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.

Jet Engine (just a bit smaller)

Scientists are developing ways to have jet turbine engines at the nanolevel. This means an increase in power in all future devices and could just let your iPod battery life last just a bit longer.

http://www.nanotechwire.com/news.asp?nid=3802&ntid=120&pg=1

Natural Language Search, Robotic Exoskeleton

Will PowerSet, a new search engine based on natural-language expressions set to debut later this year, rival Google in the near future? (Read Powerset article here) Will commericially available robotic exoskeletons be available soon? The researchers say they aren't planning on commercial production, but have successfully created a robo-skeleton that test patients learned to used in 30 minutes. (Read Robotic exoskeleton here)
I would sure be interested in my own robo-exoskeleton, and a search engine I could talk to. "Hey, Powerset AI, when did the world begin," and my answer would pop up right on the screen. "Hey, that house needs to be moved." "Don't worry, I can just pick it up and move it with my handy robo-exo-skeleton."
Sounds like fun.

Propelling Us Into The Future

The human mind predicts the future. What is truly fantastic is that no one can ever, logically speaking, be correct in telling someone that something will never be.............. here the thoughts and ideas in the 19th Century are now becoming a reality. The only thing that really ticks me off is that CNN deams this "Offbeat" news when, if you follow the link below this article, we see what is not offbeat.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/02/01/nanomachine.reut/index.html

It is important to know that this video is front page news......WTF.

http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/us/2007/02/05/weaver.soldier.as.knight.kusa&wm=11