Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Our Future as Software Cyborgs

In this article it is said:

"Search engines are the first stage in a smooth ramp-up to posthuman cognition. It's the quiet cybernetic revolution."

I just love the internet. I just found this article, talking about the merging of human and search engines. It is very interesting, and very well written. I can see "singularity" news are increasing in number day by day. maybe its just me. But maybe not.

Have fun.

read more | digg story

Friday, July 21, 2006

How funny would that be?

Yesterday I was thinking something funny.

What if this singularity is true.
Just assume that it is, that it's gonna happen.

Then it is ok to assume, it is something the rich establishment does not want at all. They are conservatives, they love to push back progress.
Some of them are so small minded, they would never understand this singularity thing until they see it in full swing. Maybe they wouldnt unverstand it, even then.
But. Some of them might be aware this is where we're headed to.
Unavoidable.

Well, because of the system THEY wanted and created (an hypocrit system, based on lies, based on changing reality by telling lies), can you imagine the bush administration, Blair or Prodi, saying to millions (or rather, billions): "Guys, we are going to shut down all research, all computer development, because if not, we're crashing into this singularity that is going to change the way we see reality, forever". Ahahahah can you imagine that? :D
It could never happen.

So, because of their greed and their hypocrisy, we're going to win.

How great would that be?

Just a few years more... we need a real AI then everything will be allright... I hope. I'm optimistic.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Better later than never...

It looks like, at last, scientific official researchers are coming to the same conclusions the psychedelic community got some 40 years ago (which is ages ago).
"Using unusually rigorous scientific conditions and measures, Johns Hopkins researchers have shown that the active agent in "sacred mushrooms" can induce mystical/spiritual experiences descriptively identical to spontaneous ones people have reported for centuries..."

For a link to the full article and to reference papers go here (and while you are at it, make sure to subscibe to the matrixmasters podcasts):

Scientists Show Hallucinogen in Mushrooms Creates Universal Mystical experience

Now, if you are a psychedelic head, chances are these documents will tell you pretty "old news". But they surely help the public opinion to recognise the importance of sacred medicins, and this is good news!

Monday, July 10, 2006

Again about the technological singularity

My feeling is that the psychedelic community is overlooking the magnitude of the recent ideas regarding the technological singularity.

The idea is that this technological singularity is approaching, and we're not talking about 500 years from now...
In his latest book called The Singularity Is Near, Ray Kurzweil claims it will happen probably around 2014, which makes also sense with many prophecies... I don't want to go new age here, but it's a fact that the Hopi and the Mayan too, set the end of their calendars on 21st of December 2012... plus, Terence McKenna (r.i.p.) with his Novelty theory found out something similar and in a much more "psychedelic" way... he found out everything is accelerating at an increasing pace, and also found out that in 21st of December 2012 something will profoundly change the way we experience reality and time.
The difference with Ray Kurzweil is Ray is a famous and trusted scientist that can release a well written book, easy to read, full of examples. Terence also was easy to read, wrote well written book, and provided examples, but was not famous and most of all not trusted by the scientific community. Kurzweil definitely is.
But I don't want to digress too much.

In his book, Kurzweil uses lots of data and examples to convince the reader about how "everything" (what McKenna called Novelty and what kurzweil might call Pattern Complexity) is accelerating at an increasing (exponential) rate.
He states that in 2014 (i'd say it might be 2012 - just to make everything nice and perfect) the acceleration will be visible and our old schemes for forecasting the future will not apply anymore.
If at the moment we are probably just starting to get the feeling that something "isn't right", that things are flowing too fast, well, we better sit tight because its' just the beginning.

Any exponential curve starts very slowly, not-distinguishable from a linear progression, as you cans see from this picture here.
But at a certain point, called the "knee of the curve", there is a dramatic acceleration. Kurzweil states we are reaching the knee, we should get there by 2014. At that moment, we should be able to see the singularity, and all those old old human schemes should, finally and hopefully, brake down.

The technological singularity is an AI (artificial intelligence) probably linked with our biological brain.
Pure intelligence.
Bio-machines pushing forward all boundaries.
An intelligence far greater than ours.
I guess all this could begin with the invention of a machine that can pass the Turing test.

Kurzweil goes as far as speculating that this technological singularity will spread from earth to the whole universe. If speed of light can be surpassed it might happen very very fast.

I know this sounds incredible but... I really think (and hope) that's what going to happen.
We are ready, aren't we? And not afraid at all.

Have fun & take care
Alex

Now, some links (but wikipedia has it all)
Terence McKenna Novelty theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novelty_Theory
Ray Kurzweil: http://www.kurzweilai.net
Singularity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_singularity
Turing test: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_Test

Friday, July 07, 2006

The Singularity Summit @ Stanford

I think one of the biggest "ideas" at the moment, is the concept of Singularity.
Recently a conference has been held at Stanford University about this subject. What is great about this, is that even if you couldn't be there in person, the conference website has covered everything. From mp3s of the various speakers, to their powerpoint presentation... everything can be downloaded. Way to go!!
Check it out:
http://sss.stanford.edu/coverage/press/