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Would anyone like to offer insights, add to, object to, agree with, or
comment on this 500 word abstract for an upcoming conference on
consciousness in the UK? <br><br>
I realize there are some obvious challenges with what I argue: (1) I
suggest that "neural macrosensing" (Freitas) to provide
sensory information to the AGI (Amara D. Angelica's insight suggests
"macrosensing" (Freitas) instead) ; and (2) "elevated
acuity" (Vita-More) may not be consciousness (Samantha's
insight); and (3) the "oracle" (Peter Voss) may not be
the best term to use. (Bty, "human humanity" was inspired
by Eliezer.) <br><br>
<br>
Abstract:<br>
<br>
The acquisition of wisdom has been recognized as one of the noblest goals
of humanity. (Aristotle, Buddha) People aspire to this state of
sapience by relying upon religious, spiritual, and meditative practices
separately, or combining them as models for defining moral codes and
heightened awareness. In today's era of blending technology with
human biology, speculation and exploratory engineering are bringing about
alternative methods for helping us understand ourselves and our desire to
interconnect with others. Is it possible to combine technologies to
assist our brain in acquiring wisdom?<br>
<br>
One approach is to couple two distinct emerging technologies, that of AGI
(artificial general intelligence) and "neural
macrosensing." AGI is developing as a reaction to recent
trends toward narrowly focused AI, and returning to artificial
intelligence's original idea of building machines with human-level and
even superhuman intelligence. "Neural macrosensing," a
term created by scientist Robert A. Freitas Jr., is the hypothetical
"ability to detect individual neural cell electrical discharges
non-invasively … [and] offers the possibility of indirect neural
macrosensing of complex environmental stimuli by eavesdropping on the
body's own regular sensory signal traffic." This means that
nanorobots would listen to, or eavesdrop on, the body's sensory
organs.<br>
<br>
These two different spheres of technology have yet to be explored as a
means for bringing about a wiser, more humane humanity. Both
technologies are based on exploratory engineering, much like the
imaginative inventions Leonardo da Vinci sketched out long before they
could be realized. Yet, the coupling of AGI and neural
macrosensing is based on tangible advances in their respective fields.
<br>
<br>
Engineers at Adaptive AI are building AGI for improving human
intelligence, and in theory for exploring partial, physically integrated
personal silicon "oracles." According to engineer Peter
Voss of Adaptive AI, "Once we have human level AGI, we will
essentially possess our own personal AGI to integrate with us and advise
us." Voss claims that our new silicon partner would develop
rationality, wisdom, and knowledge through a relatively loose integration
with our brain. This non-invasive approach to augmenting the brain would
at first appears as mundane as a black box, and later as streamlined as
light-activated ion channels for remote control of neural activity.
(Richard H. Kramer) The oracle assistant would also be a new,
emotional part of ourselves to bounce ideas off of; similar, but far more
advanced than a Remembrance Agent (RA), designed by Bradley Rhodes at MIT
Media Lab, computer that watches over a our shoulder and suggests
information relevant to what we are reading or writing. <br>
<br>
But how would we secure a cooperative relationship between the oracle and
its human counterpart? The most likely approach would be to build
generic oracles with a large skill set and ability to bond quickly with
their counterparts. This bonding would require more than
technically-driven intellectual motivation; it would require strong
sensory capabilities for, essentially, sniffing out the
environment. And this is where macrosensing comes in; to
"allow us to become exquisitely sensitive, like 'super-senses"
to fine details in our environment." (Freitas) Macrosensing
could provide the needed sensorial feedback for both assisting the brain
and developing elevated acuity.<br><br><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<dl>
<dd><font size=2><a href="http://www.natasha.cc/">Natasha
</a><a href="http://www.natasha.cc/">Vita-More</a>
<dd>Cultural Strategist - Designer
<dd>President, <a href="http://www.extropy.org/">Extropy Institute</a>
<dd>Member, <a href="http://www.profuturists.com/">Association of
Professional Futurists</a>
<dd>Founder, <a href="http://www.transhumanist.biz/">Transhumanist Arts
& Culture</a> <br><br>
</font>
<dd><font face="Times New Roman, Times"><i>If you draw a circle in the
sand and study only what's inside the circle, then that is a
closed-system perspective. If you study what is inside the circle and
everything outside the circle, then that is an open system perspective. -
</i>Buckminster Fuller<br>
<br><br></font>
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