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Pyrodrew
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http://www.spacedaily.com/news/life-05zl.html
quote:
Death Could Be Averted By 'Downloaded Brains', British Futurologist Says
London (AFP) May 22, 2005
Death could become a thing of the past by the mid-21st century as computer technology becomes sophisticated enough for the contents of a brain to be "downloaded" onto a supercomputer, according to a leading British futurologist.
However, he told the Observer newspaper on Sunday, this technology might be expensive enough to remain the preserve of the rich for a decade or two more.
Among other eyebrow-raising predictions by Ian Pearson, head of the futurology unit at British telecommunications giant BT, is the prospect of computer systems being able to feel emotions.
This could eventually involve such things as aeroplanes being programmed to be even more terrified of crashing than their passengers, meaning they would do whatever possible to stay airborne.
While the predictions might sound outlandish, they were merely the product of extrapolations drawn from the current rate at which computers are evolving, Pearson said in an interview with the newspaper.
"If you draw the timelines, realistically by 2050 we would expect to be able to download your mind into a machine, so when you die it's not a major career problem," he said.
"If you're rich enough then by 2050 it's feasible. If you're poor you'll probably have to wait until 2075 or 2080 when it's routine.
"We are very serious about it. That's how fast this technology is moving: 45 years is a hell of a long time in IT."
As an example of the advances being made, Pearson noted that Sony's new PlayStation 3 computer games console is 35 times as powerful as the model it replaced, and in terms of processing is "one percent as powerful as a human brain".
In views which those of a religious persuasion might find hard to handle, Pearson said the next computing goal would be to replicate consciousness.
"Consciousness is just another sense, effectively, and that's what we're trying to design on a computer," he said.
"Not everyone agrees, but it's my conclusion that it's possible to make a conscious computer with superhuman levels of intelligence before 2020."
One of the "primary reasons" for such work would be to give computers emotions, Pearson said.
"If I'm on an aeroplane I want the computer to be more terrified of crashing than I am so it does everything to stay in the air until it's supposed to be on the ground." |
 emotional computers
We know immortality can never happen... so what would you choose if this and death were the only options?
The article from the Observer for Guardian fans...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_n...1489635,00.html
quote:
You could have a conversation with your strawberry yogurt before you eat it.' |
 DIE STRAWBERRY YOGURT! DIE!!!
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Dr Strangelove
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How, pray tell, would you read the contents of someone's mind? The brain wasn't designed to be read, there aren't any ports or jacks to plug into. It was meant to run a body, it's primary comm channels are to the mouth and hands, which unfortunately are very slow.
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SlowwHand
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of The Cooler
Sep 1999
time: 23:22
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I didn't read all the replies, but given the overwhelming grey matter that exists here, I know someone brought it up, and so will only concur; the thought of, say, an airplane, having a truly depressing day, and feeling the need to end it all is, well, it's distressing, to say the least.
Where does it end?
Driving to some destination in what you assumed was a well-balanced vehicle, only to find that it had severe emotional crisis in the works.
So you commute by public transportation instead.
Now, I don't know, but to me, if I was vehicle of transport, and a mass transit at that, carrying all that gross tonnage back and forth with little change, I believe I'd lose it.
What's the answer? Where do we do from here?
We haven't even discussed cash registers. ATM's, banking facility drive-throughs, for instance.
Bad deal.
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24-05-2005 06:29
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