Re: Genetic transition to posthumanism

From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Fri Apr 27 2001 - 09:55:05 MDT


From: "Anders Sandberg" <asa@nada.kth.se>
> ...but at present we cannot say anything about the
> speed AI or advanced nanotech will appear. As for AI (which I somehow
suspect
> is close to your heart :-) we do not at present have any proof-of-concept
> (beside the wetware one) or research tree that is likely to lead up to it
(as
> in the nanotech case). It is a bit a "jack in the box"-technology: at
present
> you cannot predict when it will jump out. This makes dismissing everything
> else a bit premature.

That's all very true, Anders. Nano- and bio-tech may need to precede AI
because AI emerges from A-life. This would not impede an evolutionary phase
transition, it would merely re-order some people's concept of the approach to
it. Posthumans (AKA, Robo sapiens, Mind Children, Spiritual Machines,
Artilects) imo most likely evolve from consilience of nanotech, biotech, and
infotech, rather than from top-down programming schemes.

Stay hungry,

--J. R.

Useless hypotheses:
 consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism

     Everything that can happen has already happened, not just once,
     but an infinite number of times, and will continue to do so forever.
     (Everything that can happen = more than anyone can imagine.)



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