Lifeboat Foundation

“But instead of having to figure out which leg is broken and how, or doing any sort of self-analysis at all, the robot simply starts trying a whole bunch of different gait behaviors through ‘intelligent trial and error,’ converging on something that works by exploring an enormous pregenerated set of potentially effective motions in about two minutes.” Read more

As a rule, robots have to learn through explicit instruction, whether it’s through new programming, watching videos or holding their hands. UC Berkeley’s BRETT (Berkeley Robot for the Elimination of Tedious Tasks) isn’t nearly that dependent, however. The machine uses neural network-based deep learning algorithms to master tasks through trial and error, much like humans do. Ask it to assemble a toy and it’ll keep trying until it understands what works. In theory, you’d rarely need to give the robot new code — you’d just make requests and give the automaton enough time to figure things out.

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A long interview from Esquire on transhumanism, AI, life extension, my campaign, and thoughts on the future.

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“If the humans were controlling Atlas directly from the command center, this would be no big deal, but the MIT team designed for autonomy. So they don’t have a joystick that would make the robot open the door. All the team can do is send their robot the command to find the handle and open it. It’s up to the robot’s software to figure out how.” Read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most important technology we’re developing this decade. It’s a massive opportunity for humanity, not a threat. So, what is AI?

Broadly, AI is the ability of a computer to understand your question, search its vast memory banks, and give you the best, most accurate, answer. AI is the ability of a computer to process a vast amount of information for you, make decisions, and take (and/or advise you to take) appropriate action. Read more

Edge of Dark is part space-opera, part coming-of-age story, and part exploration of the relationship between humans and the post-human descendants who may ultimately transcend them.

The book takes place in the same universe as Brenda Cooper’s “Ruby’s Song” books (The Creative Fire; The Diamond Deep). However, you don’t need to have read those books to enjoy this one. The story in Edge of Dark picks up decades after the earlier books.

The setting is a solar system in which the most Earth-like planet, once nearly ecologically destroyed, is now in large part a wilderness preserve, still undergoing active restoration. Most humans live on massive space stations in the inner solar system. A few live on smaller space stations a bit further out, closer to the proverbial “Edge”. And beyond that? Beyond that, far from the sun, dwell exiles, cast out long ago for violating social norms by daring to go too far in tinkering with the human mind and body.

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“The combination of immense Internet-connected networks and machine-learning algorithms has yielded dramatic advances in machines’ ability to understand spoken and visual communications, capabilities that fall under the heading ‘narrow’ artificial intelligence. Can machines capable of autonomous reasoning—so-called general AI—be far behind? And at that point, what’s to keep them from improving themselves until they have no need for humanity?” Read more

“‘If artificial pets can replicate the human benefits obtained from live pets, does that mean that the human–animal emotional bond is solely dependent on ourselves and the image that we project on a live or artificial interactive partner? Does it ethically matter if the benefits of keeping artificial pets outweigh the risks, sparing other live pets’ potential animal welfare issues?’” Read more

We’ve suspected it all along—that Skynet, the massive program that brings about world destruction in the Terminator movies, was just a fictionalization of a real program in the hands of the US government. And now it’s confirmed—at least in name.

As The Intercept reports today, the NSA does have a program called Skynet. But unlike the autonomous, self-aware computerized defense system in Terminator that goes rogue and launches a nuclear attack that destroys most of humanity, this one is a surveillance program that uses phone metadata to track the location and call activities of suspected terrorists. A journalist for Al Jazeera reportedly became one of its targets after he was placed on a terrorist watch list. Read more