Yesterday I came across a newly-published 4-minute sci-fi comedy short about a self-aware computer.
It got me curious about subjects like transhumanism (technologically-aided evolution beyond physical and mental limitations) and the singularity (the hypothetical moment in time when AI will surpass human intelligence).
There have been some intriguing developments recently, perhaps most notably Google's $500M acquisition of the British AI start-up DeepMind in 2014, which aims to solve general intelligence (and to utilize this knowledge to solve everything else).
And just 3 days ago PBS aired a short video of Ray Kurzweil pledging that we will likely conquer death in the next 20 years.
I'll be surveying these subjects in the days ahead, beginning with Kurtzwiel's book, The Singularity is Near. I'd welcome any suggestions for related literature or film - speculative fiction and non-fiction alike.
I'd like to explore questions such as,
- What visions of the world, both utopian and dystopian, have been proposed for life after the singularity?
- What existing technological achievements are already blurring the line between man and machine?
- And what are the philosophical, moral, and ethical implications of machine consciousness and eternal (but artificial) life?
I'm going to start with this
engaging 2-part article from waithbutwhy.com.