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« Revolution or Hypocisy? | Main | We Shouldn't Teach »

March 31, 2007

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Nato Welch

Impressive for a politician.

Kurzweil calls views of progress that don't take accelerating change rates into account "the intuitive linear view".

The trouble with this personally is that I've spent so much time contemplating exponential change (making me a "singularitarian" by Kurzweil's definition) that it's effectively intuitive to me. So, from my perspective, I'd call it "the intuitive exponential view".

Michael Anissimov

You got the jump on me this time!! ;)

Chris Williamson

I agree with you, this is a surprise!

So far The Singularity has been on the minds of only a handful of cutting-edge scientists, futurists, and super-geeks.

But this is different.

The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is made up of 5 Republicans and 5 Democrats from both the House and Senate. They are in charge of producing the information that the U.S. government uses to make high-level economic decisions. They study taxation, IMF reform, Federal Reserve policy, federal expenditures, energy, etc.

And what *really* sets this paper off is this:

“Whether or not one believes in the Singularity, it is difficult to overestimate nanotechnology’s likely implications for society. For one thing, advances in just the last five years have proceeded much faster than even the best experts had predicted.”

Chris Williamson

Oh yeah, btw, I got the jump on both of you with this one! :)

David White

How Congress could be so forward-looking in this regard, while having its eyes wide shut on the economic front is beyond me -- http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd260.htm -- the question being whether and how we will manage to transition out of the present global financial fraud -- http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1446716.htm -- without technology being directed to military purposes that accordingly threaten humanity's survival.

With the state already being challenged by the Internet -- http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig/garris3.html -- it would seem that the battle lines have been drawn, the only question being what lengths the state will go to to hold onto power.

I say it will go to any length it deems necessary, in which case the next few decades will be the most perilous in the history of the world.

Claire St-Onge

THis is extremely interesting & I have been watching it even if I am ""just"" a retired high school teacher. How can it be more tremendous than the Internet Revolution? It is hard to imagine that we will be living the Star Trek replication technology more or less & I really hope a lot of efforts will be put in thinking TRANSITIONS from this manufacturing infrastructure to this nanotechnology infrastructure. I hope it will be concentric & not pyramidal with the rich at the top.That is my little bit.

Chris Phoenix, CRN

The Internet Revolution was driven by computers. Computers are machines that do a few basic things, very fast and programmably and reliably--and can process any type of data once it's digitized.

Molecular manufacturing will give us manufacturing machines that do a few basic things, very fast and programmably and reliably--and can make almost anything once it's designed.

If the manufacturing technology advances as quickly as computer hardware did, and the design capability advances as quickly as computer programming did, then within a few years anyone with the technology will have almost wizard-like capabilities--making things appear or change in the physical world as easily as a player (or programmer) can make things happen in an online game.

Chris

Dagon

Kudo's to this politician. He is a single person shouting at a modest voice for attention. Few will listen. I can't see the cabal in control of the US respond rationally to speculations that nanotech may affect average lifespan "by a few decades, or more" To them this may not fit into their snug paradigm bubbles. The potential of nanotechnology conflicts quite a bit with eschatological christianity. And there appear to be quite a few members of congress who still have internal models of internet in victorian pneumatic terms.
I expect next to nothing of politicians. The only thing sensible, careful ad modest voiced transhumanists and singularitarians can do is keep calm, reason softly and extremely patiently, don't wave their arms too much and make sure to impress upon our benevolent leaders that if we won't research subject X, the Heathen Chinese WILL OUTCOMPETE US.

NanoEnthusiast

Dagon, that's absolutely correct. If there is one thing the bible thumpers in America love more than God, it's being No.1.

I wonder if the pneumatic thing will comeback en vogue after the invention of MNT. If personal nanfactories are deemed to dangerous to own, maybe we could use a station in our homes that delivers finished products to us via a "network of tubes." Robots with sophisticated AI could make the laying-down of this network practical.

Nato Welch

Nanofactory: n.

1) A machine designed to turn the entire planet into a series of tubes.

Khannea Suntzu

I am fairly certain the whole ignorance/superstition thing is an intentional ruse. At the highest level in every modern country, from Russia, to China to the US (and even countries less modern, such as Iran) I can see "realisation" peek through. Russians are putting in an effort to go for a potential economical bullseye - Lunar He3. I see similar initiatives to secure exploitation "high grounds" in the near future.

I am convinced that as much as the greater public is criminally ignorant and apathic, the powers that be are securing niches for their favorite memes and grandchildren. I am also sure average people would be in absolute panic if they read some scenario's going around up there.

The big change however, will come when THESE PEOPLE realise life extension is feasible; i.e. several years before it is available commercially. When the obscenely rich/powerful realize they can enjoy their hard won fortunes for a few decades it will mean something to secure access.

I hope they don't see reason, in their elitarian brains, to exclude us lesser beings.

.nanotech.

Of course this will be a pyramidal scheme for the rich,.. that is why they are only leaking this out slowly . these concept's have been around since the 60's and really took off mid-90's
They want to control us better through this technology. fused with bio.info.congo.
In order to insure there power and wealth. They must fully control these technologies. in essence, then they will control us. So a New World Order is needed.. Wake Up.

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