Re: Will Robots take over?

mg wrote:
On Jun 26, 1:29 pm, al Guacamole <a...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Got this bit of news in email. It's a little scarry....

BRAIN-MACHINE INTERFACES

Brain-machine interfaces could someday be used routinely to help
paralyzed patients and amputees control prosthetic limbs with just
their thoughts. Now, University of Florida researchers have devised
a way for computerized devices not only to translate brain signals
into movement, but also to evolve with the brain as it learns.

"The status quo of brain-machine interfaces that are out there have
static and fixed decoding algorithms, which assume a person thinks
one way for all time," said Justin C. Sanchez, a UF assistant
professor of pediatric neurology. Sanchez and his colleagues
developed a system based on setting goals and giving rewards.
Fitted with electrodes in their brains to capture signals for the
computer to unravel, three rats were taught to move a robotic arm
toward a target with just their thoughts. "We think this dialogue
with a goal is how we can make these systems evolve over time,"
Sanchez said.

Read more here:http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20080626A2

"The Last Days on Earth is a 20/20 science fiction special which aired
on ABC[1] in August 2006 and has been aired on The History Channel.

The show counts down the seven most likely ways in which the world
could end, including gamma ray bursts, machine rule, asteroids, super
volcanoes, nuclear war, pandemic flu, and global warming. It includes
input from a number of scientists including Michio Kaku, Stephen
Hawking and Kevin Warwick. In 2007 it received an Emmy nomination[2]
for its graphic and artistic design.

The Disasters

These are organized from least likely to most likely:

7a.) Death of a Star: Gamma Ray Burst
7b.) Death of a Star: Black Hole
Number seven was actually two alternate views of what could
happen to a
star and how it could destroy life on earth.
6.) Intelligent Machines
5.) Supervolcano
4.) Asteroid
3.) Nuclear War
2.) Plague
1.) Climate Change"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Days_on_Earth

Some people criticized the show because it included climate change,
but I think they were talking about a much worse change than is
currently under discussion and perhaps from other causes. As I recall
scientists on this show said that machines will not simply become 2
times or 10 times more intelligent than human beings, they could
become billions of times more intelligent than humans.

Actually, given the current state of the political system in the U.S.,
it's not to hard to imagine a point in the future where people might
say let's just let the machines run the government.

For those retired engineers among us, the IEEE Spectrum recently completed a special report including a compilation of opinions relating to this topic, both pro and con. Labeled "The Singularity" the speculation relates to that point in time when machines become more intelligent than humans. One writer, Vernor Vinge, speculates:

"I think it's likely that with technology we can in the fairly near future create or become creatures of more than human intelligence. Such a technological singularity would revolutionize our world, ushering in a posthuman epoch. If it were to happen a million years from now, no big deal. So what do I mean by “fairly near” future? In my 1993 essay, “The Coming Technological Singularity,” I said I'd be surprised if the singularity had not happened by 2030. I'll stand by that claim, assuming we avoid the showstopping catastrophes—things like nuclear war, superplagues, climate crash—that we properly spend our anxiety upon.

"In that event, I expect the singularity will come as some combination of the following:

"The AI Scenario: We create superhuman artificial intelligence (AI) in computers.

"The IA Scenario: We enhance human intelligence through human-to-computer interfaces—that is, we achieve intelligence amplification (IA).

"The Biomedical Scenario: We directly increase our intelligence by improving the neurological operation of our brains.

"The Internet Scenario: Humanity, its networks, computers, and databases become sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being.

"The Digital Gaia Scenario: The network of embedded microprocessors becomes sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being."

The list of articles may be found at:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/singularity

Some thoughts addressed in the articles:

Might we one day be able to upload the contents of our brains into a computer in order to escape death? What are the implications of that?

In what way might human abilities be augmented, not only to provide superhuman strength and agility, but intellectually?

When/if computers achieve consciousness, will we know what to do with that capability? Will we even recognize it?

If we surrender more and more responsibility to computers, will we lose the ability to survive without them? How will we protect against unintended consequences of computers "helping" us?

Assuming that there could be more than one computer with this capability, will they war with each other? What would that look like and how would we detect it early enough to prevent danger to ourselves as these super intelligent machines do battle?
.

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