Why hasn't the Singularity gone mainstream (yet?) (power, iPhone, advance)

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Josseppie

We are moving closer to merging with the tech as I have been posting about for the past 5 years.


Forget Google Glass and that Fitbit you used to wear; the ultimate in wearable computing isn't worn on your body, but embedded within it. With chips physically inserted into your body either attached to nerves or placed into muscles or skin, a new form of synergy between human and computer can occur.

The link: Injected electronics: The next wave of wearable tech? | TechRadar

Good lord, it's a hypochondriac's wet dream!

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by Woof

Good lord, it's a hypochondriac's wet dream!

I am a hypochondriac lol

It's surreal too see the advancements we have seen in the past 5 years when I started studying this topic. Honestly I'm glad I was born when I was and lived my youth before I knew what the singularity was as it allowed me the best of both worlds. A youth in more simple times yet young enough to see the changes we are seeing and will see in the next 15 years. Why I dont stay mad at anything. I mean in 100 years post singularity will I really care? I don't think so.

[Miker2069]

While technology is advancing very fast, it's no where near fast enough to come close to the interconnects in the human mind. The human brain has hundreds of billions of connections. Every single computer, router, and network switch in the world combined, still can't come close to the connections in the mind.

So I think this tech over-taking us in the near future is a bit far-fetched.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by Miker2069

While technology is advancing very fast, it's no where near fast enough to come close to the interconnects in the human mind. The human brain has hundreds of billions of connections. Every single computer, router, and network switch in the world combined, still can't come close to the connections in the mind.

So I think this tech over-taking us in the near future is a bit far-fetched.

We have already simulated the brain of a mouse right on track to simulate the brain of a human around 2020.

[Josseppie]

Another big step as we head to the singularity where we can merge with the tech.


Huge Milestone Crossed: First Person to Feel Physical Sensations Through a Prosthetic Hand

Read more at: Huge Milestone Crossed: First Person to Feel Physical Sensations Through a Prosthetic Hand

[Josseppie]

The next paradigm is here.


Researchers at the University of Cambridge have created a new type of microchip that allows information to move in three dimensions, left to right, back to front and up and down.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have created, for the first time, a new type of microchip which allows information to travel in three dimensions. Currently, microchips can only pass digital information in a very limited way – from either left to right or front to back. The research was published today, 31 January, in Nature.

The link: 3D Microchip Allows Information to Travel in Three Dimensions

[Josseppie]

There are the seven technologies they talk about. I am on board with age reversal, artificial intelligence, Transhumanism, wearable and implants, and 3D printing as they should change the way we live a lot in the next 15 years.




1. Age Reversal

We will see the emergence of true biological age reversal by 2025.

2. Artificial General Intelligence

The robots are coming and they are going to eat your job for lunch. Worldwide shipments of multipurpose industrial robots are forecast to exceed 207,000 units in 2015, and this is just the beginning. Robots like Care-o-bot 4 and Softbank’s Pepper may be in homes, offices and hotels within the next year. These robots will be our personal servants, assistants and caretakers.

3. Vertical Pink Farms

We are entering the techno-agricultural era. Agricultural science is changing the way we harvest our food. Robots and automation are going to play a decisive role in the way we hunt and gather. The most important and disruptive idea is what I call “Vertical PinkFarms” and it is set to decentralise the food industry forever.

4. Transhumanism

By 2035, even if a majority of humans do not self-identify as Transhuman, technically they will be. If we define any bio-upgrade or human enhancement as Transhumanism, then the numbers are already quite high and growing exponentially. According to a UN Telecom Agency report, around 6 billion people have cell phones. This demonstrates the ubiquitous nature of technology that we keep on or around our body.

5. Wearables and Implantables

Smartphones will fade into digital history as the high-resolution smart contact lens and corresponding in-ear audio plugs communicate with our wearable computers or “smart suits.” The digital world will be displayed directly on our eye in stunning interactive augmented beauty. The Ghent University’s Centre of Microsystems Technology in Belgium has recently developed a spherical curved LCD display that can be embedded in contact lenses. This enables the entire lens to display information.

6. Atmospheric Water Harvesting

California and parts of the south-west in the US are currently experiencing an unprecedented drought. If this drought continues, the global agricultural system could become unstable.

7. 3D Printing

Today we already have 3D printers that can print clothing, circuit boards, furniture, homes and chocolate. A company called BigRep has created a 3D printer called the BigRep ONE.2 that enables designers to create entire tables, chairs or coffee tables in one print.

The link: Seven Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World Forever

[ElectronicOverlord]

I think some of the claims about exponential growth are unfounded, or at least lack precision.

If we didn't know any better, we could say that bacteria in a Petri dish grows exponentially. But the whole truth is - it grows exponentially until it doesn't. When all conditions for exponential growth are present, that's what happens, but at some point, there's a limiting factor, which leads to a halt or even a decline.

I don't think technology "magically" progresses at an exponential rate. There's a complex web of circumstances that permit exponential growth, and without a full understanding of the underlying circumstances, all we can do is look at data points, notice exponential growth, and then maybe be shocked when suddenly it isn't exponential anymore.

That said, maybe we won't hit any unforeseen limits any time soon, so the advances that people are imagining may indeed come to pass in a short timeframe. The point is that I just wanted to say "hold on, there's no guarantee of exponential growth."

Also, I don't think it's impossible for computers to have capabilities on par with humans, but there is a large caveat: the digital methods used by computer are much more energy intensive than the biochemical methods of the brain (hence there isn't a powerful cooling fan inside our skull). Things that may be possible with AI in theory could be prohibitively expensive to put into practice. I suppose "post-scarcity" that wouldn't be an issue, but I have large doubts about the possibility of post-scarcity - our universe is a universe of limits, from what I can tell, and humans are always happy to profit from this.

[Josseppie]

Originally Posted by ElectronicOverlord

I think some of the claims about exponential growth are unfounded, or at least lack precision.

If we didn't know any better, we could say that bacteria in a Petri dish grows exponentially. But the whole truth is - it grows exponentially until it doesn't. When all conditions for exponential growth are present, that's what happens, but at some point, there's a limiting factor, which leads to a halt or even a decline.

I don't think technology "magically" progresses at an exponential rate. There's a complex web of circumstances that permit exponential growth, and without a full understanding of the underlying circumstances, all we can do is look at data points, notice exponential growth, and then maybe be shocked when suddenly it isn't exponential anymore.

That said, maybe we won't hit any unforeseen limits any time soon, so the advances that people are imagining may indeed come to pass in a short timeframe. The point is that I just wanted to say "hold on, there's no guarantee of exponential growth."

Also, I don't think it's impossible for computers to have capabilities on par with humans, but there is a large caveat: the digital methods used by computer are much more energy intensive than the biochemical methods of the brain (hence there isn't a powerful cooling fan inside our skull). Things that may be possible with AI in theory could be prohibitively expensive to put into practice. I suppose "post-scarcity" that wouldn't be an issue, but I have large doubts about the possibility of post-scarcity - our universe is a universe of limits, from what I can tell, and humans are always happy to profit from this.

It only applies to information technology and it advances in a series of S curves so when one technology slows down we move to the next one. For example currently we are leaving the integrated circuit and going to the next paradigm 3D chips. At some point will it slow down? Possibly but not till long after the technological singularity.

[Josseppie]

This is a big reason I want to be transhuman ASAP!

Futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil predicts humans are going to develop emotions and characteristics of higher complexity as a result of connecting their brains to computers.

“We’re going to be funnier. We’re going to be sexier. We’re going to be better at expressing loving sentiment,” Kurzweil said at a recent discussion at Singularity University. He is involved in developing artificial intelligence as a director of engineering at Google but was not speaking on behalf of the company.

Kurzweil predicts that in the 2030s, human brains will be able to connect to the cloud, allowing us to send emails and photos directly to the brain and to back up our thoughts and memories. This will be possible, he says, via nanobots -- tiny robots from DNA strands -- swimming around in the capillaries of our brain. He sees the extension of our brain into predominantly nonbiological thinking as the next step in the evolution of humans -- just as learning to use tools was for our ancestors.

The link: Ray Kurzweil: In The 2030s, Nanobots In Our Brains Will Make Us 'Godlike'