The Singularity Is Here
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Necro 2006 Program Book
Welc0me, P0pulati0n-Units! Welcome to the celebration of the 25th Necronomicon! As one cog in the great machine of the Science Fictional Party, we are proud to have achieved our 25-year goals. These goals, set forth by the glorious Founder, are all part of the Party’s Great Plan for the world! By doing what the Party requires, we have helped further these goals AND earned great rewards. All Necronomicon members will be granted 3 days of extra luxury rations and deferred quotas! (all deferred quotas must be fulfilled in the following week; extra rations will be deducted from future rations.) So have a great time and remember that Fandom Is A Mandatory Way Of Life. the Future is WAtching! 1 the C0nventi0n mAniFest0 1. No Smoking - The hotel, State of Florida, and Necronomicon have instituted a no smoking policy. The only places where con members may smoke are the bar, on designated smoking floors, the crematorium, and outside. 2. No Weapons - No real weapons, bladed weapons, death rays, or simulated weapons that shoot a projectile are allowed. Also, if it looks like a real gun, it’s not allowed. The only exception is for pre-approved Masquerade participants. 3. Badges - All members of Necronomicon must display their badges to gain entrance to events. Anyone without a badge will be refused entry. If you lose your badge, you must buy a new membership to get another one. 4. Live Action Role Playing - All live action role playing games must be sanctioned by the convention. Anyone wishing to run a LARP game should go to the registration desk to contact Jack or Marna Faber. -
Eclipse Phase: After the Fall
AFTER THE FALL In a world of transhuman survival and horror, technology allows the re-shaping of bodies and minds, but also creates opportunities for oppression and puts the capa- AFTER THE FALL bility for mass destruction in the hands of everyone. Other threats lurk in the devastated habitats of the Fall, dangers both familiar and alien. Featuring: Madeline Ashby Rob Boyle Davidson Cole Nathaniel Dean Jack Graham Georgina Kamsika SURVIVAL &SURVIVAL HORROR Ken Liu OF ANTHOLOGY THE Karin Lowachee TRANSHUMAN Kim May Steven Mohan, Jr. Andrew Penn Romine F. Wesley Schneider Tiffany Trent Fran Wilde ECLIPSE PHASE 21950 Advance THE ANTHOLOGY OF TRANSHUMAN Reading SURVIVAL & HORROR Copy Eclipse Phase created by Posthuman Studios EDITED BY JAYM GATES Eclipse Phase is a trademark of Posthuman Studios LLC. Some content licensed under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-SA); Some Rights Reserved. © 2016 AFTER THE FALL In a world of transhuman survival and horror, technology allows the re-shaping of bodies and minds, but also creates opportunities for oppression and puts the capa- AFTER THE FALL bility for mass destruction in the hands of everyone. Other threats lurk in the devastated habitats of the Fall, dangers both familiar and alien. Featuring: Madeline Ashby Rob Boyle Davidson Cole Nathaniel Dean Jack Graham Georgina Kamsika SURVIVAL &SURVIVAL HORROR Ken Liu OF ANTHOLOGY THE Karin Lowachee TRANSHUMAN Kim May Steven Mohan, Jr. Andrew Penn Romine F. Wesley Schneider Tiffany Trent Fran Wilde ECLIPSE PHASE 21950 THE ANTHOLOGY OF TRANSHUMAN SURVIVAL & HORROR Eclipse Phase created by Posthuman Studios EDITED BY JAYM GATES Eclipse Phase is a trademark of Posthuman Studios LLC. -
Postmodern Openings
Postmodern Openings ISSN: 2068 – 0236 (print), ISSN: 2069 – 9387 (electronic) Covered in: Index Copernicus, Ideas RePeC, EconPapers, Socionet, Ulrich Pro Quest, Cabell, SSRN, Appreciative Inquiry Commons, Journalseek, Scipio, CEEOL, EBSCO, ERIH PLUS FROM DIVINE TRANSCENDENCE TO THE ARTIFICIAL ONE. CHALLENGES OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES Loredana TEREC-VLAD Postmodern Openings, 2015, Volume 6, Issue 1, June, pp: 119-129 The online version of this article can be found at: http://postmodernopenings.com Published by: Lumen Publishing House On behalf of: Lumen Research Center in Social and Humanistic Sciences From Divine Transcendence to the Artificial One. Challenges of the New (…) Loredana TEREC-VLAD From Divine Transcendence to the Artificial One. Challenges of the New Technologies Loredana TEREC-VLAD1 Abstract The invasion of the new technologies in our lives and the current dependence upon them makes us believe that in a not too distant future we will be made of more technology than biological matter. If until recently computers had hardly been discovered, today we are witnessing a real technological revolution in all the fields: biology, medicine etc. The evolution of the new technologies has raised various questions related to the future of mankind and the current human species, which determines us to make speculations regarding a future event that may occur. For this reason, in this paper I shall analyze the concept of artificial intelligence and singularity and I shall also outline the relationship between the ontological argument and the possible worlds. The idea of possible world can serve as a way of describing a metaphor (heretofore) in the philosophy of science, as singularity can exist in a possible world only if one creates the conditions of a new concept regarding fiction. -
Transhumanism Between Human Enhancement and Technological Innovation*
Transhumanism Between Human Enhancement and Technological Innovation* Ion Iuga Abstract: Transhumanism introduces from its very beginning a paradigm shift about concepts like human nature, progress and human future. An overview of its ideology reveals a strong belief in the idea of human enhancement through technologically means. The theory of technological singularity, which is more or less a radicalisation of the transhumanist discourse, foresees a radical evolutionary change through artificial intelligence. The boundaries between intelligent machines and human beings will be blurred. The consequence is the upcoming of a post-biological and posthuman future when intelligent technology becomes autonomous and constantly self-improving. Considering these predictions, I will investigate here the way in which the idea of human enhancement modifies our understanding of technological innovation. I will argue that such change goes in at least two directions. On the one hand, innovation is seen as something that will inevitably lead towards intelligent machines and human enhancement. On the other hand, there is a direction such as “Singularity University,” where innovation is called to pragmatically solving human challenges. Yet there is a unifying spirit which holds together the two directions and I think it is the same transhumanist idea. Keywords: transhumanism, technological innovation, human enhancement, singularity Each of your smartphones is more powerful than the fastest supercomputer in the world of 20 years ago. (Kathryn Myronuk) If you understand the potential of these exponential technologies to transform everything from energy to education, you have different perspective on how we can solve the grand challenges of humanity. (Ray Kurzweil) We seek to connect a humanitarian community of forward-thinking people in a global movement toward an abundant future (Singularity University, Impact report 2014). -
SESSION: Archaeology of the Future (Time Keeps on Slipping…)
SESSION: Archaeology of the future (time keeps on slipping…) North American Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) New York University May 22-24, 2015 Organizer: Karen Holmberg (NYU, Environmental Studies) Recent interest in deep time from historical perspectives is intellectually welcome (e.g., Guldi and Armitage, 2014), though the deep past has long been the remit of archaeology so is not novel in archaeological vantages. Rather, a major shift of interest in time scale for archaeology came from historical archaeology and its relatively recent focus and adamant refusal to be the handmaiden of history. Foci on the archaeology of ‘now’ (e.g., Harrison, 2010) further refreshed and expanded the temporal playing field for archaeological thought, challenging and extending the preeminence of the deep past as the sole focus of archaeological practice. If there is a novel or intellectually challenging time frame to consider in the early 21st century, it is that of the deep future (Schellenberg, 2014). Marilyn Strathern’s (1992: 190) statement in After Nature is accurate, certainly: ‘An epoch is experienced as a now that gathers perceptions of the past into itself. An epoch will thus always will be what I have called post-eventual, that is, on the brink of collapse.’ What change of tone comes from envisioning archaeology’s role and place in a very deep future? This session invites papers that imaginatively consider the movement of time, the movement of archaeological ideas, the movement of objects, the movement of data, or any other form of movement the author would like to consider in relation to a future that only a few years ago might have been seen as a realm of science and cyborgs (per Haraway, 1991) but is increasingly fraught with dystopic environmental anxiety regarding the advent of the Anthropocene (e.g., Scranton, 2013). -
SPRING/SUMMER 2011 T O R F O R G E S P Rin G/S U M M Er 2 0
Hardcovers & Trade Paperbacks Trade & Hardcovers SPRING/SUMMER 2011 SPRING/SUMMER FORGE Tor Spring/Summer 2011 Forge SPRING/SUMMER 2011 Hardcovers & Trade Paperbacks Fifth Avenue Group • Macmillan • 4-141-420956 TOR www.tor-forge.com 175 Fifth Avenue • New York, NY • 10010 • NY York, New • Avenue Fifth 175 34 Nixon Road • Bolton, ON • L7E 1W2 L7E • ON Bolton, • Road Nixon 34 Macmillan H. B. Fenn and Company, Ltd. Company, and Fenn B. H. Tor is distributed by: distributed is Tor Distributed in Canada by: Canada in Distributed Quantum Thief Thief Quantum by Hannu Rajaniemi Hannu by Forge from art Cover SPRING/SUMMER 2011 Hardcovers & Trade Paperbacks Backlist . Backlist T 52 T Contents . T 38 38 . T . August August May................... F 2 .................... July . July T 25 T June . ................... F 5 ................... June T 13 T July . .................... F 13 . May ................... T 2 T August F 17 . ................. Contents Backlist . ................. F 19 Index . .................. F 22 a P Trade & Hardcovers Customer Service perbacks . .......... F 24 2011 1 0 2 R E M M U S SPRING/ Tor Cover art from The Fund by H. T. Narea Forge is distributed by: Distributed in Canada by: Macmillan H. B. Fenn and Company, Ltd. www.tor-forge.com 175 Fifth Avenue • New York, NY • 10010 34 Nixon Road • Bolton, ON • L7E 1W2 TOR The Knowledge of Good & Evil GlENN KlEIER A defrocked priest embarks on an epic odyssey through the afterlife in search of answers to life’s Ultimate Question n 1968, the heart of famous Catholic theologian Father Thomas IMerton slows to a stop. Before he’s revived, Merton stumbles across a backdoor into Heaven, looks into the very Mind of God, and escapes with a Secret so powerful it could change all humanity. -
Across Realtime Free
FREE ACROSS REALTIME PDF Vernor Vinge | 544 pages | 09 Mar 2000 | Orion Publishing Co | 9781857981476 | English | London, United Kingdom Across realtime ( edition) | Open Library The major initial technology change is the invention of the Across Realtime, a projected sphere that completely separates the inside from the outside. This is initially believed to be permanent and lead to whoever is inside dying when the oxygen runs out. The discoverers of the Bobble form the "Peace Authority" and take over political power, Bobbling all who oppose them and enforcing an end to war and any technological progress that might threaten their superiority. The Across Realtime War is set when the first generation of Bobbles Across Realtime to burst, their true nature is revealed, and the Authority's grip on power begins to fail. The Ungoverned is set some decades later, and involves an attempt by New Mexico one of many independent nations in what used to be the USA to invade the "ungoverned" lands to its north. Bobble Across Realtime has become widespread and developed everyday uses, some of which are described or demonstrated. Marooned in Realtime is set after a singularity that removed the majority of the human population. Only those who were in stasis during the singularity including characters from both The Peace War and The Ungoverned remain. Those who come out of stasis are slowly rounded up and brought to a meeting point Across Realtime down the timeline. This wiki. This wiki All wikis. Sign In Don't have an account? Start a Wiki. Do you like Across Realtime video? Tropes used in Across Realtime include:. -
HCB 524 — Transhumanism
HCB 524 Special Topic in Bioethics Fall Semester, 2019. Tuesdays 6-8:30pm. Instructor of Record: Adam Sepe, MA, MLS(ASCP)cm [email protected] Course Description: Transhumanism and [Human?] Dignity. Throughout human history — and prehistory for that matter — technological advancement has drastically altered every aspect of human life. Most of us will say that many advents — such as cooking and the wheel — have been largely, if not entirely, beneficial. Would we say the same of all technology? Surely each of us can list technologies that have, in the very least, some considerable downsides. So while history and experience can tell us that some technologies are beneficial and that some other technologies are harmful, how can we know what kind of impact future technology will have? For now we can’t, and so all we can do is try, to the best of our ability, to imagine such futures and develop our technology with these considerations in mind. ‘Transhumanism’ refers a diverse collection of ideas that have one at least thing in common: through future technology, humanity will be fundamentally altered to an unprecedented degree. Some even believe there will come a time when, through our own action, the word ‘human’ will be obsolete; that we will be succeeded by entities (or an entity) for which ‘human’ does not apply. Most people who identify as transhumanists are, to varying degrees, proponents of such technology. They are in favor of such alterations and they argue that these will be beneficial. In this course, we will take a critical look at transhumanist claims. -
Artificial Intelligence for Interstellar Travel
Artificial Intelligence for Interstellar Travel Andreas M. Hein1 and Stephen Baxter2 1Initiative for Interstellar Studies, Bone Mill, New Street, Charfield, GL12 8ES, United Kingdom 2c/o Christopher Schelling, Selectric Artists, 9 Union Square 123, Southbury, CT 06488, USA. November 20, 2018 Abstract The large distances involved in interstellar travel require a high degree of spacecraft autonomy, realized by artificial intelligence. The breadth of tasks artificial intelligence could perform on such spacecraft involves maintenance, data collection, designing and constructing an infrastructure using in-situ resources. Despite its importance, exist- ing publications on artificial intelligence and interstellar travel are limited to cursory descriptions where little detail is given about the nature of the artificial intelligence. This article explores the role of artificial intelligence for interstellar travel by compiling use cases, exploring capabilities, and proposing typologies, system and mission archi- tectures. Estimations for the required intelligence level for specific types of interstellar probes are given, along with potential system and mission architectures, covering those proposed in the literature but also presenting novel ones. Finally, a generic design for interstellar probes with an AI payload is proposed. Given current levels of increase in computational power, a spacecraft with a similar computational power as the human brain would have a mass from dozens to hundreds of tons in a 2050 { 2060 timeframe. Given that the advent of the first interstellar missions and artificial general intelligence are estimated to be by the mid-21st century, a more in-depth exploration of the re- lationship between the two should be attempted, focusing on neglected areas such as protecting the artificial intelligence payload from radiation in interstellar space and the role of artificial intelligence in self-replication. -
Jerks, Zombie Robots, and Other Philosophical Misadventures
Jerks, Zombie Robots, and Other Philosophical Misadventures Eric Schwitzgebel Schwitzgebel July 24, 2018 Splintered Mind, 1 Dear Reader, What follows are a few dozen blog posts and popular articles, on philosophy, psychology, culture, and technology, updated and revised, selected from eleven hundred I published between 2006 and 2018. Skip the ones you hate. Eric Schwitzgebel July 24, 2018 Splintered Mind, 2 Part One: Moral Psychology 1. A Theory of Jerks 2. Forgetting as an Unwitting Confession of Your Values 3. The Happy Coincidence Defense and The-Most-I-Can-Do Sweet Spot 4. Cheeseburger Ethics (or How Often Do Ethicists Call Their Mothers?) 5. On Not Seeking Pleasure Much 6. How Much Should You Care about How You Feel in Your Dreams? 7. Imagining Yourself in Another’s Shoes vs. Extending Your Love 8. Aiming for Moral Mediocrity 9. A Theory of Hypocrisy 10. On Not Distinguishing Too Finely Among Your Motivations 11. The Mush of Normativity 12. A Moral Dunning-Kruger Effect? 13. The Moral Compass and the Liberal Ideal in Moral Education Part Two: Technology 14. Should Your Driverless Car Kill You So Others May Live? 15. Cute AI and the ASIMO Problem 16. My Daughter’s Rented Eyes 17. Someday, Your Employer Will Technologically Control Your Moods 18. Cheerfully Suicidal AI Slaves 19. We Have Greater Moral Obligations to Robots Than to (Otherwise Similar) Humans 20. Our Moral Duties to Monsters 21. Our Possible Imminent Divinity 22. Skepticism, Godzilla, and the Artificial Computerized Many-Branching You 23. How to Accidentally Become a Zombie Robot Part Three: Culture 24. -
The Singularity Is Near- When Humans Transcend Biology Ray Kurzweil 0-670-03384-7 a Giant and Forward Looking [Rather Than Historical] “What If”
The Singularity is Near- When Humans Transcend Biology Ray Kurzweil 0-670-03384-7 A giant and forward looking [rather than historical] “What if” 1. Kurzweil is a very impressive, extremely well respected author. He’s been right before, and is often on the edge. Not easily dismissible 2. The quotes on the back cover are from some very high level people /with superb credentials. The quotes inside the book are worth it all by themselves 3. Two key current activities are the main backbone of his perspective; A. Moore’s Law: Accelerating returns, exponential growth in price performance of computation, doubles every 12months. 50 years of documentation (transistor, memory, speed, cost, transmission etc.)Very hard to argue with or ignore! Very hard, nevertheless to believe, but it’s happening every day in most commodities /processes in our life [e.g., Health Care, Defense, Telecommunications] B. Three important trends are converging (genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics with “Strong” A.I.) 4. His perspective is that humans will hugely benefit from, not be taken over by technology’s ever increasing pace/spread, and that essentially this trend” is already happening [and been clearly documented for 50+ years]. 5. Pope Benedict -“Technology makes the human person into an object rather than a Subject”. 6. The Futurist March- April, 2006 “People often go through three stages in considering the impact of technology: Awe and Wonderment at its potential to overcome age-old problems, then a sense of dread at the grave new dangers….AND FINALLY A REALIZATION THAT THE ONLY VIABLE AND RESPONSIBLE COURSE IS TO SET A CAREFUL COURSE THAT CAN REALIZE THE BENEFITS WHILE MANAGING THE DANGERS.” 7. -
Cyborgs in an Augmented World E Towards the Deconstruction of Dualistic Thinking in the 21St Century
W Cyborgs in an Augmented World e Towards the Deconstruction of Dualistic Thinking in the 21st Century s h o u Despina Skordili l Master Thesis New Media & Digital Culture Utrecht University October 2013 Supervisor: Ann-Sophie Lehmann d Second Reader: Imar de Vries a Abstract The increasing ubiquity of computer technology and the advent of social networking websites have created a new fusion of the physical and the digital world. This technological shift has given rise to a discussion in new media research, calling for the necessity of a new framework in the study of the human-technology relationship. This framework should reject the preservation of the dualistic thinking which has dominated our understanding of this relationship, since the first traces of the involvement of machines into our lives. This thesis seeks to contribute to this discussion by showing that a new perception towards technology is already apparent in recent science fiction texts on the merging of human and digital technology. Indicative narratives from novels and films of the late 20th century are compared with corresponding texts produced since the beginning of the present decade, in order to show this shift which has taken place in our technological imaginary. The findings from this comparative analysis are then related to the earlier theories of posthumanist criticism of the 1990s, which had called for the construction of a new figuration of the posthuman, which recognises our cyborg nature as hybrids of human and machine. It is argued that this figuration is appearing today in contemporary popular culture and this intensifies the necessity for the construction of a new framework which uses as a starting point the acknowledgement that we are already cyborgs in a world which combines the offline and the online, the digital and the physical: an augmented world.