara15]

The ancient myths bear fruit.