Project Cyborg 2.0

[Ulrikke]

I see you found Drexler's – also worth checking is his 'Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and Computation'. – 'Engines of Creation'. Although written as a forward argument many years ago it was quotes from this very piece that sparked the Grey Goo odyssey..

AI will most likely come before and lead the way to a well-designed 'molecular nanotechonology;' the computer chess game example may seem insignificant but in reality it indicates we have already started. There are quite a few questions on the ethics of AI – as well as suggestions that when it reaches human level there will then be two intelligent species on Earth. Imagine that!

Arthur C. Clarke once said: "Maybe it's merely a question of evolution. Maybe we, as people, are too primitive for the future." You think?

[-Sigurd-]

Yes... Drexler seems to have imagined all the scenarios currently under discussion. I have read that he has drawn back a little from some of the bold predictions he made in "Engines of Creation", but the main body of it still stands as the work that defined much thinking in this field.

I think there are some interesting issues that arise when we talk about AI giving rise to an equivalent or superior intelligent species on the planet. We will have to know what we are doing, although I think that the spectre of computers having 'personal' ambitions of 'taking over' is overblown - they would have to be programmed specifically for that, or at least designed with such a capacity enabled.

"Maybe it's merely a question of evolution. Maybe we, as people, are too primitive for the future." You think?

Maybe! The modern human is thought to be genetically identical to stone age man. I don't think man is likely to evolve any further, at least not under the steam of natural selection. I think that our future 'evolution' is much more likely to be consciously planned.

[Ulrikke]

I think it is very possible that AI will reach human level – and it raises the most compelling ethical issues. If they have the same brain functions as those of humans, will they develop some level of consciousness? Do we want these humanoids to be this advanced?

I recently read about Asimo a (4-foot) tall humanoid with impeccable manners that charmed guests at a state dinner, outshining Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla.

[-Sigurd-]

It probably is only a matter of time before this happens. I am not sure if we will want to create machines with exactly the same psychological make up as humans...I think that would be asking for trouble! Certain differences - limitations - would be required for safety's sake.

Having said that we can already see the trend towards increasingly 'human' robots - the example you gave is a good illustration. Whereas we used to often see science fiction robots portrayed as computers on wheels, in todays sci-fi the most advanced robots are the ones that are most indistiguishable from humans. I saw a documentary last year on the development of the prototype for Asimo in which it was shown that a huge effort has gone into making this robot able to walk on two legs like a human. Watching the prototypes slightly faltering steps - almost like a human with some kind of motor-neurone disorder - it seemed easier to believe that machines could one day become conscious. It seems inevitable that people will want them to be able to think and feel too, before long.

And yes, as soon as self aware machines are produced and made available for sale on the market, huge ethical issues will arise. The idea of affording rights to consumer products is alien to us at present. But the fact (will we ever know for sure?) or even just the reasonable possibility of their sentience will demand that they be given such rights.

[Ulrikke]

I missed that comment on 'evolution' up there – maybe a new thread on the topic to see what others think? – it sounds logical... taking from all we have been talking here.

On the ethical issues of humanoids… I think there will be such thing as 'humanoid rights' if we ever get to develop a live version of 'Do Androids….?' – such an uncanny thought.

On the nanotech front... we now have Smart Dust .

Smart dust paves way for micro-robots

Tiny crystals of 'smart dust' developed by U.S. scientists may be a first step to making micro-machines that can detect biological and chemical agents, or disease-causing microbes.

A team at the University of California at San Diego said they had created microscopic grains of sand that can orient themselves, they report in the August 26 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This is a key development in what we hope will one day make possible the development of robots the size of a grain of sand," said Professor Michael Sailor, an analytical chemist who led the study.

"The vision is to build miniature devices that can move with ease through a tiny environment, such as a vein or an artery, to specific targets, then locate and detect chemical or biological compounds and report this information to the outside world.

"Such devices could be used to monitor the purity of drinking or seawater, to detect hazardous chemical or biological agents in the air or even to locate and destroy tumor cells in the body," he added.

Sailor and graduate student Jamie Link said their tiny grains of smart dust consist of two coloured mirrors, green on one side and red on the other. One side was designed to find and stick to water, the other to oil. When lined up correctly, the mirrors shone either red or green.

The team first used chemicals to etch one side of a silicon chip, making it mirror-like and green. They made it repel water by attaching a water-repellent chemical. They etched the other side of the chip to create a porous red mirror, then exposed it to air so that it became attractive to water.

Using vibrations, they broke the chip into tiny pieces, each about the size of the diameter of a human hair. Each piece became, in essence, a tiny sensor with a red surface attracted to water and a green surface attracted to oil. Each one is too small to see individually but when they clump up they are clearly visible.

Attaching the correct 'recognition elements' could make the little chip particles into tools for biodetection or medical uses, the researchers said.

[-Sigurd-]

Very clever! I am impressed - good to see progress in this field marches on. And I think that evolution thread will be coming up soon...