[extropy-chat] Future Consciousness through AGI + Neural Macrosensing

[Natasha Vita-More]

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?

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.)


Abstract:

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.


<http://www.natasha.cc/>Natasha <http://www.natasha.cc/>Vita-More
Cultural Strategist - Designer
President, <http://www.extropy.org/>Extropy Institute
Member, <http://www.profuturists.com/>Association of Professional Futurists
Founder, <http://www.transhumanist.biz/>Transhumanist Arts & Culture

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. - Buckminster Fuller


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