by Carlhole » Tue 02 Sep 2008, 20:52:40
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gampy', 'H')ey fellas (and fillys),
Sorry if this might be a little off-topic, but have A.I. researchers ever tried getting their Big Blues (or whatever computing machines they have devised) to create art? Or music? I would imagine that this would be indicative of a higher intelligence. Well...not necessarily higher, but more akin to human intelligence. I would surmise that art requires emotion, and logic together.
Also, what is the most recent technological "game-changer"?
By that I mean something like the transistor, or silicon chip.
I am trying to think of an innovation in the last five years that might move us further along this path to SINGULARITY.
Off the top of my head, I can think of the "cell phone language translator" that Kurzweil demonstrated to the audience at the 2006 Singularity conference. It seemed to work pretty well except that it was too slow. It seemed to be near product stage though. If it were working as promised, an English-speaker could talk to a Mandarin-speaker with only a little delay time.
The other thing that I'm interested in hearing about is the parallel programming initiative that was formed earlier this year. In the immediate future, PC's will come equipped with multiple processors and GPU's -- not just two or 4 processors, but 8, 16, 32, etc.
The problem is, parallel programming software is very difficult and complex to write - at least for the average applications programmer out there. So there is a big push on to correct this deficiency so that applications can take advantage of all the immense processing power enabled by multiple processors.
The IBM Blue Brain Project has completed Phase 1 of it's virtual replication of the human neocortical column. They have taken 50 nanometer slices of a human neocortex and scanned the entire neuron matrix into a cyberspace. The idea here is to have a functioning virtual human neocortical column working in real-time, run on super-computers. The researchers would be able to observe how the virtual neurons fire and coordinate with one another to form memories and concepts and things. I mean, THAT is pushing the envelope hard! I can't wait to hear more about THAT!
So, I'm sure we'll be hearing about other game changers in at the Singularity Summit 2008. It wouldn't be any fun if there were no red meat to throw at all the ravenously hungry nerds!
[web]http://singularity.com/themovie/[/web]
NEW MOVIE: The Singularity Is Nearcoming soon to a theatre near you.