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Futurist Ray Kurzweil & Preventing Death By Aging
wired.com — WIRED MAGAZINE: 16.04 Med-Tech : Drugs Futurist Ray Kurzweil Pulls Out All the Stops (and Pills) to Live to Witness the Singularity
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- mwaser, on 03/27/2008, -6/+3Aubrey de Grey has another disciple!
- malex, on 03/27/2008, -0/+10Unless I'm mistaken, de Grey is a long term disciple of Kurzweil. He's listed as an advisor of Kurzweil's Singularity Institute.
- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -7/+32The singularity is near.
- DrDragun, on 03/27/2008, -14/+6We cannot even make a computer drive a car offroad effectively, let alone program creativity or higher cognition. We are several generations from a singularity, if one will ever happen.
- johnroth, on 03/27/2008, -3/+5I could be wrong but I think the whole point of the singularity is that a lot of insane ***** will suddenly happen all at once. So even though we don't have those things now the idea of the singularity is that many technologies will emerge that will work together to bring about all the things you just suggested very quickly.
- techweenie1, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Agreed, the article highlighted on there being a slow growth cycle that ultimately leads up to a rapid exponential growth.
- CrackyJSquirrel, on 03/27/2008, -2/+3WE sure can. Research is your friend. There is a huge contest that takes place where teams build cars that can steer and drive themselves in an off road environment. As well, check out the Boston labs big dog project, that is a very nimble machine that can conquer many types of terrain. We are definitely far from super intelligent machines that can think on their own, but mobility is checked off the list for sure.
- DrDragun, on 03/27/2008, -5/+1Right and no one has ever finished the challenge by DARPA. That is exactly the contest I was referring to.
- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3DARPA Grang Challenge.
- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3*Grand
- stateofmind, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1I wonder if the latest BigDog is invited to that challenge? He may not be as fast as the others, but would most likely finish it.
- johnroth, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Oh he'll complete it... eventually. Wait, no he won't. His poor battery will run out.
- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -0/+8Incorrect DrDragun, in 2005 five vehicles successfully completed the off road challenge. And in 2007 six vehicles successfully completed the Urban challenge.
- DrDragun, on 03/27/2008, -4/+12Nope a singularity is when we finally build a computer smarter than ourselves. Since this computer is smarter than us, it can build a computer smarter than the one we built (aka itself). Thus begins an exponential takeoff point in technology beyond our imagination.
Whether or not we could program this event to be to our benefit or demise is pure theory.- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4That's the definition of the technological singularity. There are others who speculate that the singularity is an event that will encompass much more that technological advancement. A broader definition of the singularity would be a point in the future where the development of human society, culture, biology etc. accelerates at a rate where it becomes impossible to predict the future with any accuracy.
- KingMoses, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I prefer the definition as laid out by Frank J. Tipler in "The Physics of Immortality" where the entire universe, space and time collapse to a single point, dubbed the Omega Point, and the entire history of the universe is all happening at once within it, and all life and consciousness are compressed into one. I think that's a pretty groovy singularity.
- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4That's the definition of the technological singularity. There are others who speculate that the singularity is an event that will encompass much more that technological advancement. A broader definition of the singularity would be a point in the future where the development of human society, culture, biology etc. accelerates at a rate where it becomes impossible to predict the future with any accuracy.
- MemeWarrior, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1When one looks the the entire scope of the history of human innovation a few generations is such a small amount of time. Once more, the singularity will in all probability propel technology to levels that will make our current rate of advancement look like we're standing still.
- johnroth, on 03/27/2008, -3/+5I could be wrong but I think the whole point of the singularity is that a lot of insane ***** will suddenly happen all at once. So even though we don't have those things now the idea of the singularity is that many technologies will emerge that will work together to bring about all the things you just suggested very quickly.
- dncarlson, on 03/27/2008, -0/+5Mind-blowing book, by the way. I recommend anyone and everyone interested in the future read it. Ray is a bit of an optimist, but his (extensive) collection of data pointing towards ~2045 would do the same for most people.
- one1plus1one, on 03/27/2008, -0/+7Actually, I think Kurzweil's book "The Age of Spiritual Machines" is a much easier and more accessible read about the Singularity and how it might transform society.
(For those who are not familiar with the idea of the "Singularity" then I would recommend you read that book first.)
IIn my opinion "The Age of Spiritual Machines" is destined to live on in literary history as a historic text, that symbolizes hyper-post-modernism philosophy and ideas. - sailadayaway, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html
Comment jack, but a very necessary short story.
- DrDragun, on 03/27/2008, -14/+6We cannot even make a computer drive a car offroad effectively, let alone program creativity or higher cognition. We are several generations from a singularity, if one will ever happen.
- AppleGeorge, on 03/27/2008, -15/+18I can't wait to see the Digg headline about Ray Kurzweil Found Dead.
- stateofmind, on 03/27/2008, -2/+6It would probably be from a massive overdose from all the gel coatings of those vitamin capsules.
- popfrogs, on 03/27/2008, -3/+4Yeah him and that whole pill thing makes me think he's some kinda tinfoil-hat wearing nutjob. Seriously Ray, living that long will suck no matter how many hundreds of vitamins you take.
- one1plus1one, on 03/27/2008, -0/+10I hope he doesn't die!
Kurzweil is a personal hero of mine.
Everyone needs their heros. People look up to sports stars and musicians.
My hero is Kurzweil.
But I don't "idolize" or "worship" the guy. Rather, I was just struck by his ideas in a way I've never been impacted by philosophy before.
Even if Kurzweil's ideas turn out not to be true, they are simply amazing to contemplate. They stimulate the imagination with wonder.
(And of course on an emotional level I hope it turns out to be true.)- jonnyeh, on 03/28/2008, -1/+1Sounds like a science fiction writer, and judging by the article, not much of a scientist.
- lukeev, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1He's not a scientist.
- jonnyeh, on 03/28/2008, -1/+1Sounds like a science fiction writer, and judging by the article, not much of a scientist.
- biriba, on 03/27/2008, -2/+2He may not live forever, but I'd say he's pretty likely to outlive Digg.
- HastyBoom, on 03/28/2008, -0/+3"I can't wait to see the Digg headline about Ray Kurzweil Found Dead."
wtf - neodorian, on 03/28/2008, -2/+1Ray Kurzweil dead today at the senseless age of 83...
- stateofmind, on 03/27/2008, -2/+6It would probably be from a massive overdose from all the gel coatings of those vitamin capsules.
- dabeezkneez, on 03/27/2008, -15/+2Fail
- AndrewLeon, on 03/27/2008, -3/+11Step1. Live Forever
Step2. ?
Step3. ?- jesuswuzanalien, on 03/27/2008, -12/+6Step 2. Kill you
Step 3. ***** on your grave- mali1, on 03/27/2008, -4/+3I don't know why but I laughed.
- Pulch, on 03/27/2008, -1/+8I don't know why you laughed either.
- mali1, on 03/27/2008, -4/+3I don't know why but I laughed.
- IncogMosqui, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Step 2, join a firefly crew and pose as a Shephard.
Step 3, get killed by an operative.- IglooBurner, on 03/28/2008, -1/+0Aren't anyone at least a little bit curious to see what happen after you die?
- ComradeGoby, on 03/28/2008, -1/+3I sure is.
- ComradeGoby, on 03/28/2008, -1/+3I sure is.
- IglooBurner, on 03/28/2008, -1/+0Aren't anyone at least a little bit curious to see what happen after you die?
- fatTJ, on 03/28/2008, -1/+2Step 4. Profit?
- RickyBarnes1960, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2There is no step 2 or 3. Step one is all-inclusive ... IF you take the "live" part seriously. If you are truly living, truly making use of the time you DO have, why does there have to be some different standard for the time you MIGHT have? Maximize the quality of your life now. If you happen to have "forever" to live, maximize the quality of that too. Infinite life requires no different approach than does finite life.
- budser, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Well, according to William Shatner, here are the next steps:
"Space - the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before."
BTW, I'm pretty sure he's talking about butt sex.
- jesuswuzanalien, on 03/27/2008, -12/+6Step 2. Kill you
- Shamanusa, on 03/27/2008, -0/+32"He takes 180 to 210 vitamin and mineral supplements a day"
Is that really the way to optimal health? It's so excessive it could be unhealthy.- Justice101, on 03/27/2008, -0/+11Not if he combines them into...ONE GIANT PILL! ; )
- blate, on 03/27/2008, -0/+6Someone should tell Ray Kurzweil about multivitamin pills
- matriculated, on 03/27/2008, -1/+2Or just eating the right kinds of foods.
- azurechaos, on 03/27/2008, -3/+11Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't taking hundreds of daily supplements incredibly stressing on your kidneys?
- MacEnvy, on 03/27/2008, -2/+12I'm sure he's done his research on drug interactions. He's Ray ***** Kurzweil, after all.
- stateofmind, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I'm in no way putting myself above Mr. Kurzweil. But all those different vitamins and minerals is a lot on the bodies natural balance. For instance you take to many B vitamins, and you need to offset that with the appropriate amount of minerals.. say like the correct ratio of calcium and magnesium. And these ratios and such, are based off what little knowledge we have of these systems.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3That's the difficult thing about what he's doing. He wants the natural balance to be thrown out of whack, but in a way beneficial to longevity. That said, personally I think he's chasing a little too strongly after models of aging that haven't held up very well in the lab. And, as you note, it's not very well studied. There's a whole lot of reasons besides personal danger to not experiment on oneself. Caloric restriction isn't fun, but it should be at the top of the lifestyle lists for anyone who's as determined to make it as Kurzweil is.
- KaiSe7eN, on 03/27/2008, -5/+2ZOmG ITS OVER 9000!!!!!
- mattwalton56, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3...no it's not
- one1plus1one, on 03/27/2008, -0/+7I'm taking 180 to 210 Vitamin-A pills per day.
I haven't been feeling so well lately... my brain and liver and kidney seems to be shutting down as I type this.a akfja;f aklfjafl;ja;fj ---------------- stateofmind, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Oh easy fix! /sarcasm Just add the equiz. of Vitamin E, oh wait then you need to add the minerals Magnesium and Calcium to counter that imbalance, and then add... oh *****.. just forget it.
- MyMagma, on 03/27/2008, -2/+6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singula ... - bigd063, on 03/27/2008, -0/+8I WANT TO BELIEVE
- stateofmind, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1I wonder what his thoughts are on nootropics.
- razorsharpwit, on 03/27/2008, -2/+28"When I say I want to live forever I don't mean through my movies. I mean I actually want to live forever"
-Woody Allen- LLLSecretChimp, on 03/27/2008, -0/+13Actual quote: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."
Here's the web page w/ the quote, plus a video of Rick Astley singing "Never Gonna Give You Up":
http://www.wisdomquotes.com/001043.html
- LLLSecretChimp, on 03/27/2008, -0/+13Actual quote: "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying."
- serif69, on 03/27/2008, -11/+3Where can I sign up to become a futurist? I want to get paid to predict things that people will laugh about when the time comes for my predictions to come true.
- LLLSecretChimp, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1You won't be able to sign up until tomorrow.
- itsthebrod, on 03/27/2008, -16/+5So basically, the guy is nuts.
- mali1, on 03/27/2008, -1/+3Depending on how you look at it, some would say that he is a visionary.
- AManWithNoName, on 03/27/2008, -5/+11I'll laugh when he OD's.
- Thinkpol, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2Why would you do that?
- WhatInThe42o, on 03/27/2008, -12/+1FTA: Kurzweil's notion of a singularity is taken from cosmology, in which it signifies a border in spacetime beyond which normal rules of measurement do not apply (the edge of a black hole, for example).
That's not a singularity, that's an event horizon. With a mistake that profound in the beginning of the article, I simply couldn't keep reading it. Buried.- Xel565, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2try again
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_singula ...- WhatInThe42o, on 03/27/2008, -3/+1I'm not immune to making mistakes, but I'll never accept a Wikipedia article as proof that I'm wrong. Give me five minutes, and I'll link back to the same article, 'proving' I'm right.
- Azerael, on 03/28/2008, -1/+1Whoosh.
- WhatInThe42o, on 03/27/2008, -3/+1I'm not immune to making mistakes, but I'll never accept a Wikipedia article as proof that I'm wrong. Give me five minutes, and I'll link back to the same article, 'proving' I'm right.
- dlowder, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2WhatInThe42o: I think Kurzweil is actually talking about the mathematical concept of a singularity, which just means a place where a function exhibits extreme behavior. His idea arises because simple extrapolation of some current trends over time, like the pace of technological change, appear to be leading towards a point where the extrapolations break down (e.g. blow up to infinity).
I agree that it is often better to take a look at the original works of someone like Kurzweil, rather than just look at a magazine article that tries to sum things up in a very short space and either leaves out essential details or gets things wrong. - crodragn, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1No, the event horizon is the point at which gravational acceleration is higher than the speed of light, meaning nothing inside can escape (ignoring Hawking's black hole evaporation stuff for the moment). The regular rules of physics still apply until you get to the singularity itself, which is where General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics meet and essentially explode, resulting in meaningless results which is a good sign that we don't have any idea what occurs there.
- WhatInThe42o, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2dlowder and crodragn; I concede the point. I've never considered the singularity of a black hole as being something which can be defined as a 'border,' since there is nothing on the other side of it. The only mathematical 'border' in a black hole is the event horizon. However, the two of you do a sufficiently good job of elucidating the point to show me where I made *my* mistake. The mistake made by the article would be using a black hole as the example; they should have picked a more appropriate one, imho.
- Xel565, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2try again
- HouseofEl, on 03/27/2008, -5/+9I think Queen said it best. "Who wants to live forever?"
- kingcam, on 03/27/2008, -0/+10Ray Kurzweil. And myself of course, who is with me?
- zman14321, on 03/28/2008, -0/+3I am.
- RickyBarnes1960, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1The answer to "who wants to live forever" is the same for "who wants to live now". If you genuinely appreciate the fact you are living, it would follow you will genuinely appreciate the fact your are living regardless of the duration of that condition. I believe the surest sign of how much an individual values their own life as a whole is their response to the question - "Would you want to live forever?" Those who do not wish to live forever, in my belief, do not genuinely want to live now.
- kingcam, on 03/27/2008, -0/+10Ray Kurzweil. And myself of course, who is with me?
- kipmartin, on 03/27/2008, -1/+40interesting guy. no mention really about his impact on the world of keyboards, recording studios, or music sampling. he was a pioneer in digital polyphonic synthesizers for real-world use before Synclavier or Fairlight--or anyone else. he mated keyboards to computer screens and multitrack digital recording to produce true mega-track recording and instrument sampling. we take all this for granted, but Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, Ric Ocasek, and Mutt Lange owe an aweful lot to this guy. as do Roland, Yamaha, Oberheim, etc.
Is he nuts? hes a genius, innovator, and thinker. they often appear nuts to the rest of us.- andreegal, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Good to know this details thanks...
- nezroy, on 03/28/2008, -2/+1And sometimes they're just nuts. Or sometimes, they're nuts about one thing and a genius innovator about another. What's with the black and white view of a person and their beliefs? Just argue the topic on its own merits.
- sirmalloc, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4Purple in the morning, blue in the afternoon, and orange in the evening. Just like that, one, two, three, four.
- palehorse864, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4Relevant:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZBHLrpn07G4&feature=rel ...- socketman, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Gotta love Carl. "The broom is meeting with some resistance"
Yet somehow, I was almost disappointed that wasn't a rickroll
- socketman, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Gotta love Carl. "The broom is meeting with some resistance"
- eminiguy, on 03/27/2008, -16/+4For life to be meaningful, it has to be finite. Sad, but true...
Kurzweil is barking up a wrong tree...- malex, on 03/27/2008, -1/+11I think you're right, but remember that 9000 years is exactly as finite as 90.
- blast_flame, on 03/27/2008, -1/+9Why does life has to be finite to have meaning and even if this is true why can't it be 100 trillion years instead of 100?
- Benno, on 03/27/2008, -2/+2who needs meaning when you can have wuffie?
- DooM, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4I disagree - most humans find it uncomfortable to even consider the fact that they will end but that doesn't stop them from leading meaningful lives until they have no choice. I don't have to be tortured to appreciate not being tortured - I don't have to eat dirt to appreciate eating pizza. I think these are common but false ideas.
- Singularitarian, on 03/27/2008, -1/+5What do you mean by "meaningful"? Let's use a more well-defined word, "fun". Life could be fun forever, by doing things like exploring the universe, exploring the realm of ideas, playing fully immersive virtual reality videogames (that perhaps we don't even realize are games)...
- malex, on 03/28/2008, -2/+1I have philosophical problems with the concept of *literal* immortality. There's the practical problem of the eventual heat death of the universe, but more than, there's something hugely egotistical in wanting to last forever. I don't know if I'd want to be stuck for an eternity with people that in love with themselves. And part of me thinks, like Timothy Leary (another huge proponent of life extension) did in his final moments, that the Bardo experience of death is actually the most significant adventure any of us will go though.
I'd be happy to live for a few more centuries, just to see how everything turns out, but I think transitioning to a VR existence at the loss of one's mortality may be a Faustian bargain.
- malex, on 03/28/2008, -2/+1I have philosophical problems with the concept of *literal* immortality. There's the practical problem of the eventual heat death of the universe, but more than, there's something hugely egotistical in wanting to last forever. I don't know if I'd want to be stuck for an eternity with people that in love with themselves. And part of me thinks, like Timothy Leary (another huge proponent of life extension) did in his final moments, that the Bardo experience of death is actually the most significant adventure any of us will go though.
- wowsah156, on 03/27/2008, -15/+3Kurzweil comes across has indulgent and childish. Why does he think that he has a divine right to see something that is not going to happen? also the theory that intelligent machines will take over day to day decisions that affect humans comes across has making humanity looking feeble and irresponsible. I can see Kurzweil's ideas being used by the 22nd century New world Order for total insane control.
- BurnTees, on 03/27/2008, -5/+2wasn't this on tv? did anyone see it? kinda interesting but when you spend so much time and effort trying to live longer, are you even living your current life? enjoy your time on earth, don't spend all of it figuring out how to live longer.
- invisiblehat, on 03/27/2008, -2/+28Galileo, Copernicus, Tesla and so many others were also considered nuts at the time.
With out 'crazy people' and trail-blazing pioneers, much of our current science would've never happened.
Mr. Kurzweil is an amazing thinker (read some of his books, they are rather mind-blowing).
Much of our current synthesizer technology is a direct descendant of some of Kurzweil's early work.
He has also made great advances in adaptive technologies for the blind.
I am digging this up becuase Ray Kurzweil is a ***** Genius. I just worry about his poor liver and kidneys having to process all those vitamins.- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -3/+2People thought Jesus was a bit of a mentalist at the time.....
Sometime's people are right :)- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Sorry just noticed the apostrophe, too late to edit.
- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -3/+2People thought Jesus was a bit of a mentalist at the time.....
- Ninnux, on 03/27/2008, -5/+1So aging prevents death? Wait...what?
- HastyBoom, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1read the article.
- Rwned, on 03/27/2008, -1/+18You are living in a fantasy land if you think the Singularity is NOT going to happen.
Little kids and young people are basically guaranteed eternal life, but those of us in our 20s, 30s, and 40s might be cutting it close. Of course, some catastrophe like an asteroid or plague could end it all for everyone.- DrDragun, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4What if the super-smart computer is smart enough to remove the reqiurement that it is helpful to humankind?
- Rwned, on 03/27/2008, -1/+5Well you'd be stupid to think it would not. The key to these ideas is understanding that humans WILL be surpassed, but it will basically be our own minds that get uploaded into computers, and then upgraded at incredible speed. Random biological humans will be left in the dust. There is no doubt about that. Some people think we will augment our own brains with nanotechnology, which is possible. Just imagine being a pure technological "soul"... you could surf digg all day, have ten billion times more intelligence than Einstein, only bang the finest virtual hoes, and never worry about your health or anything else... except perhaps someone unplugging you from your power source. :)
- andreegal, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2lol well said..
- curtisag, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2The question in my mind is, if machines gain intelligence greater than our own, will they fear their own death or destruction? If they do, they may respond to this instinct to survive by eliminating the only thing that threatens AI, which would be its' creator (humans). Will they be so intelligent they can extrapolate that one day humans will consume every natural resource on earth and decide the only way to preserve their consciousness is to stop us one way or another. If the machines gave us immortality and we do not have technology for infinite power and resources to go along with it, that would in effect be committing suicide for the machine.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1in that scenario, I suspect the machines wouldn't care much about either humans or earth. We're stuck on earth, or in little bubbles that try to mimic it. Machines have all of the universe to wander around in, mining, or doing whatever it is that machines do. I think it'd be a bit like worrying that dolphins are going to burn your house down, construct buildings of their own, and try on all your shoes. Usually the greatest source of violence is scarcity of resource, and why bother when there's everything out there and humans stuck here.
- Rwned, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Yes, indeed. I doubt they would worried about humans. That would be like us worrying about ants. Once the singularity is reached it's not just a matter of machine intelligence being 5 times or 10 times more intelligent than biological humans, they will be tens of thousands of times more intelligent. But keep in mind that "machine" intelligence is actually human intelligence. It's just the next phase of evolution. It's our destiny.
- Rwned, on 03/27/2008, -1/+5Well you'd be stupid to think it would not. The key to these ideas is understanding that humans WILL be surpassed, but it will basically be our own minds that get uploaded into computers, and then upgraded at incredible speed. Random biological humans will be left in the dust. There is no doubt about that. Some people think we will augment our own brains with nanotechnology, which is possible. Just imagine being a pure technological "soul"... you could surf digg all day, have ten billion times more intelligence than Einstein, only bang the finest virtual hoes, and never worry about your health or anything else... except perhaps someone unplugging you from your power source. :)
- stonewaljacksn, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Rail against Christianity, but fall in love with talking about the impending robot apocalypse at the hands of super intelligent computers. ah...the modernization of religious belief
- Rwned, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Fail.
The difference is, there is actual, valid evidence for these technological advancements (we see them every day), whereas superstitious religions have no valid evidence.
- Rwned, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Fail.
- DrDragun, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4What if the super-smart computer is smart enough to remove the reqiurement that it is helpful to humankind?
- ybotoby, on 03/27/2008, -2/+13I want to become smarter than humans. And I also want to cum fast
- mali1, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3Hmmm....
- offspring06, on 03/27/2008, -4/+6If humans could live forever wouldn't the Earth get over populated.
- dncarlson, on 03/27/2008, -2/+3If the technology existed to get the human race that far, the problem of space on earth would be pretty much inconsequential.
- malex, on 03/27/2008, -0/+6Any civilization with the technology to cure disease and aging would certainly be able to establish populations off of the Earth. And if Kurzwell is right about "uploading" consciousness into VR, (which seems like his most questionable theory,) that wouldn't even be necessary.
- Singularitarian, on 03/27/2008, -1/+2There's unlimited room in virtual reality.
- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Hard-drive full, insert USB?
Passed badnwidth limits?
- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1Hard-drive full, insert USB?
- curtisag, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2That's why immortality is never created through evolution in nature. Any species that developed that was immortal would quickly multiple exponentially, consume every resource on earth, and begin to die due to lack of resources. However, in the future we may have unlimited energy devices, faster than light travel among the stars, and energy to mater conversion technologies which will give us everything we need to sustain an exponential growth in the human population. Otherwise we will need very restrictive population controls to have sustainable development.
- andreegal, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1I wonder if we already did this in the future.....
- stonewaljacksn, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1Ah, more proof that the ultimate goal of science is immortality. Dare I say, eternal life. Also, you know people like you in 1960 were talking about how we'd be in flying cars by now? You overestimate humanity.
- Benno, on 03/27/2008, -5/+12The singularity is like religion for some atheists. I would like to explore the universe with my consciousness in an artificial body. I would turn my "mind" off for the hundreds of years to reach alpha centuari and consider questions that haven't even been asked yet. Great stuff, but I don't think anyone alive today or born in the next century will be able to experience it.
- mali1, on 03/27/2008, -1/+15"I don't think anyone alive today or born in the next century will be able to experience it"
I find your lack of faith disturbing. - skinjester, on 03/27/2008, -4/+2looks like you've put a lot of thought into the topic. A whole paragraph!
- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4Looks like you put a lot of thought into your reponse.
-----
A whole 2 sentences, well almost whole, "L" then you're set and can be as sarcastic as you like!
/sarcasm
- Feazey, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4Looks like you put a lot of thought into your reponse.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4It shouldn't be too surprising. Religion is basically the greatest hopes of humanity for the things that plauge us. Immortality, health, increased mental abilities, the assurance that there's something better out there than our own limited species. It's only very recently in our history that we've had the tools to begin actually working on making these dreams real.
Before now, they had to remain as an agreed upon fantasy that people tactfully agreed to not call each other on. Most people prefer to still pretend they already have those things, others embrace a stockholme'esqe glorification of death. Some people are actually working on creating solutions to those problems. Most of us though are in the position of having to just place our trust in one or the other. Science seems a better bet.- curtisag, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3I never thought of religion quite like that before, most interesting. Necessity truly is the mother of all invention. We have a biological need to survive, and we'll go to any extreme to get there (even if we have to fool ourselves into believing in an afterlife). Religion had to be created once we became conscious of our own deaths to sooth our troubled minds.
- andreegal, on 03/28/2008, -0/+3Right on....Its also very interesting to me how human fantasies seem to be self fulfilling prophecies...what you said about religion, UFO's to me fall in this category as well....fixations of what we could be and will be...
- stonewaljacksn, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2I think it was the Atheist Existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre who said the goal of humanity is to become God (although this is impossible in the end). Then again, there's also that Prometheus guy who stole fire (knowledge?) from the gods and ended up being completely tortured because of it...
- mali1, on 03/27/2008, -1/+15"I don't think anyone alive today or born in the next century will be able to experience it"
- SilverBadger, on 03/27/2008, -4/+0Wait a minute. A Digg article from yesterday told me that if I hit my head enough times I'll gain enhanced brain functioning. I'll bet Mr. Smartypants didn't think of that when he claimed that computers would outpace our processing capacity.
Now excuse me while I go smack my head into the wall a few more times. - Quickdood, on 03/27/2008, -2/+6Yeah good idea lets put everyone into the matrix. Clearly this guy works for the machines!
- nj10ii, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I cant wait until Ramona becomes real. I will so hit that, then I'll become her and hit on myself!!
- neosimulacrum, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1I saw this guy give a lecture. He was in Boston presenting to an audience at the University of Arizona. The display was some type of new holographic-like technology. I was sitting in the exact middle of the audience, so I couldn't tell how 3-D it looked and he flickered off at the end too quickly before I could walk around it. I think he's observant in the evolution of technology, but he seems to go to far. He said we'd be spending half our time in virtual reality in another 10 years or so.
- kingcam, on 03/27/2008, -0/+5I am already spending more than 1/2 my time in a virtual world...
- aadnk, on 03/27/2008, -0/+5Exponential growth, young padawan, exponential growth!
And really, his predictions have, at least in the past, been pretty conservative. Furthermore, if one consider the overall game development over the past 10 years, I wouldn't really be too surprised to find a virtual reality system in the near future. And, if the possibility is there, don't you think there will be a massive demand? Just look at how much time people spend on their computers.- andreegal, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1for sure....just imagine that VR system combined with the power of what the internet becomes!
- kyleforeman, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1He was also just featured on the show Superhumans
- dinkleberry, on 03/27/2008, -2/+3All this is based on certain assumptions. Assumptions that certain things are not going to vary much in the next 10 to 20 years. There's talk of Moore's law not holding out, but that's not so much of a problem because the computer power is increasing faster than we need to cope with, and coding efficiency is declining (www.windowsvista.com). However, what happens when the oil runs out? I'd like to hear Ray's answer to that one.
- skinjester, on 03/27/2008, -0/+0uh... the Sun is the obvious choice.
- malex, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4"I'd like to hear Ray's answer to that one."
You're in luck! He's written whole books about these questions. Go read one.- dinkleberry, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1I might just do that.
- frostbyt, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2This guy is smart on a whole new level.
http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=/me ...
I am starting tonight. - wgasa, on 03/27/2008, -1/+2when he becomes immortal this guy wants to turn into a girl... what the *****?
i thought he was a normal intelligent guy when i watched his videos explaining the singularity and what not... but he's really quite the deviant- hollyminkowski, on 03/27/2008, -0/+4And what exactly would be sooo wrong about turning into a girl?!?! hmmmmmm..
- RickyBarnes1960, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2And do you believe human advancement will occur while continuing to think inside the gender box ... among others? History proves time and again it is thinking OUTSIDE the box that advances our understanding and the quality of our lives.
- mzx639, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb0WamFJ2pg
- ganymede2010, on 03/27/2008, -1/+14I can't believe the flat earth simpletons on this forum. Ray Kurzweil is considered the Thomas Edison of our Time. He was the first one to invent a Flatbed Scanner, the first print to speech reading machine for the blind. First Knowledge base System for creating medical reports. The first speech recognition dictation system for Windows. The First commercially marketed Large Vocabulary Speech Recognition,etc. He's been awarded by 3 US Presidents for his technological achievements. So to say he's nuts, is delusional. Although I think all M.I.T graduates are a little quaky.
- nezroy, on 03/28/2008, -1/+3It's very common for brilliant, accomplished people to also have delusional, insane beliefs on the side. You'd be surprised at the number of otherwise brilliant historical figures who were seriously into phrenology, for instance. While I agree an ad hominem attack on this particular topic is kind of silly, an appeal to authority rebuttal is no less pointless.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2Very true. By definition, it's not normal to be exceptional. And what makes a person great often comes with extra baggage of making them a bit crazy in other areas. Not that additional fire isn't often tossed onto that particular flame by people looking for reasons to justify their own lack of similar accomplishment.
Personally, I think Kurzweil makes a good argument for the possibility at least of a singularity event. That said, I also think he's grasping at straws a bit with the nutritional program and should be focusing more on a smaller amount of the top X supplements combined with caloric restriction. It's not uncommon at all to find two normally positive medicines that wind up canceling each other out, and taking that many understudied supplements at once is just asking for it to happen. But, we'll see. I would love to be proven wrong on that count.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2Very true. By definition, it's not normal to be exceptional. And what makes a person great often comes with extra baggage of making them a bit crazy in other areas. Not that additional fire isn't often tossed onto that particular flame by people looking for reasons to justify their own lack of similar accomplishment.
- V01dV01cg, on 03/28/2008, -0/+0Edison was a great self promoter but he wasn't all that special in terms of his inventiveness, though he did employ some exceptional people. Oh, & Edison didn't invent the lightbulb; several people from all over the world had done that many years before him.
- nezroy, on 03/28/2008, -1/+3It's very common for brilliant, accomplished people to also have delusional, insane beliefs on the side. You'd be surprised at the number of otherwise brilliant historical figures who were seriously into phrenology, for instance. While I agree an ad hominem attack on this particular topic is kind of silly, an appeal to authority rebuttal is no less pointless.
- tivicus, on 03/27/2008, -1/+0Just so the 2nd comment knows, we cant make a computer drive a car offroad effectively...but we do HAVE 'DOG'!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww
Some crazy *****. - eatdjorange, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Good to see this got diggs. Ray's one of my hero of all time right after Joseph Campbell
- Iggins, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2Dugg for Kurzweil.
- Slick37c, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2So when I do the robot in the future, I'll actually be a robot? I'll put it on youtube under "Irony."
- Ragzouken, on 03/27/2008, -0/+3Does he also spend 16 hours a day in an 'entertainment pod' to stop his aging cells from getting bored, just like the good Dr. Giger?
- curtisag, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1Dugg for amusing DS9 comment.
- oceanographer, on 03/27/2008, -1/+8"Kurzweil met Grossman at a Foresight Nanotech Institute meeting in 1999, and they became research partners. Their object of investigation was Kurzweil's body."
GAY - protodon, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1It makes you wonder if ancient civilizations already found the singularity and we just haven't found them yet. I believe there is reference to this, on another planet, in "Calculating God"
- nwoantibody, on 03/27/2008, -0/+1""He takes 180 to 210 vitamin and mineral supplements a day"
Is that really the way to optimal health? It's so excessive it could be unhealthy."
Go back to school. You and all those who dugg you.- mistacrow, on 03/28/2008, -1/+0go read The Omnivore's Dilemma, and then don't bother acting like you have any intellectual heft, you and every person that thinks Ray Kurzweil isn't nuts.
- curtisag, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2He mentions transferring consciousness into a computer, however this would not be true immortality for us at all. All you would be doing is making a copy of yourself (a technological clone) that could potentially live forever, but it would not really be you. The real way to become immortal is nano-technology. Only microscopic machines specifically designed to repair damaged cells and tissue can save us from biological death.
Another hurdle to overcome on the road to immortality is cell division and telomeres. Every time a cell divides the dna strand gets a little bit shorter as the telomeres are lost at both ends. It is widely believed this is our biological clock and a key to why we age. And over time errors in the DNA copying process insert more and more defects in our DNA structure. When we understand how to stop this process, we will be one step closer to immortality. Reversing the aging process may even be possible if we're lucky enough to live long enough. All you have to do is trick a cell into think it's young again.- RobotBuddha, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1The whole copy issue raises a lot of extra questions. One of the biggest is that it presuposes that there can be only one of a person. Not surprising given that it's our natural way of being, but that in particular has to be reexamined. Are you still you if you're magically cloned with all memories intact, one of you dies in the process, and the other survives with no knowledge of who was was who.
Or what if the process occurs and one clone has 100% of your personality and memories, and the other has 80% of them. But, then, what if the whole cloning idea was discarded and it's just you after an accident which left you brain damaged with your memory and personality 50% different than it had been previously. Are you still you? What if 100% of your memory were gone and you were just a set of organs kept alive by life support. Is that you anymore?
I don't know. As much as i find it a really interesting concept to think about, at the end of the day I just side with the "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck" argument. - blast_flame, on 03/28/2008, -0/+2Well it depends on the method you use to transfer your mind to the computer. For instance one proposed method known as cyborging involves slowly replacing your brain cells with nanite copies slowly while you are awake. Seeing as you are not the matter itself but the pattern that it forms and that pattern is never broken you never die. In fact something similar happens as the matter that makes up your brain is changed.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1The whole copy issue raises a lot of extra questions. One of the biggest is that it presuposes that there can be only one of a person. Not surprising given that it's our natural way of being, but that in particular has to be reexamined. Are you still you if you're magically cloned with all memories intact, one of you dies in the process, and the other survives with no knowledge of who was was who.
- calbearsscience, on 03/27/2008, -0/+2I don't agree with everything Kurzweil says, but I definitely agree that life extension is a worthwhile goal. Even if it falls short of immortality, wouldn't you rather live a healthy 200 years instead of 70-80?
With any luck (ie we aren't wiped out by a killer plague or wayward asteroid), there'll be some great technological advances in the next 150 years (and beyond), and I for one would love to be around to see them.
I'm starting a science non-profit that'll focus on life-extension/anti-aging advancement, so if you're interested in updates or becoming involved in any way, please don't hesitate to send a shout or email me:
calbearsscience at gmail - rrouse, on 03/27/2008, -1/+1I predict that his consciousness will be downloaded into a computer when his internal organs fail.
Also, "Battlestar Galatica" is about the world after the Singularity. - replaysMike, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1180-210 vitamins a day?!!
Ever hear of a multivitiman?- TheMachine1, on 03/28/2008, -0/+0Half-life of many supplements are a few hours so assuming he is trying to maintain constant high blood levels that might mean taking somethings 6 times a day.
- smackthenun, on 03/28/2008, -3/+1well, instead of being a bitch and taking all this *****, if i were him i would enjoy today, because he needs to put some more variables in his equations....***** just take some dna and preserve it so somebody can clone you in the future...sure you might not have your memories but you would technically acheive your goal.
- RobotBuddha, on 03/28/2008, -0/+1An argument could be made that humans are so fundamentally similar that it's the memories that make the individual. On the flip side, a lot of people would side with your argument and say that two identical twins could actually be considered the same person in two separate instances. It's an interesting thought experiment. Are you still you if all your memories are removed, or if you wound up as a test subject for dramatic genetic research.
- RickyBarnes1960, on 03/28/2008, -0/+3Truly, one of those human beings that generations ahead will praise for giving them the lives they enjoy. How is it such backward human beings as George W. Bush get to be our leaders? Backwards voters?
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