The Question:
There are many people that feel that at some point in the future, computer intelligence will surpass human intelligence. The word for this moment is called the "singularity". There are endless movies and books about the time where technology will become the master of the human race. What do you think about the singularity? Is it coming soon? What will life be like after the singularity? Will the singularity never happen? Is there a point in time where the impact of technology on our lives will be reduced as shown in alternate future scenarios like "steam punk"? You can pick any position you like but make sure to write in a way to make your point and support your arguments.
My Answer:
There are many people that feel that at some point in the future, computer intelligence will surpass human intelligence. The word for this moment is called the "singularity". There are endless movies and books about the time where technology will become the master of the human race. What do you think about the singularity? Is it coming soon? What will life be like after the singularity? Will the singularity never happen? Is there a point in time where the impact of technology on our lives will be reduced as shown in alternate future scenarios like "steam punk"? You can pick any position you like but make sure to write in a way to make your point and support your arguments.
My Answer:
Singularity:
Quote from Wikipedia:
[The first use of the term "singularity" in this context was by mathematician John von Neumann. In 1958, regarding a summary of a conversation with von Neumann, Stanislaw Ulam described "ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue"]
Though the word is new to me, the concept behind it has not been new to me. Even-though I don't watch many science fiction movies, I let my mind travel to unknown places where I let it wander to seek answers to questions it raises. Singularity is mostly defined as computer intelligence surpassing human intelligence, I would see singularity as 'The Single Event' or 'Series of Events' when human intelligence deteriorates to a level where computer intelligence has to supersede.
Technology surpassing humans is happening as many 'Single Events' and the power of human brain losing its abilities is happening as 'Series of Events'. By the end of this essay, I hope to elaborate that we are rapidly in that path where this is already happening. 'The Single Event' or 'Series of Events' as I see it has already been initiated.
Advanced Technology's rapid accent (The Single Event)
The human race as a whole is moving towards a language called programming. We in this course group are a standing example of it. We are collectively going to aid in the technological advancement of many small and big things in this world, but individually, we will only be aware of the minuscule programming code we will be writing. Effectively we will be creating something huge piece by piece, but once built in its totality, one individual (human) is not going to be able to handle it in singularly. But once this technology is born, it will be able to exist on its own in Singularity. This will end up making it, more powerful when compared to all the humans that put it together. In that 'Single Event', the technology born out of so many humans supersedes the creator.
Here, I would like to bring an example where a TED Talk (link provided in the reference section) speaks of a technology where a computer (program) reads the brain signals of the monkey and acts accordingly. The monkey need not even do the task with its hands. In the near future, replace the monkey with a human. A computer reads the human brain, understands it and behaves accordingly. Effectively we will be uploading all our brain signals to a computer which has the capacity to NOT forget. Putting all that information into a computer brain over a period of time is going to effectively make the computer intelligence more powerful than the human intelligence. Including cloud storage and data transfer technology, the thought of shutting down such a system also might not be in the control of humans. In that 'Single Event' Singularity might occur in that place and time.
Deteriorating Human Brain Power (Series of Events)
The human race as a whole has lost a lot of inherent knowledge that we once possessed. Let me elaborate this from what I know, from the present age to the not so distant past. We have become so dependent on technology for every need of ours from finding directions to doing basic calculations. People are more prone to take their smartphones to find which direction they are facing than look at the sun and find out. We are dependent on calculators for every calculation and spell check for any spelling in any language. Finding an address is totally dependent on technology for most of the world. Remembering phone numbers or other basic data came easily to humans earlier but not so much today. From these few instances, though minor, it is clear that we are handing over ourselves to computers. A little earlier in time, my grandparents could tell the time of the day, precisely from the angle of the sun irrespective of the weather. That knowledge is lost forever. Now we are dependent on the technology of the clock to tell us that.
By going further into the past, the earlier nomadic humans had more knowledge of natural calamities and ways to safeguard themselves without any technology to aid them. Native Americans survived in extreme temperatures of the northern hemisphere with the little they had whereas a single snowstorm could make us feel very vulnerable today, specially if we lost connectivity or our phones drained battery. When the tsunami struck the south east Asian countries, it was the indigenous people who could 'see it coming' much before it actually came and they took the necessary precautions to safeguard themselves. Today, we are so dependent on the weather forecast provided by technology to even take an umbrella for the evening when we can actually see an overcast sky.
In this manner, we are voluntarily handing over ourselves to technology. Thus, over time, by not using the human brain power to its full capacity, we are letting it deteriorate in a 'Series of Events' to the level where computer intelligence supersedes it and Singularity occurs.
Life after Singularity:
Extrapolating this to other technologies, (check the other TED technology talks) we, as a human race will have to accede our throne as the superior being on the planet. Though this new being might not be living, it could have superior control over the whole human race, (like the prediction in the 1984 book by George Orwell) with all that information that we have created and stored in the form of internet, free for this being to access it and act accordingly.
P.S: Not to sound too pessimistic, probably, that is when, humans might have to start moving to Mars en masse. :) Am I giving away the human race by mentioning it in this essay for our future rulers to find us?
Quote from Wikipedia:
[The first use of the term "singularity" in this context was by mathematician John von Neumann. In 1958, regarding a summary of a conversation with von Neumann, Stanislaw Ulam described "ever accelerating progress of technology and changes in the mode of human life, which gives the appearance of approaching some essential singularity in the history of the race beyond which human affairs, as we know them, could not continue"]
Though the word is new to me, the concept behind it has not been new to me. Even-though I don't watch many science fiction movies, I let my mind travel to unknown places where I let it wander to seek answers to questions it raises. Singularity is mostly defined as computer intelligence surpassing human intelligence, I would see singularity as 'The Single Event' or 'Series of Events' when human intelligence deteriorates to a level where computer intelligence has to supersede.
Technology surpassing humans is happening as many 'Single Events' and the power of human brain losing its abilities is happening as 'Series of Events'. By the end of this essay, I hope to elaborate that we are rapidly in that path where this is already happening. 'The Single Event' or 'Series of Events' as I see it has already been initiated.
Advanced Technology's rapid accent (The Single Event)
The human race as a whole is moving towards a language called programming. We in this course group are a standing example of it. We are collectively going to aid in the technological advancement of many small and big things in this world, but individually, we will only be aware of the minuscule programming code we will be writing. Effectively we will be creating something huge piece by piece, but once built in its totality, one individual (human) is not going to be able to handle it in singularly. But once this technology is born, it will be able to exist on its own in Singularity. This will end up making it, more powerful when compared to all the humans that put it together. In that 'Single Event', the technology born out of so many humans supersedes the creator.
Here, I would like to bring an example where a TED Talk (link provided in the reference section) speaks of a technology where a computer (program) reads the brain signals of the monkey and acts accordingly. The monkey need not even do the task with its hands. In the near future, replace the monkey with a human. A computer reads the human brain, understands it and behaves accordingly. Effectively we will be uploading all our brain signals to a computer which has the capacity to NOT forget. Putting all that information into a computer brain over a period of time is going to effectively make the computer intelligence more powerful than the human intelligence. Including cloud storage and data transfer technology, the thought of shutting down such a system also might not be in the control of humans. In that 'Single Event' Singularity might occur in that place and time.
Deteriorating Human Brain Power (Series of Events)
The human race as a whole has lost a lot of inherent knowledge that we once possessed. Let me elaborate this from what I know, from the present age to the not so distant past. We have become so dependent on technology for every need of ours from finding directions to doing basic calculations. People are more prone to take their smartphones to find which direction they are facing than look at the sun and find out. We are dependent on calculators for every calculation and spell check for any spelling in any language. Finding an address is totally dependent on technology for most of the world. Remembering phone numbers or other basic data came easily to humans earlier but not so much today. From these few instances, though minor, it is clear that we are handing over ourselves to computers. A little earlier in time, my grandparents could tell the time of the day, precisely from the angle of the sun irrespective of the weather. That knowledge is lost forever. Now we are dependent on the technology of the clock to tell us that.
By going further into the past, the earlier nomadic humans had more knowledge of natural calamities and ways to safeguard themselves without any technology to aid them. Native Americans survived in extreme temperatures of the northern hemisphere with the little they had whereas a single snowstorm could make us feel very vulnerable today, specially if we lost connectivity or our phones drained battery. When the tsunami struck the south east Asian countries, it was the indigenous people who could 'see it coming' much before it actually came and they took the necessary precautions to safeguard themselves. Today, we are so dependent on the weather forecast provided by technology to even take an umbrella for the evening when we can actually see an overcast sky.
In this manner, we are voluntarily handing over ourselves to technology. Thus, over time, by not using the human brain power to its full capacity, we are letting it deteriorate in a 'Series of Events' to the level where computer intelligence supersedes it and Singularity occurs.
Life after Singularity:
Extrapolating this to other technologies, (check the other TED technology talks) we, as a human race will have to accede our throne as the superior being on the planet. Though this new being might not be living, it could have superior control over the whole human race, (like the prediction in the 1984 book by George Orwell) with all that information that we have created and stored in the form of internet, free for this being to access it and act accordingly.
P.S: Not to sound too pessimistic, probably, that is when, humans might have to start moving to Mars en masse. :) Am I giving away the human race by mentioning it in this essay for our future rulers to find us?
References:
http://www.ted.com/talks/miguel_nicolelis_a_monkey_that_controls_a_robot_with_its_thoughts_no_really
(Monkey is said to control the robot but what it effectively means is that the machine is able to read the thoughts, a.k.a brain signals of the monkey)
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-hawking-warns-artificial-intelligence-could-mean-end-of-humanity-...
(Stephen Hawking thinking on the same lines is not surprising)
Some interesting reads:
http://io9.com/5534848/what-is-the-singularity-and-will-you-live-to-see-it
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/the-great-singularity-debate/3029
(Monkey is said to control the robot but what it effectively means is that the machine is able to read the thoughts, a.k.a brain signals of the monkey)
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-hawking-warns-artificial-intelligence-could-mean-end-of-humanity-...
(Stephen Hawking thinking on the same lines is not surprising)
Some interesting reads:
http://io9.com/5534848/what-is-the-singularity-and-will-you-live-to-see-it
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/the-great-singularity-debate/3029
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