Technological change

60-Minutes ran a feature segment on A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). My knowledge of computer technology is below average, consisting mainly of checking email and surfing the internet. As most people, I knew computers were taking over many jobs once done by humans, and had seen footage of auto industry robots assembling automobiles. I remember seeing video of a warehouse with floor computers delivering boxes from one location to the next. A.I. is different. While watching this segment with…

technology our innovations may bring us to our own demise. Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge first popularized the idea of the singularity in his 1993 essay "Technological Singularity." The singularity suggests many ideas but contains the following hypothesis, the invention of artificial intelligence will potentially trigger runaway technological growth. The resulting factor being unfathomable complications and dangers to human…

Subcultures and Social Trends: The Transhumanists – The Singularity and Modern Cyborgs http://s25.postimg.org/s6106wapr/binary_1536617_180.jpg It is estimated that somewhere around the year 2045, a technological singularity will occur- the point at which artificial intelligence outstrips human capacity; only it’s not quite the story as James Cameron portrayed it in his groundbreaking movie *The Terminator*. Rather, it would seem the singularity is closer to The Borg from the Star Trek Next…

Personal Electronic Devices are a blessing and a curse to society. Some people believe that Personal Electronic Devices will spell the downfall of humanity as we know it and while I don’t personally agree with that statement I can see where people would come to that conclusion from. Personal electronic devices are more addicted to people in today’s society than any other addiction in human history. No other time in history has there been one sole thing that near every human has and uses…

conclusion. He explains there is a preconceived notion, which states that the exponential growth of technological advances and mass amounts of computerized data has and will always successfully strengthen the world’s ability to conduct research and make predictions about many topics and situations. Silver relates in the introduction that this is not necessarily true. There is no doubt that technological advances have raised the standard of living almost worldwide and is the backbone to all…

Brainwriter added more than just a voice to the Don Moir’s story. Beyond being able to communicate with his wife, the Brainwriter also allows him to be more autonomous. A farmer by trade, Don is now able to speak to business colleagues, a truly empowering change for a man who has been strapped in silence for fifteen…

Let’s get down to business, Ray Kurzweil predicts that in 2045 a singularity will happen. Not just any singularity, a technological one. This means that when the time comes, technology and human capacity will accelerate and merge to become a new and different life-form. This may include machines becoming sentient. Believing in the singularity is a good thing. The singularity will bring up a new age of superhuman intelligence. “According to Ray Kurzweil the advancements in the GNR; genomics,…

Brainwriter added more than just a voice to the Don Moir’s story. Beyond being able to communicate with his wife, the Brainwriter also allows him to be more autonomous. A farmer by trade, Don is now able to speak to business colleagues, a truly empowering change for a man who has been strapped in silence for fifteen…

In today’s society, technology is increasingly present and with that more and more people have access to information. It takes only a few seconds for someone to search a question on google or open up a news app and read up on current events. One of the main themes conveyed in both Jenkins and Smith’s work is access. Today’s more readily available access to technology allows a greater part of society to keep up with the world. Social media is just another aspect of access we have with today’s…

A popular theme in many works of fiction includes machines overthrowing and either ruling over or attempting to eradicate humanity. The 2014 film, Ex Machina, takes a very different approach from the more popular depiction. The approach is more intellectual and psychological, regarding the concept of artificial intelligence. Instead of the general plot of, “humankind needs to be saved from the machines,” it deals with defining consciousness and what it means to be human. In Kevin Kelly’s…