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Thread: The Singularity - Page 20







Post#476 at 05-22-2005 10:37 AM by Croakmore [at The hazardous reefs of Silentium joined Nov 2001 #posts 2,426]
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Re: Scientific Darbyism

Quote Originally Posted by Virgil K. Saari
This all sounds like a secular version of Dispensationalism of the progressive Protestants of the Darby school. Is the Singularity the Rapture in a white lab coat?


Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Ian Pearson, 21st Century Dispensationalist, er -- head of the futurology unit at BT
If you draw the timelines, realistically by 2050 we would expect to be able to download your mind into a machine, so when you die it's not a major career problem.
He admits his prophecies are both 'very exciting' and 'very scary'.


I hope those lab coat sleeves can be securely tied at the back. :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:
Virgil,

"Smart yoghurt" is one concept that has escaped me. Thanks. This article is just what I would expect to see as Virtual Afterlife comes into focus. 2050? I don't know. But I suspect it's inevitable.

However, there is one troublesome thing about an immortality machine: it will take forever to test it.

John,

Thanks for the hula girls feature. Now I'm getting excited. Where's my Arthur Godfrey ukulele?

And what do you think of Virgil's post? Pretty cool, ay? Would smart yoghurt qualify as Singularity #1 or Singularity #2?

BTW: If you had a mind to, John, could you differentiate "form" from "function" for me in a way that covers both computers and biological life.

--Richard/Croakmore







Post#477 at 05-22-2005 11:43 AM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,010]
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Re: Scientific Darbyism

Dear Richard,

Quote Originally Posted by Croakmore
> BTW: If you had a mind to, John, could you differentiate "form"
> from "function" for me in a way that covers both computers and
> biological life.
The best way to do that is to illustrate how intelligent computers
are changing:



The Turk - a chess-playing computer from the late 1700s



Roomba - a housecleaning computer from today



Robots from the future

See the difference between form and function?

Sincerely,

John

John J. Xenakis
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com







Post#478 at 05-22-2005 11:56 AM by Croakmore [at The hazardous reefs of Silentium joined Nov 2001 #posts 2,426]
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Well, John, this is very nice, but it is a bit too subjective for me to grasp. If what you are glorifying is the power of subjective persuasion then I can understand your explanation in terms of a California Reality, but not in terms of my own. Please, if you will, show me where the form is objectively different from the function.

In my realilty the two are universes apart. But before I tell you what they are, please bring forward your literal definitions. They may be the same as mine.

--Richard







Post#479 at 07-09-2005 12:12 AM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,010]
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To all:

As we head toward a world where super-intelligent computers do all
kinds of things on their own, it's important to keep track of all the
important little advances along the way.

In the spirit of science and discovery, I offer you an important new
development in robots. This isn't an intelligent robot, but it is a
robot performing an important job.

And it's heartwarming to know that a student at Michigan State
University has been willing to devote his time and energy to such an
important project.

So here is a picture of this very important new robot:



And here's the story of this important breakthrough:

The remote-controlled robot arm - directed from across the room in
this instance - prepares to examine simulated breast tissue (Image:
Kurt Stepnitz, Michigan State University)


Life-saving breast examinations could soon be performed by a robotic
hand that combines ultrasound with an artificial sense of touch.

The robotic breast examiner was devised by researchers at Michigan
State University in the US. They say it will enable a medical
specialist to examine women from a remote location, perhaps even from
the other side of the world.

"Just because you’re located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or
even Botswana, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a sophisticated
diagnostic or therapeutic procedure," says Carol Slomski, a surgeon at
Michigan State University, who helped design the system.

The robot hand is remotely controlled by means of a haptic "glove", in
which each finger is connected to a motion-sensing device. The
operator's hand movements are then measured and sent via a computer to
the artificial hand, which almost instantly mimics the operator's
moves.

Hand-in-glove

The robotic grasper also measures the consistency of objects in its
grasp by means of feedback to its motors. And this tactile information
is fee back to the mechanical glove giving the wearer an artificial
sensation of touch.

The arm also incorporates an ultrasound sensor as well as three video
cameras, to give the expert a good view of the procedure.

"Having the capability of ultrasound and palpation simultaneously is a
major advantage," adds Ranjan Mukherjee, another member of the
Michigan team. "Often the ultrasound and exam are done separately. But
if the physician can look at the image and feel what he or she is
seeing, that’s another huge advantage."

Data delay

Mukherjee says the next stage is to conduct clinical trials, which
should show how reliable the system is. But he believes it could be
five years before the system becomes commercially available.

“It is a realistic thing to try to do,” says computer interaction
expert Stephen Brewster, at the University of Glasgow, UK. “Lots of
telesurgery work is for the military so it is nice to see something
coming into the standard medical domain.”

But Brewster adds that the system would need to match a doctor’s
bedside manner when dealing with patients. “There are of course issues
with powerful robots coming into direct contact with people,” he told
New Scientist. “It would have to be very carefully designed and tested
to make sure that it could not exert inappropriate forces and so cause
harm.”

But some experts are more doubtful that such a system would work in
practice. "Tele-operated robots have a big problem with delay," says
William Harwin, at the University of Reading in the UK, and the
sensitivity of touch is not as good.

He suggests a better way to perform remote examinations is to perform
the data gathering and expert analysis one after the other. "A more
realistic model in principal is to gather data from the remote site,
under direction from the clinical base," he explains, and then
transfer it the remote expert, who could then use virtual reality
tools to interpret it.

* 15:41 05 July 2005
* NewScientist.com news service
* Will Knight
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7630







Post#480 at 07-09-2005 09:04 AM by antichrist [at I'm in the Big City now, boy! joined Sep 2003 #posts 1,655]
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As if child birthing and peeing standing up isn't enough, here is yet more reason why I am glad I am a man. These poor girls, some of them my grandma's age now get to get felt up by a robot.

Wooohooo LOL ROTFLMAO

Oh man the world is a funny place.







Post#481 at 07-09-2005 12:39 PM by Andy '85 [at Texas joined Aug 2003 #posts 1,465]
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Quote Originally Posted by mgibbons19 (71)
As if child birthing and peeing standing up isn't enough, here is yet more reason why I am glad I am a man. These poor girls, some of them my grandma's age now get to get felt up by a robot.

Wooohooo LOL ROTFLMAO

Oh man the world is a funny place.
Who knows, we may have robots for prostate exams, so don't go feeling relieved yet.
Right-Wing liberal, slow progressive, and other contradictions straddling both the past and future, but out of touch with the present . . .

"We also know there are known unknowns.
That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know." - Donald Rumsfeld







Post#482 at 07-09-2005 01:40 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,010]
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Dear Andy,

Quote Originally Posted by Andy '85
Quote Originally Posted by mgibbons19 (71)
As if child birthing and peeing standing up isn't enough, here is yet more reason why I am glad I am a man. These poor girls, some of them my grandma's age now get to get felt up by a robot.

Wooohooo LOL ROTFLMAO

Oh man the world is a funny place.
Who knows, we may have robots for prostate exams, so don't go feeling relieved yet.
Exactly!!!!!

John







Post#483 at 07-10-2005 09:39 AM by antichrist [at I'm in the Big City now, boy! joined Sep 2003 #posts 1,655]
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Hold up now, I'm sitll only thirty four. I have at least a few more years of (imagined) dignity left.

Instead of a rubber glove, they could probably just use Trojan on the thing. Gives a whole new meaning to:

"Those effing machines"







Post#484 at 07-11-2005 06:48 PM by antichrist [at I'm in the Big City now, boy! joined Sep 2003 #posts 1,655]
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And then the anchor lady on news25 can remind everyoboyd on the 19th to call up their "prostate pal" and remind them to self examine.







Post#485 at 07-13-2005 06:53 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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How can you give yourself an exam when you'd be too busy laughing at the prospect? At least I would :lol: Especially if it's on the Evening News.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#486 at 07-13-2005 06:56 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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Hey when do I get my Cherry 2000?
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#487 at 07-18-2005 04:07 AM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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For you older folks.... Where's my Stepford Wife?
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#488 at 07-18-2005 10:14 AM by Croakmore [at The hazardous reefs of Silentium joined Nov 2001 #posts 2,426]
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This thread has gone anal with The Singularity. I'm expecting posts from Lucky Pierre and Ben Dover anytime now.

--Croak







Post#489 at 07-18-2005 04:20 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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" Uh..... huhuhuhuh....You said Anal"
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#490 at 07-18-2005 08:57 PM by Croakmore [at The hazardous reefs of Silentium joined Nov 2001 #posts 2,426]
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Quote Originally Posted by spudzill
" Uh..... huhuhuhuh....You said Anal"
spudsill, that's beautifully generational, as I am supposing you were playing off the Beavis & Butthead isomorph.

--Croakmore







Post#491 at 07-18-2005 08:58 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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Yep! :lol:
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#492 at 07-18-2005 09:01 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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You said Anal and we're discussing a big, black,hole. God, this gets sicker by the minute.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#493 at 07-19-2005 12:29 AM by Tom Mazanec [at NE Ohio 1958 joined Sep 2001 #posts 1,511]
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Please get this thread back on track.







Post#494 at 07-19-2005 12:33 AM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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What's to say? If this singularity exists at some time in the future there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. Either they will wipe out humanity or they won't we won't be able to affect the outcome in any way.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#495 at 07-19-2005 11:37 AM by Croakmore [at The hazardous reefs of Silentium joined Nov 2001 #posts 2,426]
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Back on track:

From my POV as a biologist this Singularity will entail some form of artificial life with an intelligence that is digital, virtual, and non-analogous (i.e., not morphological like a muscle but instead of digital like a gene). AI may even require quantum computers, but it will be digital nevertheless. At lot of fuss is now being made over this so-called "digital biology." Some of DB referes to artistic portrials, but the stuff that interests me is moving toward non-analogous interpretations of life. To me, this suggests that a virtual afterlife will be possible for individual humans, which will reset the calendar as a measure of its magnitude of importance.

It will be hard to suppress the social implications of technological immortality.

I think the Singularity Project is well on its way, but in the direction of this thing called digital biology. Here's a tool kit with which to mess around and go exploring.

I take notice that at lot of what is going on in DB is going on in Germany...Hmmm, are we dabling in "eugenics" again, or is that just an inevitable consequence of DB?

Just in case the notion of digital genes seems strange, consider the fact that a gene is "pure digital information, information that can be encoded, recorded and decoded, without any degradation or change of meaning" (Richard Dawkins). As such, a gene is like a sentence -- literally and linearly arranged words made from digital letters.

--Croakmore







Post#496 at 07-19-2005 04:18 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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Hmmm.. can I do anything about it? The Singularity I mean? And DB is way new so by the time it's available to create immortalty I'll be too old too want it and too poor to afford it.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#497 at 07-19-2005 04:47 PM by Croakmore [at The hazardous reefs of Silentium joined Nov 2001 #posts 2,426]
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Quote Originally Posted by spudzill
Hmmm.. can I do anything about it? The Singularity I mean? And DB is way new so by the time it's available to create immortalty I'll be too old too want it and too poor to afford it.
Well, that's an egocentric attitude for you. Why then even bother with The Future thread?







Post#498 at 07-19-2005 05:06 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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What? Throwing a monkey wrench into the works isn't valid?
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#499 at 07-19-2005 05:06 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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What? Throwing a monkey wrench into the works isn't valid?
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson







Post#500 at 07-19-2005 05:08 PM by spudzill [at murrieta,california joined Mar 2005 #posts 653]
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Besides I'm an Xer. We don't as a rule believe in the future, or at least that it is a romotely good thing. We're Reactives after all.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Hunter S. Thompson
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