MetaFilter posts tagged with singularity

"The constant undertone of the singing formed the theme that bound her mind together, no matter how many different things she might do at one time."

MikeHarris — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:18:49 -0800

"The Gentle Seduction," by Marc Stiegler. A non-techie lives before, through, and after the Singularity. (via Reddit) One of the best stories I've ever read.

transcendental numbers rumble in the technium

kliuless — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:00:48 -0800

Extropy
How did life arise? What is information? In his recent dispatches from The Technium, Kevin Kelly would say extropy (cf. negentropy & Prigogine). [previously 1|2]

Books have the same enemies as people: fire, humidity, animals, weather, big business and their own content.

bigmusic — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:27:19 -0800

Build a DIY non destructive book scanner for under $300. An open source OCR package. A gratis ebook creation tool. An open source ebook library management tool and reader. An open-source Linux distribution for eink-based devices. And many, many ebook readers.

Consider my opinion changed.

fantabulous timewaster — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:58:48 -0800

Overcoming Bias [via]

Slipping towards the Singularity

adrianhon — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:54:37 -0800

The current issue of IEEE Spectrum devotes itself to the sci-fi genre du jour, the Singularity. Neuroscientists such as Christof Koch and David Alder talk about our understanding of the brain and quantum computing, John Horgan argues that it's just too difficult to recreate consciousness in a computer any time soon. Robin Hanson writes on the Economics of the Singularity, and of course, Vernor Vinge - the person who originally postulated the Singularity - tells us how to spot its approach. You can also download a poster (PDF) showing who's who in Singularityland, and there are some interesting further papers and resources provided as well. The Singularity has been covered on Mefi before (1, 2).

End-of-the-world Filter

Kronos_to_Earth — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:14:00 -0800

Larry Niven warned everyone about it. MetaFilter, too: Try to escape. Quantum black holes is dangerous.

Singularity

MetaMonkey — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:35:05 -0800

The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence has put up a some interesting media, including a variety of talks from the Singularity Summit 2006 and 2007, about the possibilites and progress of technological development. For an overview of the issues Ray Kurzweil talks about the ideas and promises of the singularity, while Douglas Hofstadter calls for deeper exploration of the implications and hazards of coming technology.

AI - sooner rather than later?

Sparx — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:32:28 -0800

Dr. Ben Goertzel is an interesting guy. Having previously tried to create an AI based on internet distribution he refined his approach. High level elaborations on his developing thinking here, here and here (arranged chronologically). He gave a talk to Google about it recently (video) (related text), while mentioning why he thought Google isn't in the AI business. Here's a (low quality, sorry) vid of his system's virtual learning in action. Research finances were always a problem - could this be a solution?

Cyberspace, the Singularity, Belief Circles, oh my!

adrianhon — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:01:43 -0800

Vernor Vinge: Mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction visionary worthy of Arthur C Clarke's mantle, Vinge is most famous for popularising the idea of the singularity, where technology advances so quickly that humans cannot participate, but he's also credited with writing one of the first stories about cyberspace, True Names, back in 1981. More recently, he's been exploring how augmented reality and belief circles will change the way we live in his latest novel Rainbows End - which he put online, completely for free.

Old people neglecting to die

daHIFI — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 09:11:25 -0800

The Coming Death Shortage We've talked about Aubrey De Grey and gerontology before, but what about the Anna Nicole Smith syndrome and compound interest? This piece from the Atlantic online brings up a scenario that that we may well have to deal with as the maximum possible age increases. Generational warfare, government subsidized longevity treatments ,30 year old adolescence and bio-engineered nations are just some of the things we will live to see if this forecast is accurate. (via Plastic)

Grey Vs. Blue? What Kind of Goo Are You?

Freen — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 13:33:17 -0800

Grey Goo? The maximum rate of global ecophagy by biovorous self-replicating nanorobots is fundamentally restricted by the replicative strategy employed...

singularity gets just slightly closer

jeffburdges — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 03:52:06 -0800

Italian & German researchers have created a "neuro-chip" for linking computers with mammalian neurons (A NewScientist, LiveScience, MSN). They added neuron gluing proteins to the chip to attract the sodium pores, and genetically modified the neurons to add more sodium pores.

In the short term, the work is expected to aid the pharmaceutical industry in testing the effects of drugs on neurons, assist basic research into the workings of the brain, and perhaps help treat neurological disorders. In the long term, numerous sci-fi technologies are slightly closers, such as computers with living components, useful brain implants, and Beowulf clusters of humans.

The Simulacrisation of Technology into Life

0bvious — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 20:09:26 -0800

As the Pentagon ousts plans to turn insects into cyber war machines you'd be forgiven for asking the question: Where does the real digital end and the faked life begin? Are we simulating life synthetically? or just speeding up an entirely natural process? Technologically engineered life is here to stay. Its not far fetched to speculate that simulacra may become all there is.

Gaze into my crystal ball...

daHIFI — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 09:33:45 -0800

BT Technology Timeline 2006-2051 It's interesting to see a major company such as BT set a timeline such as this, especially as they say thier 1990 timeline has had around 80% accuracy. They predict a supercomputer as powerful as the human mind in 2006, self aware computers that pass the turing test by 2020, and the rise of a global computer dictator by and artificial brain around 2040. After that its hard to predict, you know with the singularity coming and all... Some of the interesting things they predict: genetically engineered teddy bears; androids form 10% of the population around 2015; the Matrix is created, 2030; thought recognition as input device by 2014; the list goes on and on. Discuss. [via]

Quantum Leap

sourbrew — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:06:05 -0800

Mass Producible Quantum Computer - Christopher Monroe has produced the first quantum computer capable of being scaled to a production model at the Trapped Ion Quantum Computing facility at the University of Michigan. (via)

The concept of the Transhuman: human, the self, consciousness and their effects on the law

0bvious — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:43:01 -0800

The first Transhuman Conference On the Law of Transhuman Persons: Whether or not you believe humans are set to evolve into gods, or AI is destined to achieve self-awareness the idea of the Transhuman is a thought provoking concept. Philosophers have debated the nature of the self, of the human for millennia. Is it time to start drafting new laws to govern all possible sentient beings on this planet? or is it all just a science of fiction? a comfortable humanist illusion?

Wash. Monthly: Singularity, Free Will, etc. It's a short article.

Tlogmer — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:26:28 -0800

So. What will happen when our computers get good enough

One for the Copper Tops.

seanyboy — Wed, 29 Sep 2004 05:16:44 -0800

Singularity, The. A black hole in the Extropian worldview whose gravity is so intense that no light can be shed on what lies beyond it. "Popular Science" talks about The Singularity, and asks "Is Science Fiction about to go blind?" Also, see previously, here and here.

singularity

Ty Webb — Thu, 10 Jul 2003 13:03:40 -0800

What Happens When Technology Zooms Off the Chart? (pdf) Singularity is the subject of the Spring 2003 issue of Whole Earth magazine.