Singularity Fallacies: An essay by Extropia DaSilva

From: Giu1i0 Pri5c0 (pgptag@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Aug 26 2007 - 07:40:29 MDT


Another thoughtful essay by Extropia DaSilva, on the Technological
Singularity and the evolution of the Internet towards the Omninet.

"In this extended essay, I look at some of the fallacies that crop up
in discussions of the Technological Singularity, and I don't just mean
the fallacies made by the people who think it is all a load of
nonsense. In fact, before proceeding, it's worth noting that, just
because the arguments put forward by most critics contain inaccuracies
and a general lack of understanding, that does not mean to say that
their conclusion (that there will be no Singularity) is wrong. Indeed,
at the end of this essay I argue that a proper understanding of what
the Singularity represents does show that its physical existence is an
illusion… "

Also, the 'Omninet': "Sci-fi visions of becoming immersed in
cyberspace imagined this would ocurr via us 'jacking in' by plugging a
cable into our brains. Cyberspace might indeed enter our brains,
albeit via a network of nanoscale transponders communicating with
neurons and each other on a local area wireless network. But,
ultimately, if this idea of an omninet is valid, immersion will happen
because the Internet spreads out into ubiquitous sensors that pervade
the environment. The sheer quantity of data and diversity of knowledge
that will exist in this age would overwhelm us, absolutely requiring
advanced machine intelligence to help organize and make sense of it".

http://transumanar.com/index.php/site/more/singularity_fallacies_an_essay_by_extropia_dasilva/



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