Sam Harris has a rap about how people who like to think about the future of artificial intelligence seem unable to associate the appropriate emotional affect with the dystopian possibilities they envision around AI. Loss of human freedom? Bad in theory, but the details are fascinating. Tweak a variable and see if things get better or worse. Which ( Read more... )

As a former starry-eyed techno-utopian and also a (mostly) former peak oil doomer, I can switch hit when it comes to participating in conversations about both rapid advances in artificial intelligence and the industrial civilization's crucial dependence on fossil fuels. There are others with a foot in both camps, but not many.

It seems as though the ( Read more... )

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In his "Long Crisis" timeline, Jamais Cascio predicts:

2023: China demands U.S. repay debts; U.S. defaults; U.S.-China "Cold Shoulder" period begins
India, Pakistan exchange gunfire
India first to use fully autonomous military robots in warfare

Is that a realistic time frame? According to this piece by Noel Sharkey, we seem to be on target:

The ( Read more... )

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