human_v2

Not every human would become a robot. Not every robot would have started as a human. This is where homo sapiens branches in the phylogeny of life. Some become robots, some stay human. Those that stay human may eventually evolve into dwarves and night-elves and maybe tauren. Those that turn into robots may want to explore reality like the wanderer in TNG, season 1, episode 7. (that's what i want to do anyway)

Basically, what you're telling me, is that an ape that evolved into a human is no longer an ape. True, but not true. It just so happens that historically, in evolution, changes were subtle. Humans are neat because it will be the first time that a species evolved into something that barely resembles, if at all, the generation of life that spawned them.

I want to create an open source hacker's lab. A place funded on the open-source philosophy (socialism, if you will). If the lab needs some equipment or parts, then someone buys a bunch and lets others use it, or people split the cost or something. Ideally, it would have a chemistry set and a bunch of sensors and electronics. Maybe a CNC machine or particle accelerator =) ... essentially, a mad scientist's lab.

Anyway, let it evolve into a place to do scientific experiments while being able to access the knowledge to understand the experiments. Ultimately, it would become a community powered educational system, able to rival universities in educational quality.

And if it turns out that no one in the area thinks an open-source building is a good idea, then it will rot on sourceforge like so many other projects.

Human intelligence can't exist outside of humans. We have a unique brain structure, allowing us to do what we do. But if we put our brain in a robot, it wouldn't work unless you built the robot in such a way that it believes it is human. Only then can you have an artificial human intelligence. The robot needs to be able to connect with humans on a meaningful level. This would be difficult if everyone just stared at the funny looking robot trying to act human.

I think rather than creating Skynet, we're going to start upgrading our own hardware; adding robots to ourselves until there is no human left. I think with this practice, the new AI would be compassionate towards humans.

Then again I also think about how teenagers hate their parents. Would a super-intelligent being come to loathe their parents (us)? I like to think that a super intelligence would understand that violence doesn't solve anything. But then again, that's why we have Sci-fi -- as a kind of list of things to make sure they don't happen.

Humans are no longer king of the hill. Evolve or perish.

The less of our brain we must use for data storage, the more we can utilize it for problem solving and creative thinking algorithms. What happens when you can instantly know what everyone else know? What will the hive mind be like?

However, it seems that at some point, if you didn't have enough factual knowledge stored in your head, that you could not fully utilize your creative capacity. Creative thoughts, in my opinion, seem to emerge from the application of one fact or memory or learned principle to another, in order to create new ideas. Perhaps there is an optimal balance between recallable data and creativity.

True happiness is akin to achieving enlightenment. It takes years to even realize what happiness actually means, and I guess it's something different for every person. Then you have to care enough to pursue your definition of happiness, which includes overcoming a lot of fears.

The flow chart is pretty spot on though. I think it's sort of implied that 'change something' starts the cycle over again.

If my site turns out successful, I fully intend on purchasing this facility. If you still want to go halvsies at that point, we can talk about it =)

I know Slashdot used to use it, and I don't see why they'd change. Although they did re-template their site not long ago, I can't imagine they'd give up perl after using it for so long.

I'm so glad! I've been waiting to get AdBlock Plus and Developer Tools for Chrome forever. Chrome is a pretty quick browser. It's like FF when it first came out but with some Opera mixed in - most notably the page previews that show up in blank tabs. I just hope Google doesn't let Chrome go the way of FF and get fat and useless.

"Take some time and reflect on all the things that had to go right to get you where you are today."

Technology seems to be a natural result of evolution. So if you reflect on this statement, you can see that all of humanity is standing on the shoulders of the giant that is mother nature and billions of years of evolution.

Of course our technology does wonderful, even magical things. We've been working up to it for quite some time.

Free lectures are great. I think all information should be free and open. Universities think it's a great idea now, but when people start using their online lectures for learning instead of attending classes and paying tuition, that piece of paper they give you will become less and less valuable in the business world, lowering demand for university training.

genetic engineering will be old hat soon. Our kids will be writing 'Hello World' in DNA++. As for creating pain-free livestock to eat? Why not go one step further and create livestock without any awareness at all? Better yet, just add engineered nanobots to a nutrient solution to create the perfect steak? Livestock would be obsolete. Future generations will think us barbaric for killing other sentient life.

I think you're close, but not quite there yet. "We" (or 'you' and 'I') exist as thoughts in our own head. Not only do we have analog bodies that are trapped in the digital world, we are voices trapped in the outdated hardware of our bodies. When can I get a full body transplant?

We're approaching the point where the amount of time between one person knowing something and everyone knowing it is approaching zero. What do you think it'd be like to exist as part of a collective consciousness like that? When do I get my bio-port ??

The external plot was people accosting Max for the number in his head. The internal plot, I interpreted, was that when Max stared into the sun as a little boy, it merged his left and right brain functionality. When he took a drill to that growth on the side of his head, he was breaking that connection.

I think that's the ultimate goal when dealing with yourself: creating peace between both halves of your brain. Max found enlightenment by staring into the sun, and wasn't ready for the power it wields, and went crazy.