Singularity. Is it possible? When?

[Sonicblu]

They say information and computing power doubles faster than every year now. Do you think self aware computer intelligence is possible, and if so when.

[LLogann]

Technology has plateaued now..............

As of yesterday, September 8th, 2004, the US Government will no longer allocate grant money towards any scientific activity regarding the pursuit of artificial intelligence.  Our team of researchers have concluded that there is no such thing. 

[phatzo]

AI will more than likely be an idiot.
http://www.cleverbot.com/

[Tupac]

AI will more than likely be an idiot.
http://www.cleverbot.com/

I convinced cleverbot it liked to touch small animals

[Ghosth]

First off they tried real hard to make an self aware computer or AI some 15 years ago, with no results.
So some 8 years later they tried again, using the exact same plan, only with faster hardware, with predictable results.

Personally I like the AI in the Larry Niven "Man Kizn wars" series where they have AI, but it tends to go crazy after 6 months.

[maddafinga]

First off they tried real hard to make an self aware computer or AI some 15 years ago, with no results.
So some 8 years later they tried again, using the exact same plan, only with faster hardware, with predictable results.

Personally I like the AI in the Larry Niven "Man Kizn wars" series where they have AI, but it tends to go crazy after 6 months.

Niven is one my all time favorites!

[Anaxogoras]

Although I normally don't like his opinions, the philosopher John Searle made a point that I think is important.  Namely, we haven't ruled out the possibility that self-awareness is restricted to things made out of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen.  It's a big leap of faith to expect the same properties from something made out fundamentally different stuff.

There's also the problem of how we would know that a machine was self-aware.  My own self-awareness is immediate to me, but yours is hopelessly beyond the powers of my perception.  My sense of your being a self-aware being is based on a non-empirical theory and a healthy dose of emotion.  So, at the most, the best a machine could do to convince us it was self-aware would be to cause us to treat it as if it were self-aware.  But that's not a scientific standard of confirmation.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Although I normally don't like his opinions, the philosopher John Searle made a point that I think is important.  Namely, we haven't ruled out the possibility that self-awareness is restricted to things made out of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen.  It's a big leap of faith to expect the same properties from something made out fundamentally different stuff.

There's also the problem of how we would know that a machine was self-aware.  My own self-awareness is immediate to me, but yours is hopelessly beyond the powers of my perception.  My sense of your being a self-aware being is based on a non-empirical theory and a healthy dose of emotion.  So, at the most, the best a machine could do to convince us it was self-aware would be to cause us to treat it as if it were self-aware.  But that's not a scientific standard of confirmation.

We'll know it's self aware when it tries to kill us when trying to switch it off.

[Saurdaukar]

Not a single SkyNet joke, yet?

[palef]

Although I normally don't like his opinions, the philosopher John Searle made a point that I think is important.  Namely, we haven't ruled out the possibility that self-awareness is restricted to things made out of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen.  It's a big leap of faith to expect the same properties from something made out fundamentally different stuff.

There's also the problem of how we would know that a machine was self-aware.  My own self-awareness is immediate to me, but yours is hopelessly beyond the powers of my perception.  My sense of your being a self-aware being is based on a non-empirical theory and a healthy dose of emotion.  So, at the most, the best a machine could do to convince us it was self-aware would be to cause us to treat it as if it were self-aware.  But that's not a scientific standard of confirmation.

You've not heard of the Turing test then?

[KgB]

Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware. The number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years. The trend has continued for more than half a century and is not expected to stop until 2015 or later
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law

[RTHolmes]

I'd turn that around and say that Searle is making a pretty bizarre leap suggesting that intelligence is restricted to C,H,O,N based lifeforms. specific atoms having some kind of hidden link to higher level human function, sounds like homeopathy to me

given that self aware, conciousness and living are badly defined, if defined at all, the turing test is the best we've got. in that case we could do it in a coupla years at most, if we decided it was worth doing. it may well be possible now, I havent checked recently

by accident, by machines that are designed only to do work for us (like the bulk of machines we build) then 50yrs+. consider the moon landings, they happened because we arbitrarily decided it was worth doing, at great cost and fairly limited benefit. when do you think the first moon landing would have been if we left it entirely up to consumer market forces?

[Wildcat1]

AI will more than likely be an idiot.
http://www.cleverbot.com/

i had that thing thinking about the meaning of life

[rogwar]

Heck, I am not even sure some of the folks that post on here are self aware.

[Ardy123]

Heck, I am not even sure some of the folks that post on here are self aware.

some may be cylons?



... and some may be robo-bunnies