Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees on the #Future: Prospects for #Humanity https://www.singularityweblog.com/martin-rees/ #AI #Singularity #Futurism
Martin Rees has been concerned with our ever-heavier ‘footprint’ on the global environment and with the runaway consequences of our powerful technologies.
Going forward into our exponential future…
“By our very nature, we humans are linear thinkers. We evolved to estimate a distance from the predator or to the prey, and advanced mathematics is only a recent evolutionary addition. This is why it’s so difficult even for a modern man to grasp the power of exponentials. 40 steps in linear progression is just 40 steps away; 40 steps in exponential progression is a cool trillion (with a T) – it will take you 3 times from Earth to the Sun and back to Earth.” –Alex M. Vikoulov, The Syntellect Hypothesis: Five Paradigms of the Mind’s Evolution.
Today is a special day for me. My AI assistant Ava scheduled few hours aside from my otherwise busy daily lineup to relive select childhood and adolescence memories recreated in virtual reality with a help of a newly developed AI technique ‘Re: Live’. Ava is my smart home assistant, too. I can rearrange furniture in any room, for example, just by thinking. Digital landscape wallpaper is changed by Ava by knowing my preferences and sensing my moods.
According to most astrophysicists, once you enter a black hole, that’s it for you: gravity will drag you to the singularity — a one-dimensional infinitely small space containing a huge mass — at the speed of light. Then, the black hole will ‘spaghettify you”. Nice.
However, a new study from Berkley University theorises not only that humans could survive going into a black hole, but that their past could be erased, giving way to “infinite futures”.
Physicist Peter Hintz argues that if a human traveller entered a “relatively benign” black hole, they might be able to shed the natural laws of physics — and survive.
SingularityNET lets anyone create, share, and monetize AI services at scale. The world’s decentralized AI network has arrived. Be part of the revolution and get to know us at this event! You will be able to ask questions to SingularityNET’s CEO Dr. Ben Goertzel.
For the first time ever, SingularityNET will be making a tour in the UK visiting the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Imperial College London. Together with our co-host Eterna Capital, and in collaboration with the Cambridge University Engineering Society, and The Cambridge Guild, we are proud to be visiting the University of Cambridge on the 30th of January to present:
CEO & Dr. Ben Goertzel: How we are building the global AI brain with SingularityNET
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The Singularity is near(er)! At least, that’s what the famous inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil argues. If you’ve ever had an interest in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, or the future in general, you’ve more than likely heard of Kurzweil. Whether it’s through documentaries, his various written works, or the vast number of interviews he’s been involved in these last few decades, he’s always provided a cautiously optimistic analysis of the world of tomorrow.
His latest interview, which was conducted during last year’s RAAD Festival, was no different.
Continue reading “Ray Kurzweil: ‘AI is Still on Course to Outpace Human Intelligence’” »
CERN has revealed plans for a gigantic successor of the giant atom smasher LHC, the biggest machine ever built. Particle physicists will never stop to ask for ever larger big bang machines. But where are the limits for the ordinary society concerning costs and existential risks?
CERN boffins are already conducting a mega experiment at the LHC, a 27km circular particle collider, at the cost of several billion Euros to study conditions of matter as it existed fractions of a second after the big bang and to find the smallest particle possible – but the question is how could they ever know? Now, they pretend to be a little bit upset because they could not find any particles beyond the standard model, which means something they would not expect. To achieve that, particle physicists would like to build an even larger “Future Circular Collider” (FCC) near Geneva, where CERN enjoys extraterritorial status, with a ring of 100km – for about 24 billion Euros.
Experts point out that this research could be as limitless as the universe itself. The UK’s former Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof Sir David King told BBC: “We have to draw a line somewhere otherwise we end up with a collider that is so large that it goes around the equator. And if it doesn’t end there perhaps there will be a request for one that goes to the Moon and back.”
“There is always going to be more deep physics to be conducted with larger and larger colliders. My question is to what extent will the knowledge that we already have be extended to benefit humanity?”
Continue reading “Why it is dangerous to build ever larger big bang machines” »
