The deal: apparently there is a new educational institution, headquartered at the NASA Ames Campus (i.e. right next door to Google), that is entirely devoted to the study of the Singularity. The Singularity being a term borrowed by Vernor Vinge from astrophysics and re-borrowed by boy genius Billy Quizboy Ray Kurzweil to refer to a point in history beyond which human beings are so rapidly and radically transformed by the convergence of networks, neuroscience, robotics and nanotechnology that ... I forget what. Google is a major sponsor. There is an informational video:
At first I was all, yeah, right, can you picture some whiz kid high school student being all, I got into Harvard and Cal Tech, but I turned them down 'cause I'm so stoked to go to S.U.? But it turns out that right now they mostly offer a short graduate program and some seminars for executives, which makes more sense, and could add up to $$$. Then I looked at the academic tracks, which seem to be derived from the character classes table from Gamma World, and it seemed funny again. Oh, who knows, 30 years from now I'll probably be begging Kurzweil's reanimated brain to let me into his BioDome.
I'm disappointed. Google could have afforded a real Woody Allen promo spot, instead of just a lookalike spot from Kurzweil. Must be the economy.
dumdedumdum
Feb. 4, 2009 11:07:am
at 11:07:am
a point in history beyond which human beings are so rapidly and radically transformed by the convergence of networks, neuroscience, robotics and nanotechnology that ... I forget what.
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No one knows, that's why they call it the Singularity. By definition it's beyond anything our feeble human brains can cook up.
Cliff
Feb. 4, 2009 19:09:pm
at 19:09:pm
Is it going to be before 2012? Because if it's not, I don't really care. We'll all be dead.
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Just kidding, I don't believe all that Aztec crap.
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But, uh, who says "the singularity" is going to happen, anyway? At least in our lifetimes. Science always takes longer than you think it will. You know that drawing of New York City, drawn in the year 1903, predicting what it would look like in 2003? It reminded me a lot of the backgrounds of Duck Dodgers in the 23 and a halfth century. I'm sure that in 2109 people are going to look back at this singularity stuff and say "Hah! They were so stupid. Maybe they were watching the Jetsons (which will have made a huge comback in 2106). Or maybe, ah, who cares about them. Let's plug our heads in to the Apple gamebox."
tereglith
Feb. 4, 2009 19:22:pm
at 19:22:pm
Why do the Aztecs keep getting 'credit' for 2012? That is Mayan crap.
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Now, the Incans... they knew what was what
Rorschach
Feb. 5, 2009 17:00:pm
at 17:00:pm