Comments on: Digital God http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/ Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:26:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: moody http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-7022 moody Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:53:26 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-7022 Here's another interesting article: Pentagon's Mind-Reading Computers Replicate "Augmented Cognition," the Darpa program to build computer interfaces that adapt to their users' brains, has officially run its course. But efforts to build mind-reading PCs continue throughout the military establishment. Full can be found here: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/03/augcog-continue.html Here’s another interesting article:
Pentagon’s Mind-Reading Computers Replicate
“Augmented Cognition,” the Darpa program to build computer interfaces that adapt to their users’ brains, has officially run its course. But efforts to build mind-reading PCs continue throughout the military establishment.

Full can be found here: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/03/augcog-continue.html

]]> By: moody http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6957 moody Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:18:55 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6957 I will try to post some scientific updates and achievements here in regards to the article. Here's the latest one: "A tiny chemical "brain" which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented. The molecular device - just two billionths of a metre across - was able to control eight of the microscopic machines simultaneously in a test. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists say it could also be used to boost the processing power of future computers. Many experts have high hopes for nano-machines in treating disease." Full article canbe found here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7288426.stm I will try to post some scientific updates and achievements here in regards to the article.

Here’s the latest one:

“A tiny chemical “brain” which could one day act as a remote control for swarms of nano-machines has been invented.
The molecular device - just two billionths of a metre across - was able to control eight of the microscopic machines simultaneously in a test.
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists say it could also be used to boost the processing power of future computers.
Many experts have high hopes for nano-machines in treating disease.”

Full article canbe found here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7288426.stm

]]> By: moody http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6944 moody Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:32:48 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6944 Like bloodnut said previously we don't have very good science on consciousness. Your questions is: At what point mechanical things become aware? Think about it, we are made of non-organic matter too and we ARE aware. So I don't see any reasons (given powerful software and ability to replicate) why computers would not become aware of their surroundings and themselves. Computers will also have neural networks so essentially it will be able to feel pain. What's pain to a human anyway? Like bloodnut said previously we don’t have very good science on consciousness. Your questions is: At what point mechanical things become aware? Think about it, we are made of non-organic matter too and we ARE aware. So I don’t see any reasons (given powerful software and ability to replicate) why computers would not become aware of their surroundings and themselves.
Computers will also have neural networks so essentially it will be able to feel pain. What’s pain to a human anyway?

]]> By: El Gribbo http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6942 El Gribbo Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:24:44 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6942 Welcome to our new deus ex machina overlords. I think the Israelis created a bio-computer in like 2001 or 2002 that was composed of enzymes for hardware and DNA for software. Now it couldn't do 4 petaflops, more like 1 gigaflop, but the advantage is size. You could fit like a billion of them in a drop of water. Plus computer chips only talk to each other when the programmed instruction set tells them to. Neurons can create links on the fly like bloodnut mentioned and if youve got billions of these little bio-processors all linking up and thinking together. Wow. Is it 'alive' at that point? And if youre downloading peoples thought and / or copying them into robotic copies of you, is it alive? does it have a soul. All this stuff makes my head hurt thinking about it. Welcome to our new deus ex machina overlords.

I think the Israelis created a bio-computer in like 2001 or 2002 that was composed of enzymes for hardware and DNA for software. Now it couldn’t do 4 petaflops, more like 1 gigaflop, but the advantage is size. You could fit like a billion of them in a drop of water. Plus computer chips only talk to each other when the programmed instruction set tells them to. Neurons can create links on the fly like bloodnut mentioned and if youve got billions of these little bio-processors all linking up and thinking together. Wow. Is it ‘alive’ at that point? And if youre downloading peoples thought and / or copying them into robotic copies of you, is it alive? does it have a soul.

All this stuff makes my head hurt thinking about it.

]]> By: moody http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6914 moody Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:21:30 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6914 Just an update. It looks like IBM's Blue Brain supercomputer (not to be confused with Blue Gene) is on the way of building a first digital brain simulation. Here's excerpt from the article: "This is the first model of the brain that has been built from the bottom-up," says Henry Markram, a neuroscientist at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the director of the Blue Brain project. "There are lots of models out there, but this is the only one that is totally biologically accurate. We began with the most basic facts about the brain and just worked from there." Read full article here: http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/03/out_of_the_blue.php Just an update.
It looks like IBM’s Blue Brain supercomputer (not to be confused with Blue Gene) is on the way of building a first digital brain simulation.
Here’s excerpt from the article:
“This is the first model of the brain that has been built from the bottom-up,” says Henry Markram, a neuroscientist at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the director of the Blue Brain project. “There are lots of models out there, but this is the only one that is totally biologically accurate. We began with the most basic facts about the brain and just worked from there.”
Read full article here: http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2008/03/out_of_the_blue.php

]]> By: moody http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6891 moody Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:48:52 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6891 bloodnut, First thank you for taking your time to comment. Remember: human neurons are mostly devoted to maintaining life support of other organs and not for information processing, and besides, our current electronic circuits are much faster (10 million times faster) then neuron's electrochemical processes. You're right that our brains function in non-linear fashion and just speed of the processors will not be able to mimic that. That's precisely why we will have software totally devoted to that part of the our digital brain. Without appropriate software it's going to be useless. Fyodor, We're not rushing into anything. Free market (if there's such a thing) and competition are driving forces this time. Remember, technology is its own entity that evolves and will evolve exponentially regardless of our ethical standards. bloodnut,
First thank you for taking your time to comment.
Remember: human neurons are mostly devoted to maintaining life support of other organs and not for information processing, and besides, our current electronic circuits are much faster (10 million times faster) then neuron’s electrochemical processes. You’re right that our brains function in non-linear fashion and just speed of the processors will not be able to mimic that. That’s precisely why we will have software totally devoted to that part of the our digital brain. Without appropriate software it’s going to be useless.

Fyodor,
We’re not rushing into anything. Free market (if there’s such a thing) and competition are driving forces this time. Remember, technology is its own entity that evolves and will evolve exponentially regardless of our ethical standards.

]]> By: Fyodor http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6875 Fyodor Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:02:32 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6875 This sounds all fascinating, but I have one simple question: Why? We rush into these technological advancements ahead of our ethical standards and this can create major problems. The potentials in the nanotechnology sound promising, but imagine if a terrorist got hold of it, or imagine all the possible side-effects of that technology. And why use the digital copy of your brain to visit Paris, for example, when you can do it on your own? This sounds all fascinating, but I have one simple question: Why? We rush into these technological advancements ahead of our ethical standards and this can create major problems. The potentials in the nanotechnology sound promising, but imagine if a terrorist got hold of it, or imagine all the possible side-effects of that technology. And why use the digital copy of your brain to visit Paris, for example, when you can do it on your own?

]]> By: bloodnut http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6874 bloodnut Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:59:29 +0000 http://www.crankypot.com/2008/03/06/digital-god/#comment-6874 Well, while a chip may be able to duplicate or exceed the raw speed of our brain, i hesitate to agree that it will be able to duplicate our ability to think freely. Our brains function in a non-linear capacity and have the ability to physically reconfigure itself - neural dendrites can create, modify or eliminate neural connections on the fly. Big blue can't put that on a chip just yet - while they can reroute processing using software, they can't reconfigure the physical connections. I think this is where our brains have the edge ... not to mention, we don't really have a good grasp of exactly what consciousness is in our own minds, so i think we'd have a tough time duplicating it. As for the nanotechnology, big things can happen there - especially, as you point out, in the medical field. Another application that i see is in textiles and raw materials. If a nanobot will have the ability to alter the physical structure of a particular medium at the atomic or even molecular level - we will be able to manufacture any raw material simply by supplying the ingredients to the bots. No more energy crisis, food shortage or surgery. Well, while a chip may be able to duplicate or exceed the raw speed of our brain, i hesitate to agree that it will be able to duplicate our ability to think freely. Our brains function in a non-linear capacity and have the ability to physically reconfigure itself - neural dendrites can create, modify or eliminate neural connections on the fly. Big blue can’t put that on a chip just yet - while they can reroute processing using software, they can’t reconfigure the physical connections. I think this is where our brains have the edge … not to mention, we don’t really have a good grasp of exactly what consciousness is in our own minds, so i think we’d have a tough time duplicating it. As for the nanotechnology, big things can happen there - especially, as you point out, in the medical field. Another application that i see is in textiles and raw materials. If a nanobot will have the ability to alter the physical structure of a particular medium at the atomic or even molecular level - we will be able to manufacture any raw material simply by supplying the ingredients to the bots. No more energy crisis, food shortage or surgery.

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