I love this wired article about being green!
This Interview with Hofstadter looks interesting also.
But I have a hard time relating to Hofstadter.
I don’t consider myself a “strange loop” at all.
The “I”, or “soul” as evidently Hofstedter likes to refer to
it (I prefer “spirit”) is simply phenomenal knowledge that has no referent. And there isn’t much self referential about
this knowledge of self at all. We don’t
know anything about this I, other than it just is. I don’t understand where he gets any utility
by our I thinking about itself.
Certainly we can make AI systems with lots of abstracted knowledge of self, that is
not a ‘strange loop’;
And these are fascinating statements I can’t understand:
Hofstadter:
Indeed, I am very glad that we still have a very very long
ways to go in our quest for AI. I think of this seemingly “pessimistic” view of
mine as being in fact a profound kind of optimism, whereas the seemingly
“optimistic” visions of Ray Kurzweil and others strike me as actually being a
deeply pessimistic view of the nature of the human mind.
Hofstadter:
Well, to me, this “glorious” new world would be the end of
humanity as we know it. If such a vision comes to pass, it certainly would
spell the end of human life. Once again, I don't want to be there if such a
vision should ever come to pass. But I doubt that it will come to pass for a
very long time. How long? I just don't know. Centuries, at least. But I don't
know. I'm not a futurologist in the least. But Kurzweil is far more
“optimistic” (i.e., depressingly pessimistic, from my perspective) about the
pace at which all these world-shaking changes will take place.
In any case, the vision that Kurzweil offers (and other very smart people offer
it too, such as Hans Moravec, Vernor Vinge, perhaps Marvin Minsky, and many
others — usually people who strike me as being overgrown teen-age sci-fi
addicts, I have to say) is repugnant to me. On the surface it may sound very
idealistic and utopian, but deep down I find it extremely selfish and greedy.
“Me, me, me!” is how it sounds to me — “I want to live forever!” But who knows?
I don't even like thinking about this nutty technology-glorifying scenario, now
usually called “The Singularity” (also called by some “The Rapture of the
Nerds” — a great phrase!) — it just gives me the creeps. Sorry!
This kind of stuff reminds me of a Bhudist that thinks
becoming nothing, with no desires, or whatever, is nirvana. I must be missing something, because
Hofstadter, and so many other people that are way smarter than I am like this, that talk like this, see so much in
such. But to me it just seems like twisted
insanity.
Isn't it interesting how everyone claims to be an 'optimist' and have 'faith and hope' while what many of us are optimistic about is someone else's hell. For example, most of you guys claim to "hope" God exists and is hiding from us. While for me, that is the most anti 'faith' thing possible.
And you asked for other potential items of interest for discussion.
But probably nobody is interested in what
interests me, like “Transmigration” (or as I believe, the fallacy thereof):
http://www.leaderu.com/truth/2truth05.html
