Jun 15, 2005

Do the robot

This site is concerned that recent entries have dealt with topics of an overly grave and serious nature. Today we (me) here at GodHasWheels have opted (this is all grammatically fucked up now) for a more thoughtful post.

Man vs. Machine
I believe as machines progress along their asymptotic path towards perfection, some day they will vie for planetary control as a dominant species, though not in our lifetimes. I do not assume they will inevitably supplant us shaved apes; there is a certain unpredictability involved when considering flawed mechanisms built by a flawed species. Machines are still relatively stupid even compared to your bucktoothed hillbilly cousin who is just 'stupid relative' though their "evolution", sorry, "intelligent design-ery" erf is much more rapid than Jeb's. Currently their memory / storage capacity far surpasses humans' and they perform specific tasks at rates people can never match. Plus, as more of this work is offloaded, human efficacy continues to diminish (think mental arithmetic pre- and post- calculator in school). In other words, people are gettin' fat & lazy "Hello Nero. Hello Qing dynasty. No need to get up".
However, humankind can always be counted upon for 4 things:
-curiosity
-idiocy
-resiliency
-greed
That 3rd attribute is key, for humanity is not unlike a viral infection; eradication is extremely difficult. How will it all end? I really don't give a shit but I doubt it will be quite as rosy as a Will Smith movie finale. Thoughts?

9 comments:

Happy and Blue 2 said...

According to my science sources we will develop warp drive soon and will overrun the gallaxy. And we will explore in the Starship Enterprise. And even some godlike being aptly named Q will be impressed..

Violet said...

It's probably quite likely that as soon as humans are able to programme machines to really learn, we'll be in danger of being taken over by them - but only because there will always exist people who are capable of turning such machines to evil ends, but incapable of completely controlling them.

sumo said...

You've been reading Ray Bradbury again haven't you!?

Rainypete said...

I think there is an initial danger in the machinery taking to its own ends. Mankind will liekly undergo some serious trouble for a little while. Then all the components that are made in Taiwan will begin to fail and render the mechanical militia about as effective as the Canadian military.

Rainypete said...
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Rainypete said...
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Rainypete said...

Whacked out blogger posted a few of the same. I think maybe the revolt has begun already!!!

L said...

I'm waiting for the ability to plug myself directly into a server...

glomgold said...

HB2-Watch out, the Starship Enterprise might mutiny against you!

violet-I think once they reach a high capacity of learning they will became self-aware and then the trouble begins, evil people or not. Currently certain types are somewhat able to "reproduce" (build more machines on their own).

sumo-I've read a little bit though probably not nearly enough!

rainypete-Ho no! It HAS begun! Luckily my WindowsME based PC crashed and thwarted the revolt.

blue2go-CDC stats from '02, US adults' obesity levels, 65%?! I don't recall what % of citizens voted, though this last election was probably much higher than usual.

L-People sort of do that now, if you go to Atlantic City and watch all the old people connected to the slot machines! I would never plug myself into an IBM server; those shits crash all over the place.