Whole Brain Emulation is going to create synthetic humans, if the functionalist point of view of neuroscience is right, by implementing their thought processes in forthcoming hardware, and software systems, which could arrive as early as the middle of this century. What are the rights of these uploads? How will their existence impact our […]
Anders Sandberg, and the Ethics of Uploading Read More »
Analyzing, and implementing specific brain functions, in order to complement, or substitute them when impaired has been possible for a long time. Hearing aids, or a simple pair of glasses are well accepted tools helping our senses, and our brain functions. There many leaps that researchers working in the field of neuroengineering want to be
Randal Koene on Whole Brain Emulation Read More »
Bela Nagy is working at the Santa Fe Institute on a project called the Performance Curve Data Base, which collects datasets concerning the evolution of technology, including performance metrics, production volumes, and other economic indicators. Bela calls his approach Quantitative Futurism, and applies techniques of hindcasting, starting from a point in the past, with the
The Performance Curve Database at the Santa Fe Institute Read More »
On October 3-4, 2009, the Singularity Summit 09 is held in New York, and it promises to be a very stimulating event. Organized yearly by the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Singinst), it is confronting for the first time an East Coast audience, after its past three editions in California. Invited by Singinst’s President, Michael
Singularity Summit 09 coming up in New York Read More »
Electronic text is not new, but the ebook has started to be seen as a new medium recently. The reason of this is the easy identification of ebooks through their unique reader devices. But is it right? When a new medium emerges, for a while it sits in a straddling position between carrying through the
What are ebooks and ebook readers really for? Read More »
As new gadgets come out on the market, with more features, options, and possibilities for personal and professional use, I like to try them out when I can. Rather than doing it in parallel, and somewhat superficially, my preference when possible is to actually live with the devices sequentially for an extended period of time,
Polished, and less than polished mobile phones and operating systems Read More »
I am at the NASA Ames Research Center, where I spent a week at Singularity University. It was a great opportunity to attend lectures, go on trips with the students, interact with the rest of the Advisors, and the staff. I have kept twittering my impressions, brief quotes from the lectures, and it was a
Lecture at the Singularity University Read More »
We are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the landing on the Moon, and it is a good to keep asking the right questions about the goals of space exploration. Should we try and go back to the Moon? Should we go to Mars instead? Should we try and settle Mars? How quickly can we get
Space exploration: the Moon, Mars, and beyond Read More »
In many countries there is planned legislation imposing special limits on the freedom of expression online. Italy’s Alfano law equates all blogs to professional journalism, and requires the publishing of “corrections” notified by interested parties, under the penalty of heavy fines. This law, if passed without any modification, will in practice silence free speech on
Say no to the gagging of the net Read More »
Tomorrow I will be with ONE at the U2’s 360 concert, together with my sons. Image by One.org ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE
