The long term future may be absurd and difficult to predict in particulars, but much can happen in the short term. Engineering itself is the practice of focused short term prediction; optimizing some small subset of future pattern-space for fun and profit. Let us then engage in a bit of speculative engineering and consider a potential [...]
Archive for the ‘Singularity’ Category
Fast Minds and Slow Computers
Posted in AI, Brain, Futurology, Singularity on February 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Spatial Arrangements of Dead Trees, Irrational Expectations, and the Singularity
Posted in Economics, Singularity on January 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In the 19th century it was railroads, in the 1920′s it was the automobile, and more recently computerization and the internet have driven huge inflationary growth booms. But in a world where the money supply is largely fixed and stable, inflationary growths are naturally limited and expected to be followed by recessionary contractions. Unfortunately people [...]
Building the Brain
Posted in Singularity, Technology on June 28, 2010 | 1 Comment »
A question of hardware capability? When can we expect the Singularity? What kind of hardware would be required for an artificial cortex? How far out into the future of Moore’s Law is such technology? The startling answer is that the artificial cortex, and thus the transition to a profoundly new historical era, is potentially much [...]
Conversing with the Quick and the Dead
Posted in Singularity, Technology on October 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
CUI: The Conversational User Interface Recently I was listening to an excellent interview (which is about an hour long) with John Smart of Acceleration Watch, where he specifically was elucidating his ideas on the immediate future evolution of AI, which he encapsulates in what he calls the Conversational Interface. In a nutshell, its the idea [...]
Singularity Summit 09
Posted in Singularity on October 21, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The Singularity Summit was held a couple of weeks ago in NYC. I unfortunately didn’t physically attend, but I just read through Anders Sandberg’s good overview here. I was at last year’s summit and quite enjoyed it and it looks like this year’s was even better, which makes me a little sad I didn’t find [...]
Countdown to Singularity
Posted in Eschatology, Singularity on July 25, 2009 | 3 Comments »
What is the Singularity? The word conjures up vivid images: black holes devouring matter and tearing through the space-time fabric, impossible and undefinable mathematic entities, and white robed scientists nashing their teeth. In recent times it has taken on a new meaning in some circles as the end of the world, a sort of Rapture [...]
