|
|||||||
| Coffee Lounge Talk amongst other community members. |
 |
|
|
LinkBack | Topic Tools | Rate Topic |
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
^
How is domination by machines cool? We're already totally dominated by them (cars, computers, cel phones), despite the fact that we're still ostensibly in control. It wont be long before that domination is direct and face to face. Those drones over LA are a pretty big step in that direction. *shudder* 
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Last edited by LeeBrat; Jan 14, 05 at 04:57 PM.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/archive_big_brother.html
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Yeah, it was a plan for a prison invented by Jeremy Bentham in the 19th century. The idea was that it would be a circular, multi-leveled prison, with a central guard tower. The cells would be arranged around the circle and back-lit so that from the guard tower you could see what was going on in every cell at any time, but the tower would be blacked out so that the prisoners could never see if they were being watched. As a result, prisoners would actually police themselves, because they didn't know if they were being observed or not. The idea was taken up by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish as a metaphor for the way that power opperates in modern society. Its a fantastic book, and from the posts you make, I take it you'd really enjoy it. You should pick it up.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
||||
|
||||
|
I wrote a paper on Foucault's analysis of the Panopticon and the nature of privacy and power.
Just wanted to mention that. =D Anyways, the article about making machines to do our dirty work (fighting wars) was the most disturbing to me. I suppose I should be somewhat lenient.. it's saving lives on one end, at least.. but I can't help but feel all that will lead to is the ability for rich nations to hold their nose and keep the ugliness of war at arm's length while robots acheive their objectives... Without any US casualties, what would the opposition to the war in Iraq on home soil look like? Besides, you know what they say about absolute power. Seems though that not only does absolute power corrupt absolutely, but it's also absolutely impossible to self regulate the rabid pursuit of it.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
^
Haha, dude, Foucault writes originally in french. You will have no troule finding him in your own language =). He is one of the most influential academics of the late 20th century and one of the founding fathers of postmodernism. Again, from the things you post here, I think you're really going to enjoy his work - his main focus is on the nature of 'power'. Discipline and Punish is a good place to start if you want to get into his writing.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
:284: ....Holy shit...I can't imagine I've said something that dumb...Shame on me...You can give me bad karma for that....The worst of all is that I read a article on him a few months ago...
Michel Foucault was born on October 15, 1926, in Poitiers, France
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
I think all these technological innovations are grand, especially nano technology. If were are smart about things we can ensure that the entire planet will experience very comfortable standards of living while mitigating much of the enviornmental impact. Technology is the key to sustainable living and utilization of resources because theres no way in hell you can get the world's population to voluntarily live simplier lives. but no doubt this technology will have tremendous social and political implications however its enivable and theres nothing we can do to stop it...hell i look forward to it. enslavement by machines? ill have to eat some shrooms before i buy that one
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
^
Haha, obviously I'm exaggerating - hence the T2 joke at the top. But I am deeply troubled by the idea of automating warfare and surveilance. I dont think the machines will actually become conscious or anything. I am much more worried about the increased capacity of the state to monitor our activities.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
im just an optimist. p.s besides things go both ways, we can use this technology to monitor the state. like how they use cctv cameras to monitor us and we use home cameras to capture police injustice, Last edited by SEAN!; Jan 14, 05 at 06:57 PM.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Activites seem all a little nice....Why not say ''LIFE''?Anyway I know what you mean....It is scary to see that our lifes become no longer private with the time....What we think become no longer thougts...What we eat and how people eat is becoming very much of a health probleme...What we watch and what we hear is becoming a timemindmaze...Nature is our lasts resource if we ever fall in the blackholl and what are we doing with it?
Today the only way to be sure to really know what is good and not good is to make a mind by its own, and that is really a hard thing to find and a precious quality...
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
If we eventually develop machine intelligence that's similar to our own, due to the structure of computers, we'll likely be able to tweak it so it's vastly superior to our own. (I know this is a bit of an assumption, but that's somewhat irrelevant.) From there, that computer will likely be intelligent enough to develop a computer better than itself, and so on until it hits the hard physical limits of the universe. Scientific advance will accelerate for a period of time until we've figured most of the universe out. Humanity will likely be made more-or-less obsolete by the machines, as they'll be able to do things faster, better, and with far more versatility. At the same time, research will likely allow humans to cross the biological barrier into full cybernetic form. This isn't as complex as it sounds; once a proper full-scale neurological computer model is complete, with some nanotechnology, it's possible to replace the brain cell-by-cell by computer circuitry. Once the brain's converted, it can be expanded upon and the standard body can slowly be changed to something different. So, humans will be granted immortality as machines. Look at it this way: in this circumstance, the robots are not our enemy, they are our children. We created them. We designed them. They are a reflection of the way we saw the universe. We are their parents, and thus we live on through them.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
^
Because we will inevitably force them to do our dirty work and treat them as inferiors until they finally snap and rise up against us. It's human nature to feel contepmt for and mis-treat that which we feel we 'own'. The problem here is that if machines have the capacity become super-intelligent, as you claim, then they will have no trouble throwing off the yoke.
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
My own belief is that we will merge with the machines. Bionic implants, wetware, neural grafting, and so on. The technology's emerging. We won't need to fear being dominated by the machines, because we will slowly become one with them. I know that as soon as bionic implants are available that significantly improve human capability and carry little risk, I'll purchase them. Yes, I mean that seriously. :)
|
|
Jan 14, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
^
Man, that would be sweet and I hope it happens. But I somehow think we'll end up using the machines 1) as weapons against each other, and in the hands of the powerful to control the masses, and 2) as menial slaves and elements of the production process.
|
|
Jan 23, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Robot Soldiers headed for Iraq:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4199935.stm
|
|
Jan 23, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
Jan 23, 05
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
