Post by a gomez on Jul 29, 2016 16:51:55 GMT
Essay #6
Through first hand experience, technology has evolved immensely since I was a child. One example of this is the fact that the cell phones we have available to us now are mini computers in our hands, whereas the very first cell phone I had did not even have the capability of taking a photo. The YouTube video “The Singularity” states that by 2029, scientist will have the ability to reverse the functions of each section of the human brain. According to Ray Kurzweil, “this will allow them to “simulate all of the human brain’s activities including our emotional intelligence.” Scientists will be able to create machines that have the subtleties of human intelligence. Now combine that power with their already superior abilities to memorize vast amounts of information, share knowledge at rapid speeds, access all of human knowledge and these machines will exceed human levels before we know it. Scientists are predicting that machines will be able to improve their own software design and therefore grow exponentially. Once this occurs the singularity is in full effect.
I see this transition more and more everyday as jobs are being cut and replaced with computers or machines. For example, this morning I called the credit card customer service line and found that I was on the phone for 2 minutes without actually speaking to another person. Instead the automated system was asking me questions and was processing my answers. I have to wonder how many people have been laid off in the recent years due to the advancements in technology to allow us to speak to machines to handle our questions instead of an actual person. Bank teller positions have also been cut in lieu of the more convenient and popular online banking system. Slowly but surely we are being replaced and people don’t seem to have any problem with it. On the contrary we are revelling in the new gaming systems and new 3D/4D cell phones we now have offered to us. I feel that it is easier for the technological singularity to occur because humans seem to continuously support technological advancements without realizing that there are two sides to every story. With positive technological advancements come unwarranted human replacements.
Even though biotechnology has helped scientists develop cures for diseases and therefore extend our life expectancy, is can also be used by others to create biological viruses that can be more deadly. As Ray Kurzweil stated “technology is a double-edged sword.” In the article 2045:The Year Man Becomes Immortal many hypotheses are discussed including the idea that “maybe we'll merge with them to become super-intelligent cyborgs, using computers to extend our intellectual abilities the same way that cars and planes extend our physical abilities. According to the Singularity “the one thing all these theories have in common is the transformation of our species into something that is no longer recognizable.”
Through first hand experience, technology has evolved immensely since I was a child. One example of this is the fact that the cell phones we have available to us now are mini computers in our hands, whereas the very first cell phone I had did not even have the capability of taking a photo. The YouTube video “The Singularity” states that by 2029, scientist will have the ability to reverse the functions of each section of the human brain. According to Ray Kurzweil, “this will allow them to “simulate all of the human brain’s activities including our emotional intelligence.” Scientists will be able to create machines that have the subtleties of human intelligence. Now combine that power with their already superior abilities to memorize vast amounts of information, share knowledge at rapid speeds, access all of human knowledge and these machines will exceed human levels before we know it. Scientists are predicting that machines will be able to improve their own software design and therefore grow exponentially. Once this occurs the singularity is in full effect.
I see this transition more and more everyday as jobs are being cut and replaced with computers or machines. For example, this morning I called the credit card customer service line and found that I was on the phone for 2 minutes without actually speaking to another person. Instead the automated system was asking me questions and was processing my answers. I have to wonder how many people have been laid off in the recent years due to the advancements in technology to allow us to speak to machines to handle our questions instead of an actual person. Bank teller positions have also been cut in lieu of the more convenient and popular online banking system. Slowly but surely we are being replaced and people don’t seem to have any problem with it. On the contrary we are revelling in the new gaming systems and new 3D/4D cell phones we now have offered to us. I feel that it is easier for the technological singularity to occur because humans seem to continuously support technological advancements without realizing that there are two sides to every story. With positive technological advancements come unwarranted human replacements.
Even though biotechnology has helped scientists develop cures for diseases and therefore extend our life expectancy, is can also be used by others to create biological viruses that can be more deadly. As Ray Kurzweil stated “technology is a double-edged sword.” In the article 2045:The Year Man Becomes Immortal many hypotheses are discussed including the idea that “maybe we'll merge with them to become super-intelligent cyborgs, using computers to extend our intellectual abilities the same way that cars and planes extend our physical abilities. According to the Singularity “the one thing all these theories have in common is the transformation of our species into something that is no longer recognizable.”