Artificial Versus Natural Intelligence - False Divide

I think the "us" versus "them" divide regarding #AcceleratingIntelligence of AIs and Homo sapiens is misguided. We will all be equally intelligent. Every being (natural or "artificial") will be able to expand their mind if they want to, although some people lean towards Homo sapiens or AIs being superior.

George Dvorsky writing for io9.com thinks Humans With Amplified Intelligence Could Be More Powerful Than AI:

"Unlike efforts to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), or even an artificial superintelligence (SAI), the human brain already presents us with a pre-existing intelligence to work with. Radically extending the abilities of a pre-existing human mind — whether it be through genetics, cybernetics or the integration of external devices — could result in something quite similar to how we envision advanced AI."

So who do you think will be smarter, Homo sapiens or AI? I think there will essentially be no difference between so-called "natural" and so-called "artificial" intelligence. I think there is only "intelligence." I think future AIs will swiftly be deemed natural biological entities. It does not really matter upon what substrate a mind exists if it is alive. Intelligent is intelligence and if something is alive it is biological even if the biology is totally different from the DNA coding of our (Homo sapiens) intelligence. A graphene based mind will be equally alive compared to a DNA mind.

Leave your comments via the G+ post.

#3Dprinting Guns Isn't Depressing

Huffington Post wrote: "After the depressing news 3D printing was being used to produce handguns..."

I disagree, freedom is certainly NOT depressing.

Information wants to be free. If you value liberty you must value total unfettered access to information. Everything is becoming information, data which we print, due to 3D-printing.

The only reason why violence occurs is because people are oppressed therefore more freedom is the answer if people truly want to live in a world free of violence, so this means greater access to guns will in the long run decrease violence. Suppressing violence via censorship will only make people more inclined to violent rebellion. Suppression, repression, censorship could induce apparently mindless violence (uncontrolled rage). It's all about scarcity, violence. Violence has a reason, humans are not unreasonable beings but a failure to understand scarcity means humans can appear unreasonable when authoritarianism is used to suppress violence instead of the intelligent option where we try to understand why violence exists.

#Singularity2045 on Google+ Going Strong

The Singularity 2045 page on Google+ is developing well. Currently around 100 to 300 new people are following the page each day, adding the page to their circles, which means if the rate of following continues there should be at least between 30,000 and 40,000 followers at the end of 2013; possibly there could be 80,000 followers be the end of the 2013.

On 19th May 2013 the total number of people who've added the page to their circles is 11,327. I will probably start adding managers soon to cope with the larger audience. Below is a badge for the page and below that is a copy of the page description.

The Singularity is all about human-level Artificial Intelligence exploding. It's a colossal explosion of intelligence. Nanotech, biotech, synthetic biology, Stem Cells, 3D-printing, quantum computing, and robotics are also important. AI will evolve intellectual powers VERY quickly because AI isn't limited by the slowness of human evolution. AI will radically improve our world. AI will help humans become immortal-super-beings. Technology is accelerating.

Robots will become humans. Traditional humans will reprogram the human machine, we will rewrite our DNA code via gene therapy, Stem Cells, synthetic biology, and other aspects of augmentation. The distinction between biology and machines will blur, due to the sophistication of machines, thus all machines will be biological. Machines of the future won't be clunking metallic contraptions. All intelligent beings of the future will be very organic regardless of their life being based on DNA, graphene, or qubits. We will re-engineer our brains. Everything will be free.

The year 2045 is our absolute latest deadline for the Singularity. Hopefully via our awareness we can make it happen sooner. We are helping to accelerate technological progress. So called "machines" will be self-healing and alive in the future. Via our awareness we could make the Singularity happen sooner instead of later.

Singularity 2045 helps you discover the latest science and tech news. If you have cutting-edge news to share with Singularity 2045 please join the Singularity Thinkers community, or mention +Singularity 2045 in a post/comment, or email us, or post links in the comments here. We also have an action-plan to raise awareness.

► ACTION PLAN.

On the 1st day of each month at 20:45 hours (your local time) the goal is to raise Singularity-awareness. Think about the future; upload 20:45 clocks; share a link, or send Singularity messages to friends or strangers. When the clock reaches 20:45 hours (8:45pm), on the 1st day of every month, think about how your life will have changed radically in the year 2045. Take some time to educate people about our amazing future. Spread the word on the 1st day of every month, ideally at 20:45 hours.

Example message:

Nanobot revolution, AI aware, technological utopia: Singularity 2045.

► EXACT TIME.

Many people are raising awareness all the time, every day of the week, at all hours, and that is fine. The 1st day of the month at 20:45 is a time when you can give extra special focus to Singularity issues.

The year 2045 is our deadline-target but you don't need to raise awareness at 8:45pm exactly. Any time between 20:25 and 20:45 hours on the first day of the month is OK. Due to our busy lives any time on the 1st day of the month is actually OK regarding our monthly awareness thrust.

20:45 hours is merely a guideline. The important thing is to raise awareness. The Singularity could happen earlier than year 2045.

► LOCAL TIME.

20:45 hours relates to wherever you are in the world. Your personal time will be the time-zone you use, although if you are raising awareness for someone in a different zone you can send act in relation to their time zone. The choice is yours. Time is relative for each person. All zones are valid because this is a global movement. The Singularity will be a period of enormous change and flexibility, therefore it's appropriate for this awareness campaign to have flexible and inclusive attitudes regarding all time zones.

► RAISING AWARENESS.

You don't need to generate awareness on the 1st of every month. Generate Singularity awareness if you feel inspired or if you remember. Relax and go with the flow. Take it easy. Send instant messages, mobile/cell phone messages, emails, comments, word of mouth, or share a link. Whatever you desire will be OK. If you are feeling brave, you can approach a stranger in the street and explain the Singularity to them. Click here to +1 and share this page.

► UPLOAD YOUR CLOCKS.

Photograph your clock (time display) set to the time of 20:45 and then upload it. Once you've uploaded your 20:45 image, make sure you tag Singularity 2045 in the photo.

► WHAT IS THE SINGULARITY?

Think about your current smart device. Now think about a phone from 2010. Smart-phones in the year 2010 are more powerful than average laptops from year 2000, and your current phone or other device is even smarter. Laptops and phones evolve much quicker than humans evolve in ten years. Technology reproduces rapidly.

Technological growth in 2010 was slow compared to the rate in 2020 or 2030. Progress is quicker each year. Technology is growing exponentially. Computer intelligence (the foundation of artificial intelligence) experiences intellectual augmentation yearly. When human level AI is born, perhaps sometime between 2025 and 2035, the pace of technological and scientific development will then become very rapid, reaching a critical mass of explosiveness by 2045 at the latest.

Our world will be very different in the year 2045. In the year 2010 people were becoming aware of speedy technological progress: new developments regarding the internet occur every six months. In the year 2020 the internet will be deeply embedded in everyday life. In 2013 computers were clearly diverging from their early origins, furthermore 3D-printing was rapidly evolving thus medical biopolymers or sugary foods were printed and NASA was funding food 3D-printing for astronauts.

Awareness of "exponential growth" is crucial for grasping this issue. Our rate of progress is not linear, we are progressing exponentially. Many people in year 2010 didn't know they would see around 20,000 years of progress (at the 2001 rate) during this century instead of the usual 100 years. The majority of progress will happen upon reaching the Singularity in 2045.

Imagine 20,000 years on top of what science and technology at the beginning of the 21st century has already achieved. Doubling a century would great. It is difficult to contemplate the awesomeness of 20,000 years condensed into one century. This is the Singularity.

Key Aspects

• Nanotechnology; biotechnology; synthetic biology.
• Nanobots (nanoscale-robots); nano-surgery.
• Matter replicators; molecular assembly; 3D Printing.
• Artificial Intelligence; neural augmentation.
• Wearable computers.
• Robots.
• Robotics.
• DNA manipulation, genetic engineering, Stem Cells.
• Space colonization and exploration.
• Augmented reality; virtual reality.
• Cybernetic enhancement.
• Limitless resources.
• Technological utopia.

All disease will be cured. We will live forever. We will reconfigure our DNA into any pattern we desire according to our wildest dreams. We will colonize space. The possibilities are limitless. Anything will be possible. Time for utopia. Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around. Our goal is RAPID GLOBAL AWARENESS regarding how the Singularity will transform the human race.

Year 2045 is our deadline for the Singularity. Heightened awareness ensures the Singularity happens sooner instead of later. Our goal is to make the Singularity happen by 2045 at the latest. The year 2045 is a safe date, the absolute latest date when the Singularity will happen. We hope 2045 will represent a midpoint in the explosion where the explosion has been ongoing for a number of years, or at least 2045 will represent the latest beginning point when the Singularity will occur. Growing awareness feeds back into the system thereby inspiring greater progress and greater investment in sci-tech, thus awareness grows then explodes. We can change the world.

► POST-SCARCITY.

Post-Scarcity is an alternate name for the Singularity; these two concepts are simply different viewpoints of the same event. Post-Scarcity is a more socio-economic view, a more sociological view, because it deals more with sociological ramifications instead of merely focusing on the technology. Our greatest resource is intelligence, it is the source of all resources but currently intelligence is scarce, thus from explosive intelligence total freedom (limitless resources) will flow. Join the Post-Scarcity Warriors for more info regarding the PS viewpoint.

Post-Scarcity is the point where technology explodes intelligently thereby allowing all needs to be fulfilled. All resources will be limitless due to greater access to resources combined with ultra-efficient usage of available resources, thus everything will be free because the only purpose of money is to regulate scarce resources.

TIME FOR SINGULARITY 2045

Also on ► Facebook 2045

Everything Free - No Jobs - Utopia 2045

On Google+ Jennifer Linksky brought the following Singularity Hub quote to my attention:

Vardi says, “The world in 50 years…either will be a utopia or a dystopia.” But history is littered with dystopic and utopian visions, even as the world has consistently muddled along the middle path.

Here is my response: I think the past can in some cases be instructive, but merely because something happened in the past this does not mean it will always happen. For example repeated failures at curing cancer could lead people to think cancer will always be incurable. Likewise regarding mortality, people could assume humans will always be mortal but very likely after all the years of effort cancer will be cured and immortality will be achieved via total mastery of human biology.

I think we are reaching a culmination point regarding human knowledge, where contrary to past stumbling blocks, which entailed a mere muddling along down the middle road, we will instead achieve extreme mastery thus utopia will ensue.

Nothing is truly certain but as certain as anything can be I think utopia is certain 50 years from now, I think utopia will be achieved no later than  2045.

Alexander Kruel is another person who allowed me to discover a good intellectual titbit worthy of a response. I follow Alex's stream on G+ where he included the following excerpt from a recent MIRI page:

"We can’t be confident AI will come in the next 30 years, and we can’t be confident it’ll take more than 100 years, and anyone who is confident of either claim is pretending to know too much."

I can confidently state, based upon various precursors and via looking at the rate of technological progress, human-level AI will be created no later than 2045. I think the actual date could be sometime around 2035, or even 2030, which is only 17 years away. Definitely no later than 2045. Furthermore if human-level AI is created as late as 2045 I think the evolution will be very rapid, a very hard take-off, although at any point the evolution will be explosive, my point is it will be a tad more so if AI is a later-bloomer.

MIRI's mention of 30 and 100 years caused me to think about posterity issues, the historic viewpoint. It is messy-unclear to state in "100 years." It is much better to use actual dates because it may not always be clear at what time-point the 100 year proclamation was made, which means 100 years is always 100 years away. There is a NASA page which has this problem. On 17th May 2013 the NASA page in question states space colonization could be a reality in 50 years but there is no date on the page regarding when that statement of 50 years was made, thus for the past three years, during which I have been aware of the page, there has been no progress towards space colonisation if we consider a 50 year date forever 50 years away. I actually suspect the NASA page in question was created in the year 2000, thus for the past 13 years space colonisation has always been 50 years away, and for all eternity, based upon the page in question, space colonisation will be 50 years away. The NASA page I mention does have a date regarding when it was last updated but there is no original creation date for the page. A recent update to the NASA page mentions how the page is an "introduction to the ideas developed in the Stanford/NASA Ames space settlement studies of the 1970s." So, does this mean the "50 years" relate to statements made in the 1970s? Does this mean, regarding "the first orbital colony to be built within about 50 years," we could have an orbital colony in the 2020s? People really need to start mentioning actual dates, for example 2045, instead of saying 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, or 1,000 years away.

Negativity Stops or Delays Perfect Future

For the people who think utopia is impossible I agree you may be right, nothing is certain, but I'm aware of how our expectations shape the future thus I act as though we can create a perfect future because if we think a perfect future is impossible then our expectations of failure, or impossibility, will almost certainly prevent a wonderful future from happening.

Ultimately we all have the power to change the world, at least in a small way, thus if everyone wanted to change the world in a small way all those small changes could become a massive change. The problem is this: many people think nothing will change thus they don't bother trying to change things because they say: "What's the point? Nothing will ever change."

I do respect negative views because I share them somewhat but think it is more productive to look at the positives, to inspire people with hope, so I try keep my negativity to to myself, unspoken. It is important to dream because without dreams humans would not achieve the impossible. History does show humans can achieve the impossible merely by their unyielding determination and powerful confidence in their power to reshape the world, their ability to dream.

Despair and stasis are debilitating. Yes there are lots of bad things in the world but there are also forces of good, people who utilise technology to make the world a better place. I am simply trying to generate hope to counteract the despair via focusing on the good, which is more productive.

So you may be right and I may be wrong, but regardless of who is right or wrong I act as though I could be right, I act with hope so that if I fail I can say to myself at least I gave it my best effort, at least I tried. At least I tried to overcome all limitations and I opened my mind to the idea of anything being possible. If we don't genuinely try to make the world a better place, a perfect place, then I do understand the sentiment of what's the point, thus perhaps you can see the power of negativity to delay or stop our progress towards a wonderful future.

Anyway, this probably seems at bit overbearing, and if so sorry for that. I am not trying to bash your viewpoint, I am merely explaining how I see the world.

Shortly after finishing this blog-post I discovered the following Tweet by Jason Silva, which echoes my sentiments:

"A person's outer success can never rise above the one visualized internally" - George Carlin on 'Psycho-Cybernetics' youtu.be/Vp1EJSCKoJY
— Jason Silva (@JasonSilva) May 11, 2013

More Thoughts About Aliens-Gods Cult

I wrote the following comment regarding my debunking of the Sirius alien, Ata (Atacama). 

I have no problems with aliens existing somewhere in the universe. My issue is that they are simply not intelligent enough to reach Earth yet, they are not yet technologically advanced. Compared to humans aliens are at a similar or lesser level of technological advancement. In this article I highlight the incongruity of the intelligence needed to possess highly advanced technology combined with the blatant stupidity of aliens who moronically crash their ships, or they play silly and very elusive communication games where their communicativeness resembles messages from God.

The fallacy of aliens visiting Earth is clear. Alien visitation is clearly a human wish not based upon reality, thus people attribute human intelligence (stupidity) to technologically advanced aliens. Supporters of alien visitation forget to apply greater intelligence to aliens, a type of intelligence inevitably resulting from greater technology, thus the erroneous falsehood of aliens moronically bestowing their technology occurs, either via accident or design, to secretive and corrupt humans leaders, or the aliens randomly crash or land in a moronic way incongruous with their intelligent technology.

The scientists investigating the alien in the Sirius documentary has now concluded the so-called "alien" is actually human in origin, it is merely a mutated human. I mentioned in the article how the "alien" could be humans experimenting on humans, and I also mentioned natural mutation.

This is the first alien skepticism or debunking article I have written. I don't have a compelling need to debunk aliens, similarly I don't have a need to debunk God, but when the level of alien or God supporters impinges significantly upon my life, when religious people reach a point of unbearable proselytizing, I will be moved occasionally to respond regarding their attempts to push their flawed ideologies into my life. Criticism of aliens similar to my atheism is merely my response to what is essentially recruitment into a cult. God and aliens are irrational cults, which I reject.