Future Transcendence
Depending on what time of day it is, Ray Kurzweil could be one of many things -- inventor (he developed a machine that can scan words and read them aloud); musician (he designed the Kurzweil synthesizer, which has been used by the likes of Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones); clairovoyent (in the early 80's, he prophesized that a computer would defeat a man in Chess). But perhaps the title he is most apt to adopt is that of Futurist.
Futurism is essentially a way of thinking that concerns itself with the world of tomorrow, and how current trends in technology and society will affect it. Most Futurists today focus on technology's exponential growth, speculating that in forty or so years, we'll reach a Singularity, a point in time when machine intelligence is so advanced that it can improve upon itself without any human input, and our conciousness melds and expands with that unfolding technology.
Kurzweil and his Transhumanist beliefs recently premiered during NYC's Tribeca Film Festival in Transcendent Man, a film that focuses just as much on Ray Kurzweil the person as on his beliefs. While Kurzweil is indeed a brilliant man and prolific inventor, the movie still stresses the fact that he is indeed human. The audience leaves with a palpable sense that Kurzweil's predictions are founded more in emotion than anything else, as the popular Futurist still laments the loss of his father (who died when Kurzweil was still a teenager) and fears death as "the end of innovation".
The film shows Kurzweil as a cheerful figure at the forefront of the Transhumanism movement. While faced with the daunting possibilities of AI, Nanotechnology, Brain Augmentation, and even Bioterrorism, Kurzweil remains a smiling beacon of optimism throughout all his prophesizing. He recognizes the pitfalls just as much as he glorifies the potential benefits of a singularity, but argues that man has faced dire threats before, and his compassion and rationality has always made things turn out for the best.
Tweet- 5-8-09
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Am I a robot? What if. . .Tell me, O' Connor!!!
I hate to be the naysayer, and I'm not trying to be here.
The one question I want to pose to the people involved in the idea of technological singularity is this: "Is it possible that the fevered push towards the emergence of AI is really just a sophisticated mask covering up the possibility that we still have not grasped the unthinkable depths within our own, human, psyches?"
I love the idea of technology. I like new gadgets and things that help make life more convenient. The idea of machines that "out-think" us feeble humans is a grand one. But is it one that needs our immediate attention? What if instead of grasping for exponential technological growth and computing capacity, we instead embrace our unknown possibilities as organic beings and structured our pursuits towards discovering what it is that we're capable of given the hardware we already have?
We can't even come close to replicating the nanotech that is Nature, and yet we are thinking that algorithmic computing power will lead us to vistas unimagined - as if we needed them as part of our inherent design.
Are we really just vehicles for the construction of AI, as unfounded theorists such as Terrence McKenna have claimed? Is our sole purpose as humans just to be the harbinger of an elite, technological species that will surpass anything we've ever done, only with none of that intangible "soul" we all so rave about?
While I think AI, transhumanism, etc is actually really fucking cool and not exactly a bad thing, what strikes me is the absolute lack of critical dialogue on the basic philosophical presumptions held by the Singularitarian community, and also the utter lack of outreach this community displays in terms of educating the apathetic masses to the wonders of technology.
Might I recommend Kurzweil taking a break in between his intake of life-extension apparati and give a shout out to KMO over at the C-Realm Podcast?
That seems to be a place Singularitarians fear to tread. . .
don't you hate this guy?
It takes a thief to recognise a thief...
and the same can be said of fascists.
Jarod Lanier is wickedly Luddite, and his West Coast flavor of crunchy-granola utopia shows it.
If anyone can seriously support Jarod Lanier's wisdom after reading both pieces, we should talk.
The Outer Limits
Heart in right place...but
Preaching to the converted here I am sure...but technology as a idea is neither good or bad. It is all about the consciousness that creates and implements it. The Ghost in the Machine, so to speak. In some ways we are not creating enough real cutting edge technology. I see the 20th century as a series of missed opportunities that could have created a truly technological utopia. But pure greed, and domination mindlessness kicked in. Tesla's work, and Henry Ford's car made out of and fueled by hemp are just two creations that would have gone a long way to have prevent the dystopian madness that is around. We have the capabilities to turn this around, but it will only happen when there is a top down and bottom up reawakening. We need a holy marriage of the masculine "Singularity" of one pointed innovative consciousness, with the Feminine qualities of love of the Earth and respect of , the unconscious, and the mystery of life,death and rebirth. We need heart , soul, empathy,compassion, to be programmed into the creation and implementation of what we have and are creating. We need the Goddess to take her place next to the God. I feel that Ray, is coming from a heart place in that he wants to prevent death of his loved ones. But that is the kicker, his fear of death, and denial of it is creating a soulless world. It seams to me he is only focused of the mind as consciousness. But what about the body as consciousness? I agree with ecolocal about the ignorance of males who get lost in the world of computers. I wonder what Kurzweil and his ilk would create if they spent time in the wilderness, worked out,danced, did yoga, listened to the ancient voices of wisdom, lived with people of the earth and connected with shamanistic practices? That would be amazing. The ( cosmic ) joke is if he did all that and if our leaders followed suit we would have more wealth and even greater innovations because we would access all of our god given gifts. It is still not too late for that to happen ...yet.
Otherwise we will continue along the path this new film depicts...
http://www.sleepdealer.com
One last thing...
You cannot trully Tracend what you have not Mastered.
And we have not yet mastered being trully biological human beings...you dig?
The distinction between the
The distinction between the sanctitiy of the carbon atom and the silicon atom is imaginary.
If you want to distinguish between matter-based life and energy-based life great....there is plenty to talk about there.... but matter is matter, no matter how many protons it contains.
Mastery
Embrace the Unknown
Radical new technologies will naturally hold the potential for destruction, but that is no reason to ignore them or supress them... that will just put the flame of possibility in the hands of outlaws, which could be much more dangerous. As Kurzweil advocates, we should have responsible, intelligent, and democratic exploration in these areas to determine the best way to proceed.
We need more light-minded individuals embracing these technologies... it's our best hope for evolving towards the highest octave.
History
Accelerando
The Human Mind -- An Upgrade or Downgrade?
Great postings here....
I have been doing some more thinking about this subject the last couple of days. What becomes clearer for me is "trans-human gadgets"could be useful. The idea of a "Singularity" as presented , is like a body builder only working out the biceps.
We need a full body/mind/spirit/lifeforce/love/compassion upgrade to really take us into the next quaternary leap of human development.