The Singularity: When will it come, and how will the world end before then?

I know it's been three months since we've blogged, but this article(Surviving Immortality: Just getting to the Singularity is the hard part.) inspired me to post. I've been reading lately about the collapse of civilization, but still hold in my head the inevitability of the Singularity. How do these two ideas complement or contradict each other? It's really hard to say. On the one hand, Ray Kurweil essentially says we will leave the natural world altogether as machines(read technology) surpass our human intellect and we merge with this new form of life. But if civilization collapses instead, we will be left with only our knowledge of the earth and what we can share with it(food, grown with our own hands; shelter, created with locally available materials and only our own knowledge of building; clothing, but only that we can make from readily available materials). How can we simultaneously prepare for both scenarios? Or should we more seriously guess that the future holds a road that leads down the middle of both the extreme conclusions of the Singularity and the Collapse of Civilization? At least right now, I am content to dabble in both the world and the technology that takes us from the world.

Game Downloads

here is a great site for game downloads.

http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/

Ray Kurweil Stars In...

Here is the best quote in the article from Peter Diamandis, "The Singularity, for anyone who stops and thinks about it, is completely obvious," he says.

Read the article The smartest (or the nuttiest) futurist on Earth - May 14, 2007

What excited me most was to hear that Ray Kurweil has movie coming out.
He also has a fund you can invest in, FatKat.

Just check it out and read the article!

Teaching Machines Ethics, Finding God, and Mixing Up the Search

Can you believe South Korea is leading the way in ethics for machines. From the NewScientist,

"He-Young adds that the government's guidelines will reflect the "Three Laws of Robotics" put forward by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. These are:
1. A robot may not injure a human or, through inaction, allow a human to come to harm
2. A robot must obey orders given by a human unless these conflict with the first law
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as this does not conflict with the first or second law"

The mere mention of this makes me think of the slippery slope of ethics. Check out the original article.

And how about the "nature of God and a magic box." This article presents some research as to why exactly we "believe", even if we profess to be a "disbeliever." Check it out.

Maybe you think Microsoft can over take Google in search? (Right.) Well, here is there attempt to Mix things up.

Finally, maybe Ray should think twice before he downs 600 pills a day.

The Next Big Thing

I do not think it is a big secret that my brother and I are fond of Google. I like their business model and I also like what they have to offer. Everyone out there, relax, I do not think they are perfect and I do not have a physical shrine (however my homepage is Google with all my widgets, so I guess that is a shrine in a certain rite). But where is the next big thing coming from. How is your life going to chance. There are companies out there that are bringing widgets to your cell phone, tracking amongst your group of friends, a network of individual Wi-fi routers, and a plethora of new social sites more tailored to the individual and individuals that share their view. It is bringing people closer and closer. Take a look at CNN's 25 potential new Googles as the online world continues to explode.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/21/magazines/business2/nextnet_intro.biz2/index.htm

Bring the Singularity Closer- Psychophysical Law

You can help bring forth the singularity. After reading Larry Dossey's book, "The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things," and his chapter on novelty, I realized simply thinking about, meditating on, and promoting the singularity helps bring it closer. Dossey outlines Gustav Fechner's Psychophysical Law, basically that it is hard, if not impossible, to maintain a level of intensity equal to the intensity generated when experiencing something for the first time. Dossey devotes a small section to "The Pleasure of Prejudice", and says "Many radical ideas throughout history have benefited from Fechner's great principle." As such, the more the singularity and Kurzweil's outline and timeline of the coming singularity is promoted and talked about, the closer it comes to reality. The reason being, people's initial skepticism or denial will soften through repeated exposure. I believe you will find this true for yourself, and for others that you talk to the singularity about. Please consider this as you explore the singularity.

The Future of "Moving Pictures"

If you awake at night from dreams of the future 3D technologies we will be able to exploit, your dreams are closer to reality than you may think. Moving pictures, like those of the 1920's, are obviously a thing of the past and could no more hold the attention of most thirteen-year olds than paint drying. Yet, 3D interactivity would bring most of us to a giddy torrent of giggles.
And here is the future before our eyes. (Read the article here.) Researchers are on their way to creating, " a system that provides interaction with 3D images without the need for any additional hardware such as gloves or virtual reality goggles. [!!]" The article is titled, "Moving Pictures," in the sense that you will actually be able to "move" 3D pictures and objects with no more than your bare hands. The applications for this technology seem endless and exciting. The idea also begs the singularity closer, so close we can almost touch it.