[ExI] phone eats city

[spike]

This 59 second video with no dialog is a good expression of a current thread:

https://youtu.be/9YBOn-Fxg_4

spike

 

 

 

From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of William Flynn Wallace
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2017 5:14 PM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] phone eats city

 

>…It really is a fantastic thing, no?  Connected to the world.  Here's my question:

 

>…What's next?

 

>…bill w

 

 

We don’t know, BillW.

 

If anyone knew the answer to that question, it is a worth a buttload of money.

 

The classic transhumanist answer is to say Singularity Ahead.  But that is really just another way of saying we don’t know.

 

I have some fuzzy visions of things to come.  It will involve the spontaneous creation of a kind of super-organism made up of individual autonomous units.  I can best describe it by way of an example.  We have super-organisms of sorts already: the Elks Lodge, the Masons, the Boy Scouts, churches, that sorta thing, groups who work together to accomplish things.  

 

Now, consider the geocaching crowd.  The game is to squirrel away a small jar or container out in nature somewhere, then post clues to its location.  Finders sign a log and write observations if they wish, take something out of the cache, put something in, take the item they took to the next cache.  It can be anything; a coin, a keychain, a little toy, anything that can be identified online.  We have the cub scouts look for any litter in the area and pack it out.  Since the internet came along, geocaching has exploded in popularity, since there is so much more one can do with it: track tags on international travel and so forth.  My son loves it.

 

OK cool, the geocaching community acts as a superorganism, one of the early-ish ones.  Now consider all the other things one could do with super-organisms: the systematized wildlife observations we have discussed before.  We could use it to remove and eradicate noxious weeds or establish beneficial plants.  We could use it to fight crime (already doing that.)  We could use it to do some kinds of repairs or clean up messes.  Play massive virtual reality and mixed reality games.  Manage resources.  Support and protect wildlife.  Create educational simulations.  Help businesses operate more efficiently.  Help prevent accidents.  Uncover or propagate historical information.  Help the poor.  Help the rich and help everyone in between.  Get the singles laid.  Help people find others of similar values and interests.  Build community esprit de corps.  That kinda stuff.

 

Super-interconnectedness can help us live lives more together, even while alone.

 

This is an appealing prospect for those of us who know what it is to feel lonely in a crowd of our own friends and feel like we are attending a great party while sitting alone in our own home.

 

spike

 

 

 

 

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