12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
He doesn't hesitate or hedge. He's fully in on the inexorable forces that he claims will determine our future. Determine them, not MAY determine them. Why is this important to me? If you believe in the actuarial tables I will most likely not see much of that glorious future. What a bummer! I want to live longer, not just to enjoy family and friends, which I do, but to be in the world that is coming faster and faster, sooner and sooner, more and more. I believe in the onward and upward expansion of evolution. Sure, there are naysayers with good reasons for pause, but I don't think they will prevail.
Disasters can happen, but in the broad stretch of history they are usually just a blip. The vectors of the past point to a future that is an advance over the past, not a reversion to it. If there are any universal laws I think they can be summarized by the tendency of things that survive to become part of increasing complexification, wherein things connect and combine until a seemingly magic moment, when they flip irreversibly up into a whole new reality.
This coincides with a new project I'm working on with my friend DRJ where we are working to articulate a new vision of life that includes this inexorable development process. I'm finding that in order to appreciate the value of this change, I needs to break out of an egocentric view of the world and accept the fact that no individual is more important than the general sweep toward the complexification of the universe.
It all started with hot inanimate plasma, from which developed clumps of quarks, called protons, which cooled the overall plasma gas so that more protons could develop. From protons, through the same process, atoms developed then molecules and from molecules organisms and from organisms, homo sapiens, and from homo sapiens came artificial intelligence which morphed into the internet which continues to morph into a planetary mind and so on to unimaginable developments. I don't need religion to believe in this kind of future, I only need a sense of history, an appreciation for the developments of real science and a hope that I can see some of it.
In the meantime, I will try to appreciate my part in the overall development of life.
Disasters can happen, but in the broad stretch of history they are usually just a blip. The vectors of the past point to a future that is an advance over the past, not a reversion to it. If there are any universal laws I think they can be summarized by the tendency of things that survive to become part of increasing complexification, wherein things connect and combine until a seemingly magic moment, when they flip irreversibly up into a whole new reality.
This coincides with a new project I'm working on with my friend DRJ where we are working to articulate a new vision of life that includes this inexorable development process. I'm finding that in order to appreciate the value of this change, I needs to break out of an egocentric view of the world and accept the fact that no individual is more important than the general sweep toward the complexification of the universe.
It all started with hot inanimate plasma, from which developed clumps of quarks, called protons, which cooled the overall plasma gas so that more protons could develop. From protons, through the same process, atoms developed then molecules and from molecules organisms and from organisms, homo sapiens, and from homo sapiens came artificial intelligence which morphed into the internet which continues to morph into a planetary mind and so on to unimaginable developments. I don't need religion to believe in this kind of future, I only need a sense of history, an appreciation for the developments of real science and a hope that I can see some of it.
In the meantime, I will try to appreciate my part in the overall development of life.
2 comments:
I'm here to challenge you again, Mario. Out of complete respect that this is your blog and space to express your views, but wanted to question the reasoning.
In terms of the evolution you describe, two things seem missing or misplaced. Soul and intelligence. Are you saying there is a living soul in a computer program?? Even with humans, do you believe there is a soul in the brain/body? Is intelligence in a brain? So the physical world is IT? The only 'intelligence' OR soul that exists is in chemical and molecular structure?
So let's take a person, who expresses a high level of intelligence. A perfectly normal healthy adult in mid-life. That person is actively expressing intelligence. Is it all coming from the brain? What happens if, say some sort of accident happens that causes a loss of blood or oxygen to the brain and vital organs stop and the person's, for unseen and unpredicted reasons just prior, body ceases to be alive. Now, if intelligence was in that brain, why wouldn't that brain find a way to fix or redistributed the problem so that the body wouldn't die? Wouldn't that be true intelligence? But, is the so called intelligence gone now from that brain, once it ceases to be in function with all the other life organs, once all is shut down? Why? What happened? Where is the intelligence? So a man is strictly just a physical creature that has no true intelligence beyond his physical/chemical makeup? And has no 'soul' whatsoever? EVERYTHING is learned from that physical/chemical experience?
In terms of the evolution you describe, two things seem missing or misplaced. Soul and intelligence. Are you saying there is a living soul in a computer program?? Even with humans, do you believe there is a soul in the brain/body? Is intelligence in a brain? So the physical world is IT? The only 'intelligence' OR soul that exists is in chemical and molecular structure?
First of all, you should read the book. I doubt you will, but if you read it you might alter your question.
What do you mean by “soul?” And don’t quote from Eddy. Tell me what you really think.
So let's take a person, who expresses a high level of intelligence. A perfectly normal healthy adult in mid-life. That person is actively expressing intelligence. Is it all coming from the brain? What happens if, say some sort of accident happens that causes a loss of blood or oxygen to the brain and vital organs stop and the person's, for unseen and unpredicted reasons just prior, body ceases to be alive. Now, if intelligence was in that brain, why wouldn't that brain find a way to fix or redistributed the problem so that the body wouldn't die? Wouldn't that be true intelligence?
Intelligence isn’t an absolute. It’s very relative. I’m pretty intelligent, but know people who are way more intelligent than I. I’m probably more intelligent than I was 40 years ago when I joined the CS cult. These things are subject to development, improvement. If a particular brain, or even a group of brains, can’t figure out how to restore an oxygen-starved victim, there’s no saying that i couldn’t happen some day, when there is more knowledge informing intelligence.
In any case, your divine agent, doesn’t seem to have figured it out either. People who experience oxygen deprivation die. You can bet on it.
But, is the so called intelligence gone now from that brain, once it ceases to be in function with all the other life organs, once all is shut down? Why? What happened? Where is the intelligence?
Neurons stopped firing. No activity - death
So a man is strictly just a physical creature that has no true intelligence beyond his physical/chemical makeup? And has no 'soul' whatsoever? EVERYTHING is learned from that physical/chemical experience?
Yep
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