Human-machine merge could provide future paradise
June 11 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Other Year: General Rating: 6
By Dick Pelletier
We are entering the first stages of a robotic society that
futurists believe will not end until man and machine join forces.
Today, artificial pets act as companions to children and seniors,
and self-operating machines clean homes and mow lawns. 
By 2015, robots will perform a variety of household chores; by 2020, many human jobs will be filled by robots; and by 2030, robots will be competent in most human activities.
This trend will peak in the mid-2030s when machines laden with strong AI surpass human intelligence and begin making copies of themselves, with each generation smarter than the last. This will cause an information explosion unlike anything the world has ever experienced and will result in the development of machine-to-human brain interface systems.
Some people will scan their minds capturing all of the memories, emotions, and thought processes that describe them as a human being – and upload that data into a robot and become the machine. Others will download the vast stream of machine intelligence directly into their brains and become an intelligence-enhanced human.
Over the next few years, molecular nanotechnology and the number-crunching abilities of quantum computing will enable humans and human/machines to redesign their bodies and brains to increase efficiency until they both morph into a replica of each other. At that time, society may consider both machines and humans as “transhumans.”
With nano-neuron upgrades, future human minds will run at speeds up to 1 billion times faster than today’s slow mushy biological brains. We will possess unimaginable abilities in vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch; and sport new capabilities like the magnetic sense that birds possess, and pre-cognition – the ability to see immediate future events before they happen. (cont.)
We will share experiences and thoughts; privately with a single person anywhere on earth; or in an Internet-enabled group setting with all of humanity participating. In this future time, humans will be wonderfully artistic creative beings anxiously waiting to explore the universe.
Robert Coppinger, of England’s Hertfordshire University, believes that with molecular nanotech advances expected by mid-century, we could terraform Mars in about 20 years – creating an Earth-like habitat – with rivers, lakes, trees, forests, a healthy atmosphere, and mild temperatures; however with enhanced human bodies, this terraforming may not be necessary.
We will truly live in a paradise world with driverless cars, scramjets, robots, and nano-replicators providing every comfort we could dream of. Our vast superior intelligence, futurists say, will make anti-social and other negative behaviors illogical and unthinkable. Future Earth will become free of crime and wars.
The challenge is to stay alive with today’s limited healthcare. The next seven years will be the most critical. The following ten years will prove more technology-friendly with stem-cell research and RNAi therapies coming to the rescue. As early as mid-2020s, nanobots could be roaming through our bodies keeping us in perfect, youthful health. And by as early as the 2040s, we could be merged with our machines – ready for anything.
Could this extremely optimistic and positive future become reality in such a short time? Only time will tell. Comments welcome.
Comment Thread (4 Responses)
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I voted 4. This will NOT happen in my lifetime. Despite Futuretalk’s endless cheerleading, he fails to grasp the sheer complexity of what makes us ourselves, something that we won’t master anytime within the next 50 years. He may provide evidence for this “magical future” happening within this time, but there IS tons more evidence against the possibility.
Posted by: adbatstone80 June 11, 2008
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adbatstone. Please provide the tons of evidence.
Posted by: JHE June 12, 2008
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“You took your cats to be neutered, didn’t you?
If you look at any sort of tech advances in modern history, they advance very quickly right up until they get “good enough”, and then they stop. Look at aviation, space exploration, nuclear power, automobiles, guns, or anything else. Major advances followed by a long period of stagnation.
Computer advances are driven by the market, which is fueled by nerds who want faster and faster video games. Eventually, the market support won’t be there – the systems will be fast enough, and once that realization sinks in, computer research will trail off. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the PS3. ;)
Posted by: Brian at May 11, 2007 03:46 PM”
This is quite different from simple “video games” and weapons, it is advancing human abilities which could be next to endless.
go here and read the article http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/07/15/bio.tech/index.html?eref=rss_tech_
if things like those scientists predict happen it will happen fast, and it will start with the children, what kid doesn’t want to be able to sprint at top speed for 15 minutes strait? or hold your breath under water for hours… im 13, that sounds cool as hell, but its wrong. Eventually you would say “Well why not? I think ill get a new arm, I’ve always wanted to be superstrong” etc etc…. For many many understandable moral issues and also because it would change human life, first it might be good but as the computers and nano tech get smarter and are programed to do more things and scientists develope AI that have personalitys “Just to make them seem a little bit more friendly or easier to work with” they’ll say….
http://www.positivefuturist.com/archive/25.html
people like the guy on posititve futurist are insane, a utopian society? B.S.
thats crazy, once they take over all of the chores that give life meaning or build character in a child you can imagine the population. As for uploading your minds into another non-biological entity? i just cannot express how screwed up that is. it goes against everything that now seems morally right (at least to me). People may not agree with it but it will happen gradually at first example “Hey you seen those new phone implants?” “Ya they look awsome, but are kind of expensive…”
3 months later (tech improves and cost go down)
“Hey I just got a phone implant!!” “Cool so did I!”
it may not be for 65 or 75 years before tech gets advanced enough to worry about but what about in the next 20 years? What happens to sports? Art? Music? with nano bot speed enhancers and the like. the next 80, religion, moral values, humans? what about lifespans? We have those for a reason.
Some things might be ok to do (EX. curing sicknesses cancer and other things) and advance – but some things…. Some things are not ok to do.
“I voted 4. This will NOT happen in my lifetime. Despite Futuretalk’s endless cheerleading, he fails to grasp the sheer complexity of what makes us ourselves, something that we won’t master anytime within the next 50 years. He may provide evidence for this “magical future” happening within this time, but there IS tons more evidence against the possibility.
Posted by: adbatstone80 June 11, 2008 Vote for this comment – Recommend “
Maybe not in your life time but what about others? Besides, with all the crap they’ll come out with to extend your life span it might be your children. By the way if you haven’t noticed tech impoves at an EXTREAMLY RAPID PACE look back 50 years, if things like the 2 inch thin laptops would have been said were going to be made later on someone would have told you off saying nothing like that would ever happen in your life time, guess what, if you were 10 at the time it just may have. Stuff like this could happen, the technology is out there being found – faster and faster might i add.
The future might look bright at first but…. Is this morally right? Nope i don’t think so
Have a nice life.
Posted by: Bob July 20, 2008
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Whats life without learning and challenges?
Posted by: Bob July 20, 2008
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