My random thoughts

Anything that doesn't quite fit in elsewhere...
Jakob
Posts: 92
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:12 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by Jakob »

funkervogt wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:47 pm Androids will be so strong, fast and agile that they won't need guns to disable or kill humans. Under a machine dictatorship, the police might only have batons, stun guns or swords. I'm weirdly reminded of feudal Japan, where the samurai used swords to enforce the law.
No matter how strong or fast law enforcement robots are (not sure why they need to be humanoid) they will still be at a disadvantage compared to humans without some means of projecting force from a distance, i.e. a ranged weapon.
Jakob
Posts: 92
Joined: Sun May 16, 2021 6:12 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by Jakob »

funkervogt wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 1:55 pm People say that jobs involving human connection, compassion, and empathy (like being a social worker or therapist) will be humankind's salvation from total technological obsolescence since machines will never be able to have emotions or warmth.
Well that isn't necessarily true but what is true for the forseeable future is that humans will be more comfortable confiding in and trusting someone that looks like them than a faceless machine. Then again, if you don't see a machine as self aware or fully human, it might be easier to open up to it, you could just think of it as talking to yourself, only "you" talk back if that makes any sense.
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

Jakob wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:30 am
funkervogt wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 3:47 pm Androids will be so strong, fast and agile that they won't need guns to disable or kill humans. Under a machine dictatorship, the police might only have batons, stun guns or swords. I'm weirdly reminded of feudal Japan, where the samurai used swords to enforce the law.
No matter how strong or fast law enforcement robots are (not sure why they need to be humanoid) they will still be at a disadvantage compared to humans without some means of projecting force from a distance, i.e. a ranged weapon.
I've said previously that robots will be able to throw objects with extreme accuracy and precision, so perhaps that answers your concern. Imagine a small, metal ball slamming directly into your kneecap.
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

Jakob wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 4:34 am
funkervogt wrote: Sun Nov 07, 2021 1:55 pm People say that jobs involving human connection, compassion, and empathy (like being a social worker or therapist) will be humankind's salvation from total technological obsolescence since machines will never be able to have emotions or warmth.
Well that isn't necessarily true but what is true for the forseeable future is that humans will be more comfortable confiding in and trusting someone that looks like them than a faceless machine. Then again, if you don't see a machine as self aware or fully human, it might be easier to open up to it, you could just think of it as talking to yourself, only "you" talk back if that makes any sense.
What if you could interact with a lifelike machine in The Metaverse?
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

If a fighting move is illegal even in the brutal UFC, then you know it's going to be a go-to for killer robots someday.

Just watch this video and think about how much worse it would be if the attacker's skeleton were made of steel. A finger jammed in your eye is no different from a metal rod jammed into it.
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

Is it so hard to believe that we all might be in an ancestor simulation, and when we die, we "wake up" in our real bodies, in a FIVR pod, in some distant future year?

After all, haven't you ever awakened from a dream, still thinking it was reality and confused as to why the world had suddenly changed? Only after a few seconds do you regain your bearings and realize it was not real.

Maybe we're volunteers who have elected to live in an ancestor simulation to help piece together past events that were lost to the historical record. Maybe various details of our simulated world have been made different from actual history to see what effect it has on us and on world events. For example, in reality, Bruce Lee was a Brazilian, and he popularized a variant of the Capoeira fighting style in film. In the simulation we're now in, this has been changed to make him Chinese, and his fighting style Jeet Kune Do.
User avatar
wjfox
Site Admin
Posts: 8730
Joined: Sat May 15, 2021 6:09 pm
Location: London, UK
Contact:

Re: My random thoughts

Post by wjfox »

funkervogt wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:22 pm Is it so hard to believe that we all might be in an ancestor simulation, and when we die, we "wake up" in our real bodies, in a FIVR pod, in some distant future year?

All I can say is, it's one helluva coincidence that we live at this point in history.

The Universe is 13.8 billion years old. Anatomically modern humans have been around for 200,000+ years. Recorded history is 5,000+ years. And in the last 100 years we saw gigantic improvements in technology and living standards.

And now, here we are. Only around 50 or so years away from this pivotal moment in our species' history, the make-or-break moment when we either transition to a post-Singularity world, or collapse into a second Dark Ages. When you step back and look at where we are, it's astonishing.

Too much of a coincidence for me – so count me in among the simulation believers. :)


Image
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

One type of genetic engineering we could do involves optimization of the human genome, which I'll cause "optimization" for short. It would involve eliminating all junk DNA and repetitious DNA, and then finding ways to rearrange the remaining genetic material in ways that make it do its job more efficiently. The end result would be a human the looked identical to any of us, but had a shorter genome with fewer base pairs, some genetic loci moved to new parts of chromosomes, and possibly a different number of chromosomes. Because of these differences, the optimized person would probably not be able to breed with Homo sapiens like us, and would be a new species.

We could use technology to also optimize non-hominid species. Food crops might grow better with optimized genomes.
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

"Nicitating membranes" are an anatomical feature we should add to posthumans. They are translucent eyelids that let animals sleep with their eyes still open. As a result, the animals stay more aware of their surroundings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nictitating_membrane

And using genetic engineering, we could make humans who need only five hours of sleep per night to wake refreshed and alert.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... rt-sleeper
User avatar
funkervogt
Posts: 1171
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 3:03 pm

Re: My random thoughts

Post by funkervogt »

Genetic engineering and embryo selection will benefit animal welfare since animal breeders will be able to make pure breeds with desirable traits. Right now, breeding animals the natural way, it's still a crapshoot, and many of the offspring have one or more unwanted traits, meaning several "excess" animals are produced for every one animal of the same species that is considered a prizewinner, or at least an excellent example of its breed.

Technology will let us create arbitrary numbers of pure breed animals.

It will also let us delete genetic defects that have accreted in some pure breeds over successive generations of our forced breeding. Many of those defects cause the animals chronic pain, diminished senses, and shortened lifespans.
Post Reply