The Future

[Out_Kast]

Now, I'm a huge fan of thinking ahead; not just for the next few weeks, but my mind constantly lingers on thoughts of technology. When I first heard about MagLev trains in Japan, I thought '[censored]'. I took a general interest (as boring as it sounds). I've often considered being Cryogenically frozen because of all my dreams and, well, obsessions about the future. The sort of setting I want to wake up to every morning is where beautiful structures climb towards the sky, twisting and turning, while a stream of vehicles float past near my window; somewhere where I can be high up, looking down upon-
[/ramble]

Anyway. I don't know how many people are aware of this, but I found this on the internet, completely by accident.
http://206.106.174.125/tech.htm

If you look, make sure to check the FOLED video.
Boy, get me one of those bendy TV's any day http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[KaneKahn]

Still waiting on those sex androids from Heavy Metal <_<

[Frana]

On 2008-04-22 13:37, KaneKahn wrote:
Still waiting on those sex androids from Heavy Metal <_<



ROTFLMAFTW.

Seriously though, it would be cool, but I'm just gonna wait it out. That way, I can experince the next Beta max! (Or HDDVD...)

[Out_Kast]

We can hope.
Personally, I'd like someone to invent hover transport.
I don't know whether that's already in progress, but... http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Seority]

It's possible to make a hover device. Using high powered fans over smooth surfaces http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif
And that looks awesome!
Transparent? So like, a peice of glass over your wall, barely notacable, then BOOM! Futurama in high def! Screw blue-ray, that stuff is amazing!
XD

[Out_Kast]

We've gotta wait a while before it's out for sale. Unfortunately. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif

[Sinue_v2]

Technological Singularity - a point many predict will happen in the next 30-100 years which will be marked by the acquisition of knowledge so rapidly and so fundamentally changing to society, that no accurate predictions can be made about the future beyond that point. Or more precisely, the creation of smarter than human intelligence (either through human augmentation or AI) which is capable of augmenting it's own intelligence.

I wouldn't call it a Sci-Fi fantasy, but it is rather faciful and quite probable. We are on the threshold of some very amazing technologies. Imagine the implications...

Nanotechnology: Imagine having a swarm of nanomachines in your body which completely replace your white blood cells. "Curing" diseses is no longer necessary. You can simply download the newest "definitions" for each disease and have an army of tiny robots destroy them before they can make you sick. The flu, ebola, cancer, Aids... gone, overnight. Sound increadible? They already have tiny robotic hands which can gently grasp red blood cells (http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/robots/dn13725-tiny-robotic-hand-has-the-gentlest-touch.html). The implications for the world of sports would even more devistating than it would be for viruses, as Nanomachines could enhance the preformance of atheletes by regulating body systems. Further, and a bit scarrier, remember the old Playstation 2 ads where a gamer would "snort" Final Fantasy XXXIV? That may not be far from the truth - as nanomachines are capable of intercepting neurons in the brain and artificially alter their firing. By feeding the brain specific signals you can basically make someone think, see, hear, feel, anything you want. True to life Virtual Reality every bit as vivid as what you're seeing now - even if your body is not actually moving (much like how your body shuts down in a dream state) you would still have the sensation of movement, fatigue, vertigo, etc. This also means that you may be able to "record" your life experiences, and then play them back at any time. Indeed, you will even be able to download other people's experiences and relive them as if you were that person.

Genetics and Biology: Specifically gene therapy using retroviruses or Adenovirusesto remove and implant designer DNA into your genetic code. The implications are simply staggering. Physical abnormalities, genetic diseases, all capable of being abolished via Gene Therapy some day. But that is only touching the tip of the ice berg. Humanity will be able to rewrite their genetic code to improve their bodies. Baldness? Menopause? Obeisity? Gone. As well as aging. Some claim that first person to live to be 180-200 years old is alive today, and may be celebrating their 60th birthday. But who wants to live 200 years without the full vitatlity of youth to go along with it? We now know much of what causes aging, and are working on ways to halt or reverse the process. This can be done partially though repairing the damage done to DNA over time as cells divide. While true immortality is impossible, or even desirable, we will some day have the capacity to allow people to live for as long as they desire. Cryogenics not required. And this is further to say nothing of other applications to which we can apply genetics, such as custom building our own organisms for specific tasks, rather than just modifying an already existing base. Although we still do not possess the knowledge to actually create organisms from the ground up, we have successfully added two new letters to the Genetic Alphabet (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/genetics/dn13252-artificial-letters-added-to-lifes-alphabet.html). We have also created A new kind of yeast which can sniff out explosives (http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/gm-food/mg19426036.000-genetically-modified-yeast--can-sniff-out-explosives.html) We have also been able to create adult human stem cells out of skin, as well find a way to turn certain cells into reproductive - both egg and sperm. Concievably, this can be used to allow homosexuals of both genders to concieve a child that is both biologically theirs. (although for men/men pairing this is a bit more difficult, as men lack the Y Chromosome)

Cybernetics: As we continue to reverse engineer the human brain, it becomes more and more obvious that the differences between the organic brain and a computer are merely the differences between the digital and the analog. Today's computers are already far faster than the human brain, but still lack human brain processing capacity. This is because while silicon chips are much faster at transmiting signals - there are still basically two dimensional and very small - limiting the amount of transistors on a chip. The human brain is a lot larger, and three dimensional, owing it's power to staggering parallel processing capacity.

However, it's already possible to translate in limited fashion, a digital signal into an analog signal which the brain can pick up. We've had prostetic limbs which can track nerve activity - turning phantom limb syndrome into a workable artifical arm or leg for a while now, as well as emerging technology which applies the same principle to the voice box - allowing for the first voiceless telephone call (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyN4ViZ21N0). But this can also work in reverse, as is the case with bionic ears which can stimulate nerve endings in the ears to allow you to "hear" a sound that never existed.

But back to the brain, BCI (brain computer interfaces) are advancing at a rapid pace - allowing people with physical disabilities to control aspects of their environment (such as turning on and off lights, changing channels on the TV, or surfing the internet) simply by thinking about it. This could translate into robotic "assistants" to help around the house that are controlled by your brain. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ7EOpPNQyw&feature=related)

Of course, this can also work in reverse, as has been shown by experiments in which scientists could control the flight of a moth by manipuating it's brain. (http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/weapons/mg19726461.800-the-cyborg-animal-spies-hatching-in-the-lab.html) This may sound frightening to some, but with proper caution, cyberisation can be an enourmous boon to humanity. The implications of being able to crunch numbers (even complicated sets of numbers, such as detailed simulations) in your head as fast as your computer could - as well as the ability to store and backup memories to keep them as crisp and as fresh as when you first experienced them would be an amazing thing. Imagine downloading all of the knowledge and experience of a 4 year collage degree in a matter of minuites. And if you think about it, we're already doing this to a digree. Tools already augment the human body. Vehicles for transportation, computers for mathmatics, the internet for retireval of information, eyeglasses for improved sight, etc.

One of the major hurdles to cybernetics right now, is the rigidity of the implants in soft and flexible tissue, but this is also being overcome with the advent of strechable silicon chips (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xLRLZRW-8Q) to allow a less invasive and more intergrated interface with the brain.

Robotics: Specifically, AI. It's hard to predict when the first true concious AI will emerge. We've programed AI's with various human abilities we take for granted - such as robots which can recognize themselves in the mirror, or robots that can "see through someone else's eyes" (I.E. A robot that can observe two children hiding a ball. One child leaves, and the other child changes the hiding place. When the child returns, the robot knows the returning child will think the ball is in the original hiding spot), even robots that can identify and "get" jokes. But nobody is yet close to creating a comprehensive collection of various programs into one elegant AI program. Although there are still amazing strides being made.

The US Navy employs the IDA (Intelligent Distribution Agent) AI which employs some level of consciousness, as the AI system is able to negotiate with sailors over positions based on the individual sailor's skills, preferences, and the Navy's needs.

Robots are a common tool in warfare today, and as history has shown - military innovations will soon give way to home commercial applications. Like the can-opener and the computer, one day soon mobile exoskeleton suits (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYWd2C3XVIk) will allow the elderly and infirmed to move about and preform all the duties a healthy young person would be able to do - and moreso. And in the case of accident or health condition, the suit will even be able to provide GPS locations and emergency medical contact - or even travel to the nearest hospital autonimously with the incapacitated operator still inside.

And as strange as it sounds, marriages between human and AI robot may one day become common. Humanity has long been entranced by our tools, putting great care and affection into them. Some have even been awarded purple hearts, and promoted to ranks such as staff sargent - as was the case of "Sgt. Talon", of the 737th Ordnance Company which cleared IEDs for it's troops. Research into children and robots showed that giggling robots that interacted with the children invoked empathy and caring - as children would wave "bye bye" to it - and cover it up with a blanket when it powered down. This, in contrast to a control robot which preformed monotonous tasks and did not speak, who was largely ignored by the children. Even more utilitarian robots such as the Roomba are often given personalities and assigned genders (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_O6sTaS0nc) by their owners.

There is still much work on human-robot relations to be done, but the closer we get to creating robots which look and behave human - the more we are likely to empathize with them.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sinue_v2 on 2008-04-24 17:21 ]</font>

[HUnewearl_Meira]

I wouldn't get too excited about the distant future. It's a logical certainty that the robots will probably kill us, within the next 150 years.

It'll be damned worth it, though.

[Out_Kast]

Werid thoughts. It's almost as though someone's gonna make the world perfect sometime in the future; no disease, no pain.
Problem with that, really, is that reality just seems to... disappear.

Another thing I found out (link here (http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/18/0346229&from=rss)) is that someone has created a transistor that's 1 atom long, 10 atoms wide.
Takes a steady hand. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Sord]

On 2008-04-24 11:08, Out_Kast wrote:
We can hope.
Personally, I'd like someone to invent hover transport.
I don't know whether that's already in progress, but... http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif


Been awhile since I watched the special on it, but there are trains that do this already. Involves running currents through supermagnets or something I think. As I said, been ahwile.

[Monochrome]

How are they coming along with the lightsaber? That's the only thing I'm interested in... :/

[Sord]

On 2008-04-24 17:26, Monochrome wrote:
How are they coming along with the lightsaber? That's the only thing I'm interested in... :/


from what I recall, we can create the saber but... it takes a room full of equipment just to generate the thing, and it's completely immovable.

[Sinue_v2]

On 2008-04-24 14:19, HUnewearl_Meira wrote:
I wouldn't get too excited about the distant future. It's a logical certainty that the robots will probably kill us, within the next 150 years.

It'll be damned worth it, though.



What would be so bad about that? All life on Earth has been merely a stepping stone in evolution - displaced and removed by, or evolving into, the emerging dominant species. Humanity may just be such a stepping stone to a new form of digital life. Just like Fish gave rise to amphibians, then amphibians to reptiles, reptiles to birds and mammals, - digital life may be the next step. And who are we to stand in the way of progress?

Life has been around for 3.5 billion years. It took 2.5 billion years for the next stage - multicellular life to form. The the pre-cambrian explosion. 600 million years ago simple animals formed. 500 million years ago, fish. 360 million years ago, amphibians. 300 million years ago, reptiles. 200 million years ago, mammals. 85 million years ago for primates. 17 million years ago, homonids. 200,000 years ago, humans. And when computers take over after we're gone, perhaps it will only take 100,000 years - or 50,000 years, or even less for them to create something beyond them.

Or as said, perhaps computers won't completely wipe us out. Like Dinosaurs evolved into birds, perhaps we can merge with technology to keep our own species lineage around.

[Sord]

i'm a supporter for machine/human symbiosis. While it's nothing fancy by any means, I already use a motor to hear http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[GuardianElite]

On 2008-04-24 17:42, Sinue_v2 wrote:

On 2008-04-24 14:19, HUnewearl_Meira wrote:
I wouldn't get too excited about the distant future. It's a logical certainty that the robots will probably kill us, within the next 150 years.

It'll be damned worth it, though.



What would be so bad about that? All life on Earth has been merely a stepping stone in evolution - displaced and removed by, or evolving into, the emerging dominant species. Humanity may just be such a stepping stone to a new form of digital life. Just like Fish gave rise to amphibians, then amphibians to reptiles, reptiles to birds and mammals, - digital life may be the next step. And who are we to stand in the way of progress?

Life has been around for 3.5 billion years. It took 2.5 billion years for the next stage - multicellular life to form. The the pre-cambrian explosion. 600 million years ago simple animals formed. 500 million years ago, fish. 360 million years ago, amphibians. 300 million years ago, reptiles. 200 million years ago, mammals. 85 million years ago for primates. 17 million years ago, homonids. 200,000 years ago, humans. And when computers take over after we're gone, perhaps it will only take 100,000 years - or 50,000 years, or even less for them to create something beyond them.

Or as said, perhaps computers won't completely wipe us out. Like Dinosaurs evolved into birds, perhaps we can merge with technology to keep our own species lineage around.


I rather die merge with some dam toaster

[Jehosaphaty]

I either want to be cavemen or live in coolz worlds like cowboy bebop. Srsly.

[Sinue_v2]

You already are merged.

How did you get that message to me? Did you walk over to my house and say it out loud? No? You used a computer to augment your natural human abilities and send a message thousands of miles across the globe, over the internet, to a database which I accessed and retrieved that information from. The only difference between that and what I'm talking about, is that you had to use your fingers to type, and that your computer is still external. Not internal. The very fact that if civilization were to collapse tomorrow that we'd have millions upon millions of casualties is proof of just how integrated we already are with our machines.

[Out_Kast]

I'd just love to know what will actually happen in the distant future.
And I also wonder how they're dealing with cryogenics. If the all clear is sounded, I'm jumping in the bandwagon http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[BlaizeYES]

well, i'd tell you to watch the movie "idiocracy"... thats probably exactly what "the future" will be like.

even if we do get flying cars, robots, and all of that other shit... it'd be depressing. skyscrapers dont really do it for me, i would rather stand next to and look up at a MOUNTAIN than to look up at a 4 thousand foot skyscraper. "man made it." who cares, where is the marvel in that

[CelestialBlade]

We realize how much Homo Sapiens suck and we create Numans.

We then realize the potential of biomechanics and create Androids.

We then create a huge satellite and orbit it about our planet. We also create a sentient AI known as Mother Brain, that controls all systems in the solar system.

Onoes! Alien invaders have sabotaged our satellite and sent it crashing into Earth, destroying the planet! Mother Brain goes berserk and a rag-tag group of teenagers have to stop it!

The future is bright, indeed.

[Out_Kast]

Sounds like a Square-Enix RPG. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[rogue_robot]

I'm actually in a course about science fiction and its correlation with real science right now.
In terms of our current technological capabilities:


- Numen (minus the Techniques, obviously) are entirely possible right now. We possess all the technology necessary for a large-scale project to re-engineer the human genome, we just lack the knowledge and understanding of the human genome, and what each gene does, to pull it off. Nonetheless, many transgenic organisms already exist, including zebrafish which have had genes added from bioluminescent jellyfish to make them glow (purchasable as pets in some locations, for only about USD$16-20), and "golden rice" which contains added vitamins.

- Sentient AI - or even sapient AI - is again also possible with today's technology - we possess all the technology needed to make them, we just don't know how to put the pieces together correctly (or program them correctly, for that matter).

- Bionics (the physical integration of biological and mechanical parts, oft mistaken for cybernetics, which includes the use of external tools) are, as already pointed out, developing fast. We don't have any true "bionic" parts yet (they have to by definition function at least as well as the original, if not better), but a lot of effort is being applied in the development of biomaterials to reduce the likelihood of the human body rejecting the artificial parts.

- Cryonics (the preservation of organisms via freezing, oft mistakenly known as cryogenics, the study of life at cold temperatures), unfortunately, is one thing looking to not happen. Many cold-blooded animals can survive cryonic preservation (through natural metabolic reduction and vitrification), but no known warm-blooded species can. The main problem with human cryonic storage: vitrification is lethal to humans (replacing water in the body with alcohols and similar compounds, which don't freeze as easily; ice formation damages the tissues to be cryonically stored). Until a cryoprotectant can be developed which can replace water in human tissues without killing them, this one isn't going to happen.

[Sinue_v2]

Sentient AI - or even sapient AI - is again also possible with today's technology

I don't think so. Even the most powerful supercomputers in the world still can't match the processing power of the human brain by even conservative estimates. They will soon, if Moore's law stays in effect. Which it looks like it will. Silicon is quickly reaching it's full capacity, but we're on the cusp of new processor technology - such as Boron or Carbon Nanotubes.

The easiest way to the first true sentient AI will probably come about by reverse engineering the human brain and then emulating it in virtual space. So you would need a computer that is at least as powerful as the human mind - and thensome.

Which again, probably won't happen for at least 20-40 more years.

[Sord]

Hal 9000 here we come! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[rogue_robot]

Really, the funny thing with the AI one - for processing power, we're already way beyond what a human brain can do: 500 Hz v. 1+ GHz? No contest.

The actual problems are memory space and processor synchronization (which is where the problem ceases to be with the technology and starts to be with the humans using it) - because neurons operate analog, 1 neuron "byte" could potentially equate to several million (or even billion) digital bytes - or could be equivalent to just a few. We don't know, and until we find out, we can't possibly estimate with any accuracy whatsoever how much data the brain is pushing in just one of those 500 cycles a second - that, and the brain doesn't act as a single processor, but rather as several hundred (or even several thousand) in parallel anyway.

Therefore, I still say it's possible with current technology - assuming near-unlimited cash supplies and the ability, both programmatic and in resolving signal timing issues (both of which are problems with the humans using the technology, not the technology itself), to link together hundreds to thousands of individual microprocessors, each connected to its own vault of as much as 4 GB RAM and each constantly executing only a specifically assigned subroutine, to emulate human consciousness.


EDIT: Btw, the 500 Hz is the fastest neuron in the average human body (from what I learned in Psychology). This doesn't account for glial cells, which seem to be gaining importance of late...

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: rogue_robot on 2008-04-25 21:13 ]</font>

[Sinue_v2]

No, we're not way beyond the processing power needed for an accurate emulation of the human brain. We can emulate parts of the brain (such as IBM who are working on a simulation of the neocortex (http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/521/djurfeldt.html)), but not the entire brain as a whole functioning unit. Conservitive estimates of the human brain's processing power is around 10 to 16th power operations per second when put in terms of computer speed. This is in the Petaflop range. The fastest computer in the world currently open to science is the AMD Ranger Supercomputer at the University of Texas, and it can handle around 1 Petaflop, or 10 to the 15th power. Even IBM's Blue Gene/P can only handle 3 Petaflops at maximum capacity (it was only designed for 1 Petaflop) - which is still quite a bit slower than the human brain. And you have to remember that these are bleeding edge in computer capacity - and very, VERY, expensive systems. Those used for research are like Space Telescopes with hundreds of Astronomers quabbling who gets what time with the machine and when. We won't have this kind of processing power available on a wide scale to whoever needs it for still quite some time.

And you're right, in that the human brain is LEAGUES slower than a computer. Individual neurons on average only have about a 200 hz capacity. Once again, however, the human brain does not owe it's amazing capacity to the speed of the neurons themselves, but to the massive parallel processing power of around a hundred billion of these very slow neurons and the trillion or so Glia. This is the same idea that goes into supercomputers, because we don't have - and probably won't have for a very long time - a single chip that can get anywhere near the Petaflop range. The aforementioned supercomputers operate by having multiple very powerful processors working in tandem in parallel distributive processing.

Now, just being able to match human brain capacity is not sufficient for emulated human AI. Like any emulation, you must have enough processing power to not only match the functions of the emulated material - but sufficient hardware resources to run the emulation program. This means that even though it will only take a couple more years to exceed human brain capacity - it will take many more years to build a system which is capable of emulation. Again, considering that Moore's Law holds true, it will happen well within our lifetimes - but not right now.

Oh, before anyone brings it up - the whole myth of humans only using 10% of our brains is just that. A myth.

[Nitro Vordex]

On 2008-04-25 16:39, Sord wrote:
Hal 9000 here we come! http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif


I must be the only person who noticed that.

I'd rather not have all of these robots and stuff running around. Why?

Hackers and viruses. Despite whatever protection/firewalls they have, there's always a loophole in them. We already have cars that are parking themselves, and there is development in auto pilot cars. Someone sends a virus to it- it could veer off the road, suddenly stop, or just plain asplode.

Sometimes I wish we had chosen nature instead of machines...

[Sinue_v2]

Sometimes I wish we had chosen nature instead of machines...

We are currently "hacking" life and creating viruses as well. What's your point?

What's the essential difference between someone creating a computer virus that can kill or control a cybernetically enhanced brain and an genetically engineered airborne pathogen or virus that can kill just as many people if not more?

Artificial is in no way synonymous to "Malevolent", just as Nature is in no way synonamous "Benevolent".

[Sord]

On 2008-04-26 00:23, Sinue_v2 wrote:

Sometimes I wish we had chosen nature instead of machines...

We are currently "hacking" life and creating viruses as well. What's your point?

What's the essential difference between someone creating a computer virus that can kill or control a cybernetically enhanced brain and an genetically engineered airborne pathogen or virus that can kill just as many people if not more?

Artificial is in no way synonymous to "Malevolent", just as Nature is in no way synonamous "Benevolent".


The fact you need advanced technology/machines to even make that engineered pathogen kinda ruins your statement. I agree with your final point, it's just the statement is rather contradictory.

[Blitzkommando]

How about a non-technical use of nature for harm then? Smallpox infected blankets. The idea of simply giving people infected items to spread a virus is not new, nor is it a technology of any kind.

As for hovering, look up these terms: Magnetic levitation, superconductor, and hovercraft. I've been on a mag-lev train before, multiple times in fact. And you may very well have as well if you've ever been to Disney World or Disney Land. The monorails at both are magnetic levitation based systems. And superconductors, which can be used for levitation, are key in semiconductor research. As for hovercraft, they're not exactly the most efficient things, but you can easily construct one yourself with relatively little funds. The Marines have used them for a while now as well for landing craft. And if you want anther type of hovering, look up non-fixed wing aircraft, or as you probably have heard them called, helicopters, gyrocopters, or rotary wing aircraft. Also look up vertical take-off and landing. Examples there are the JSF and Harrier which can hover for short periods of time. Also, the CV-22 is neither a helicopter nor conventional airplane but a combination of the two.

[Sinue_v2]

But it's not like extremely virulent pathogens don't occur in nature. Take the Black Plague, Malaria, Ebola, HIV, Bird Flu, Polio, etc... etc... for example. That's to say nothing of natural neurotoxins which have evolved in many species, or parasites. You don't necessarily need advanced technology, just a specific environment suitable for the selection of desirable mutation and enough time. It's the same as breeding animals, where we act as the selector, and we've been doing it for as long as we've domesticated animals. Plants too. Corn, for instance, is an entirely man-made organism which we've shaped out of a strain of wheat grass for thousands of years. The Cavendish Banana, being another example.

Granted, bacteria and Viruses are a lot trickier to breed that way, but we are doing it through the increased reliance on Antibiotics and Vaccines to which new strains of the pathogens are evolving defenses againt. Even so, we've known the conditions which optimally breed virulent diseases for centuries now - and we've often used conditions to our advantage, either by avoiding them or cultivating them. Two examples of which being sanitary practices in hospitals, and the tendancy for our middleage ancestors to hurl rotting and decaying carcasses over battlement walls in a form of dark-ages biological warfare.

[Out_Kast]

On 2008-04-26 01:47, Blitzkommando wrote:
And you may very well have as well if you've ever been to Disney World or Disney Land. The monorails at both are magnetic levitation based systems.

I went do Disneyland Paris over the Easter holidays, but didn't spot any. You mean the ones in America?

As for replacing Silicon, I've noticed a lot of topics surrounding a substance called Graphene...

[Alamar]

I think it is cool to look at tech this way. I look back at 1908 and see what they had then that was "high tech OHH AHH stuff" lol. Then I look at now, Huge difference.
I then try to look ahead to 2108 and try to think what we will have then. I know it sounds dumb. If you were to bring a cell phone of today back to say 1990 they would be amazed. Things are happeneing so fast now. I was always attracted to high tech and always wanted the cool stuff in movies NOW lol.
As for me I want the "Holodeck" talk about cool azz game play. lol

[Solstis]

Any bit of Star Trek technology has at least one episode in which something goes wrong.

Holodeck and teleporter accidents tend to be the most common.

For Strong AI to exist (to replicate self-awareness), considering that a human is capable of committing an infinite amount of actions (ranging from precisely how I sip my tea to how I type), we would need a computer capable of calculating an infinite amount of variables quickly.

Weak, or restricted and programmed AI, is definitely underway, and getting more and more advanced.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Solstis on 2008-04-26 11:39 ]</font>

[Out_Kast]

So long as scientists continue to study and whatnot, we should get there in the end.
Problem is, it'd probably be uncontrollable. It could turn into 'I, Robot'... http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Sol_B4dguy]

Please, "I, Robot" wasn't even CLOSE to the source material. Poor Asimov....

I think as long as the future doesn't turn into something like "1984" or some other dystopian view, I'm good. Can't wait to see what happens a few years down the road.