Meet the scientific prophets who claim we are on the verge of creating a new type of human – a human v.2.0, in this BBC Horizon documentary. It’s predicted that by 2029 computer intelligence will equal the power of the human brain, a point of convergence referred to as the Singularity. Some believe this will revolutionize humanity – we will be able to download our minds to computers extending our lives indefinitely. Others fear this will lead to oblivion by giving rise to destructive ultra intelligent machines. Segment 1 introduces the Singularity and traces the history of scientific experiments on the capacity and workings of the brain. (47 min)
hmmm… no thanks. I think its our fragility and flaws that make us human. Creating super humans is an oxymoron. Why do so many of us fear mortality? I think this branch of science is completely misguided.
I am once again interested to read the Unabomber’s manifesto… a misunderstood, modern day Jesus.
some people fear mortality, some fear technology, some fear change… it is part of the mystery and diversity of the human experience.
very hal 9000….generally i embrace technology, but i find this concept difficult to come to terms with…part of me wants to go live in a hut on a beach somewhere to escape it, and part of me is curious to see how this all plays out… (although downloading my mind does not appeal, am not sure anyone would want to crawl around in there ;-) ) but, I’ll def pass on the manifesto… i remember reading a few pages long ago…hehe, not my cup of tea. :-)
I have to admit that actually downloading one’s brain does not sound that appealing but uploading information, like in the Matrix, is much more intriguing. I suspect it takes a similar set of technology but I would love to upload the ability to do kung fu, for instance. That would be pretty amazing.
A bit scary, but it may well be the ultimate limit we are pushing in science and humanity. Perhaps it was all meant to be this way, the final realisation of our full potentials with the end point of destroying ourselves so another cycle of humanity (albeit in another form) could begin then.
Yes, perhaps… that is also a pretty zen response. I like that…
There are also other possibilities though. We may co-exist with androids. They may just help us excel without the need to destroy us. Maybe if we move to a stage when we do not need to kill and destroy each other and ourselves, we will finally understand that co-existence is possible. These things have not happened yet so why not envision a positive outcome… :~)
The other possibility which you alluded to is we may integrate with androids and feel perfectly fine in our “new form”.
This is an excerpt from a paper I wrote in college about 4 years ago:
In an effort to connect with each other, humans have been creating radios, televisions, computers, etc. What we don’t even realize is that we just come closer and closer to replicating ourselves, so much so that we are on the verge of developing robot technology, where the computer can process thoughts, and even communicate what it is “feeling”. Like the movie “AI”, all our attempts to create have led to attempts at re-creating ourselves into other bodies, when in theory, we could just recreate the already existing self by realizing that which we long to discover- that we are all ALREADY interconnected.
1. we wish for connectedness as humans
2. we create the internet and radios and televisions to try to connect
3. we end up creating “cyborgs” – machines that imitate ourselves
4. we lose a sense of what it means to be connected as humans on this planet
Perhaps this new era will bring us the realization that we always were connected and like Dorothy, we always “had the power to go home”. Now we can work on using that power and instead of relying on technology, we can develop our OWN brains as a method of connecting with each other and the universe.
Thank you, Monica, for your thoughtful comment. Perhaps we have to go through the process of re-creating ourselves before we rediscover ourselves. And frankly, it is not such a bad process since it offers all sorts of creative efforts for many. Did you check out The Global Brain?