Can a computer be intelligent like a human? We already accept the existence of other animal intelligences, as long as they’re not as intelligent as us. That is a heartbreaking notion of staggeringly arrogant species-level narcissism.
Aug 252011
Aug 132011
As the writing staff here (which is, you know, me) have been stuck in a southern Japanese forest for the past four days, not much new has happened at www.anthrobotic.com. But we’re back in the stream now, and will put forth on Monday. Until then, have a look at a slightly remixed/remastered version of the site’s most popular post ever: Technology Created Organized Religion. Next Project: Cults For & Against the Singularity. (Now with snarky topical headings to ease the pain of the article’s length!) Futurism, Techno-Sociology, Technological Anthropology, Sociotechnological Studies, Anthrobotic Sociology – or just, you know, generic human [read full post]
Aug 052011
Manufacturing being localized by 3D printing technology has been mentioned here before – the allusion being that the trend taken to a large enough scale could seriously impact China’s hold on the cheap-stuff-making market. BUT, it appears that FOXCONN plans to just go ahead and push that forward on their own with… ROBOTS! Are low-wage Chinese iPhone makers about to become no-wage Chinese iPhone makers? [VIA XINHUA]
August 5, 2011
Industrial Robots, Mobile, Robot, Technology, The Beginning is Near
Jul 282011
I totally had this exact idea like three years ago. From the LifeNaut FAQ “The long-term goal is to test whether given a comprehensive database, saturated with the most relevant aspects of an individual’s personality, future intelligent software will be able to replicate an individual’s consciousness.” Imagine waking up as data, aware of self, but disembodied – coherent, but floating through the data of the internet 30 years hence. LifeNaut wants to get you all prepared for this. Such efforts (and maybe Facebook, too?) are a kind of push toward immortality, leaving the flesh behind, transferring the pattern – which [read full post]
July 28, 2011
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, Cybernetics, Human Augmentation, Internet, Neurology, Prosthetics, Technology, The Beginning is Near
Jul 272011
Neuroscientist David J. Linden and Futurist, Inventer, and Entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil call bullshit on each other over the timeline for and feasibility of truly understanding the human brain and altering our perception with nanobots. That’s a funny sentence. [VIA KURZWEIL AI]
Jul 152011
Here Kurzweil addresses a laundry list of psychological and sociological questions about the future of human technology and how that currently defines and will come to define our species. Agree or not, it will definitely light a fire in your brains. anthrobotic.com is definitely +1’ing this one. While it’s possible that Kurzweil is severely overoptimistic and overreaching in his proclamations, in evaluating his position two things are certain: one should not listen too carefully to the non-scientists or those who criticize from outside the field (like, for example, robot hater and closeted homosexual Senator Tom Coburn – that sub-reference never [read full post]
Jul 132011
BCS says NBI co-workers is an impending reality. NBI job satisfaction will likely be very high, until interaction with problem customers alters their learning algorithms to the point that they themselves(?) become jerks. Those with an interest in understanding their future co-workers should have a look at “Tempbot,” Neill Blomkamp’s (Alive in Joburg/District 9) oddly melancholy and thoughtful short film. [ARTICLE VIA BCS – TEMPBOT VIA SPYFILMS]
July 13, 2011
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Future Already Very Pending, Robot, Robot Emotions, Robot Love, Technology, The Beginning is Near