Dechristo Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Paraphrase of a dust jacket: At the onset of the twenty-first century, humanity stands on the verge of the most transforming and thrilling period in its history. It will be an era in which the very nature of what it means to be human will be both enriched and challenged, as our species breaks the shackles of its genetic legacy and achieves inconceivable heights of intelligence, material progress, and longevity. The argument has been made that with the ever-accelerating rate of technological change, computers will rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. The next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our own creations. That merging is the essence of the Singularity, an era in which our intelligence will become increasingly non-biological and trillions of times more powerful than it is today - the dawning of a new civilization that will enable us to transcend our biological limitations and amplify our creativity. In this new world, there will be no clear distinction between human and machine, real reality and virtual reality. We will be able to assume different bodies and take on a range of personae at will. In practical terms, human aging and illness will be reversed; pollution will be stopped; world hunger and poverty will be solved. Nano-technology will make it possible to create virtually any physical product using inexpensive information processes and will ultimately turn even death into a soluble problem. While the social and philosophical ramifications of these changes will be profound, and the threats they pose considerable, maintained is a radically optomistic view of the future course of human development. As such, it is a view of the coming age that is both a dramatic culmination of centuries of technological ingenuity and a genuinely inspiring vision of our ultimate destiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotzen Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Shit. World hunger and poverty will NEVER be solved. As long as there is greed and pride; in other words, as long as there are humans. Besides which, as long as there are climbers, and the latest climbing gadgets to buy, there will be poverty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selkirk Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 as long as there are climbs there will be dirtbags! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotzen Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 What he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squid Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 people are assholes. In the future, people will be mecha-godzilla super-enhanced assholes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TREETOAD Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 All this is fine as long as in the future we don't need to breath or drink water because there isn't going to be any!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 It's not a singularity, it's an asymptote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weekend_Climberz Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 If we don't get wiped out by an asteroid or comet first. I think that is a litte more likely than melding human and machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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