The Singularity » Anti-Singularity/The Robots Will Kill Us All

GLENN REYNOLDS: The Singularity is Near

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:26:20 +0000

Via Instapundit's column for Popular Mechanics:

Destructive technologies generally seem to come along sooner than constructive ones—we got war rockets before missile interceptors, and biological warfare before antibiotics. This suggests that there will be a window of vulnerability between the time when we develop technologies that can do dangerous things, and the time when we can protect against those dangers. The slower we move, the longer that window may remain open, leaving more time for the evil, the unscrupulous or the careless to wreak havoc. My conclusion? Faster, please.

“AI is a dream we shouldn’t be having”

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:24:11 +0000

From Noel Sharkey, via Computer Weekly:

It is my contention that AI, and particularly robotics, exploits natural human zoomorphism. We want robots to appear like humans or animals, and this is assisted by cultural myths about AI and a willing suspension of disbelief. The old automata makers, going back as far as Hero of Alexandria, who made the first programmable robot in AD 60, saw their work as part of natural magic - the use of trick and illusion to make us believe their machines were alive. Modern robotics preserves this tradition with machines that can recognise emotion and manipulate silicone faces to show empathy. There are AI language programs that search databases to find conversationally appropriate sentences. If AI workers would accept the trickster role and be honest about it, we might progress a lot quicker.

Robot attacked Swedish factory worker

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:44:45 +0000

Jesus, they were already trying to kill us in 2007. Maybe we need to revise our projections...

The incident took place in June 2007 at a factory in Bålsta, north of Stockholm, when the industrial worker was trying to carry out maintenance on a defective machine generally used to lift heavy rocks. Thinking he had cut off the power supply, the man approached the robot with no sense of trepidation.

But the robot suddenly came to life and grabbed a tight hold of the victim's head. The man succeeded in defending himself but not before suffering serious injuries.

Article here.

Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man (NY Times)

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:37:33 +0000

The researchers also discussed possible threats to human jobs, like self-driving cars, software-based personal assistants and service robots in the home. Just last month, a service robot developed by Willow Garage in Silicon Valley proved it could navigate the real world.

Machines have repeatedly replaced human labor, particularly in dangerous and unpleasant jobs. New jobs emerge to reflect an evolving economic reality. This seems no different.

New York Times article here.

Steampunk and a backlash against “shiny tomorrows that seem unreachable”

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:38:50 +0000

Maybe this fantasy has become more attractive because we want to be more choosy about which technologies we use to change the future. Or maybe we're just sick of shiny tomorrows that seem unreachable. Either way, science fiction is taking refuge in the past for a while.

Full article here.

Science Fiction writer Robert Charles Wilson expresses doubts about the singularity

admin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:21:34 +0000

RCW: I didn't have the singularity in mind when I was writing Julian Comstock, though I'll confess I don't believe in it. Extrapolating curves to the asymptotic just doesn't seem realistic. I think it was Damon Knight who characterized this kind of extrapolation back in the 1960s: if commemorative postage stamps continue to grow larger at their current rate, they'll cover entire continents by the year 2000.

That doesn't mean science fiction writers shouldn't write about the singularity. Futurists toss out these possibilities; we play with them. And in the course of play the premises are explored, challenged, expanded, sometimes exploded. I've written stories set in prosperous, post-scarcity futures. That doesn't seem too likely at the moment; but the future is intrinsically unpredictable; that's why it's fascinating. We would impoverish the genre if we limited ourselves to mere likelihoods.

Full interview here.