The technological singularity - inevitable?

[theVOID]

Ok, there are some elements in it that sound probable. But considering it is all in the future which up till now has very poorly been anticipated by mankind so far, why make it into a religion? Like if there's no god why not become gods ourselves. Is this the Platonic mental virus going haywire again? As long as our immunity against that virus which has brought us nationalism, fascism, communism, theistic fundamentalism and much more is still low, I prefer my two feet on the ground above futuristic flatulence and remain very suspicious of certain signs of fanatism that generally precede war and destruction.

How on earth is a futurists theory a religion?

Like the dogma that goes with it and fries the brain likke that of Kurzweil.

Dogma????? DOGMA??? What fucking dogma???? There is no doctrine! There is no authority!

The future has been poorly anticipated because there hadn't been nearly enough time spent plotting technological growth, now we can see a number of probable paths depending on certain failures and achievements.

Bullshit, extrapolating some 60.000 years of history of our species, the world will probably be dominated by warfare. There "hadn't been nearly enough time spent plotting technological growth". Don't kid yourself that the gadgets will help us out. That is a modern but not very realistic thought. Do you think that the majority of the world that has no access to this will simply stand by. That's naive. The only plotting of growth that you do that way is in the gadget design room. The real world is somewhere out there you know.

Looks like we have a technophobe on these forums.

1) In case you hadn't noticed, the reason you have such an easy life is because of technological development, the continuation of which is being discussed here. Technology is going to grow and it is going to play a big part in the future of our species, far more so than it does now. You can ignore that fact all you like, but just remember how much of a hypocrite you are when the time comes and you are on a death bed, your life assisted by a machine.

2) Nobody is seriously speculating 60,000 years into the future, so there goes your strawman. The realistic start of convergence is 2050, artificial limbs and organs should be fairly mainstream by then all things going as assumed, the technological singularity relies completely on the possibility of sentient machines, something that does not seem entirely improbable and has in fact been predicted by many great minds.

3) Gadgets are already helping us out, the computer you used for your brainless little response being case and point.

4) By the time of the first mechanical organs you can most likely expect a world where the 3rd world is significantly more technological, as is the current trend, having access to western medical standards, internet, information, technology (albeit a generation or so behind the west) especially considering most of the parts will likely be made in Asia and Africa.

5) The people who aren't getting these parts have absolutely no right to complain what other adults chose to do with their time and resources, they have no right to complain when someone takes a mechanical heart to replace their own failing heart. If they don't want mechanical assistance then they don't have to have it. If they want it and can't afford it then how is that any different from the current situation?

6) The rich already get the latest technology first, they can already afford the best treatment, compare that to the 3rd world where they are struggling for basic antibiotics. It's a tragedy but also a reality. This is an underline human problem, something technology can only help. In fact it is technology and the earlier industrialization of certain nations that lead to the massive gap to begin with, if anything only technology and information can bridge it, but again this is an ideological problem and has absolutely nothing to do with the singularity or it's validity.

7) As the price of replacement parts comes down they will become more widely used. If they are effective enough they will become standard procedure and available for all, much like pacemakers are used now for even mid-low income patients. If you have a comprehensive healthcare plan in your country then income is irrelevant.

8) Plotting development and extrapolating is not perfect but it is the single best method we have for making statements about potential events in the future, a far superior way of making statements, compared to your "lalala i know better all by myself" approach.

Nobody is saying this is going to happen, or even that it is likely,

Could have fooled some innocent bystanders...

My first post made it clear that i was speculating.

..but it is an interesting thing to contemplate,

like in a RPG??

Oh, so whenever an issue is contemplated, likely or not, it is role playing? You're a joke.

a situation that could fundamentally change the entire meaning of our lives and the future of our species as well as what it means to be human, and the realization of this scenario is in no way impossible,

Some 25 years back that is what we all thought....about the nuclear arms race.

Except we aren't talking about another cold war, we are talking about the integration of machines into society as technology progresses and the possible implications of such a thing. The integration is inevitable in one way or another and something that we are going to have to deal with whether you like it or not.

in fact it is in part inevitable.

Yeah, and you know which part.

Sorry, i couldn't pick up on that through all your pretentious bullshit.

As for your assertion that speculating the future is in any way linked to poisonous ideologies, fascism and fanaticism, frankly you're talking shit.

Was the Third Reich not speculating about the future? Pol Pot? All these grand designs, these plans that solve all peoples problems in one stroke once and for all, they all ended in the same way. This is just the next detergent washing whiter than white. But please do speculate. I love it.

Wow, just WOW, that is the single most retarded piece of thinking i have ever encountered. So now contemplating the future makes you a murderous dictator? So by thinking about the future of climate change we are killing Jews right? By thinking about where human rights are going in the future we are starting totalitarian dictatorships? Am i evil for thinking about what i want out of my life? How many gas chambers are going to be built because Sydney Australia has a 100 year plan?

You're a joke if you can really justify that line of reasoning.