collaborative gene project beta presented at the idsa global conference 2009
DESCRIPTION
This was the BETA conversation that started this whole Collaborative Human project. This is the rawest form of the idea and still provides most of the inspiration that drives the curricula currently being developed. Enjoy.TRANSCRIPT
Why is it that sometimes it is so hard toshare and yet sonatural to competewith strangers?
Our education systemgrooms us for andultimately rewards thesuccess of individuals.
Civilization-wideinventions anddisruptions remind usthat civilizations canand do change
“What has to be judged is[a new mass movement’s]corporate organizationfor quick and totalabsorption of thefrustrated.”
Eric Hoffer“The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements”
"Faith in [their] holy causeis to a considerableextent a substitute forlost faith in[themselves].”
Eric Hoffer“The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements”
ENVIRONMENTprecedent, reputation, political climate
MEMBERSHIPrespect & trust, diversity, self-interest, compromise
PROCESS & STRUCTUREstake, layers,flexibility, roles, adaptability, pace
COMMUNICATIONopen & frequent, formal & informal
PURPOSEgoals, vision, unique purpose
RESOURCESfunding & leadership
“We hold these truths tobe self evident, that allmen are created equal…
…with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.”
“…it is impossible for aperson to be cheated byanyone but himself.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Strong leadersClear judgment systemCommon goalCommon purposeDiverse communityOpen and frequent communicationFormal and informal communityMake you part of the process
ENVIRONMENTprecedent, reputation, political climate
MEMBERSHIPrespect & trust, diversity, self-interest, compromise
PROCESS & STRUCTUREstake, layers,flexibility, roles, adaptability, pace
COMMUNICATIONopen & frequent, formal & informal
PURPOSEgoals, vision, unique purpose
RESOURCESfunding & leadership
Technology vs. Community
Fellowship between 6 Billionpeople is an inconceivableand uncharted challenge.
“Empathy” is embedded inthe oldest part of the brain,back where we share traitswith some of the mostgenerous primates.
Dr. Frans De WaalThe Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for a Kinder Society"
Kant 1785 Morals
Darwin 1868 Survival
Osborn 1948 Ecology
Dawkins 1976 Selfishness
Ridley 1997 Virtue
Zeman 2004 Consciousness
Wright 2001 Nonzero
Pinker 2002 Nature
Diamond 2005 Nurture
Miller 2009 Sex Driven
Simon 2008 Reinvention
De Waal 2009 Empathetic
Alda 2009 Altruism
Cochran 2009 Ashkenazi Smarts
Tzu 400 BC War
Marx 1848 Communism
Flood / Dresher 1950 Prisoners Dilemma
Hoffer 1951 Religion
Jacobs 1961 Cities
Ehrlich 1968 Population
De Bono 1970 Thinking
M. Smith 1971 Hawks & Doves
Axelrod 1979 Tit-for-tat
Durkheim 1982 Sociology
Nisbett 2004 Context
Zax / Ho 2009 Economics
Metzinger 2009 Ego
SW Asia 9500BC Farming
Plato 400BC Logic
Mary 0 Christianity
India 450AD Zero
Gutenberg 1440 Printing Press
Fleming 1929 Time Zones
Cognot 1769 Automobile
America 1776 Democracy
Diners Club 1950 Credit Card
Berners-Lee 1990 WorldWideWeb
UCSC Lab 2000 Genome Sequence
Zuckerberg 2004 Facebook
Rheingold 2006 Smart Mobs
Zamenhof 1887 Esperanto
Torvalds 1991 Linux
UK 1995 21st Century Learning
Quinn 1999 Tribal Instinct
Gladwell 2003 Subconscious
Ogle 2007 Creativity
Pink 2006 Play
Friedman 2008 Crowded
Vanderbilt 2009 Traffic
Thaler/Sunstein 2009 Nudge
Ehrlich 2009 Dominant Animal
We are rewarded forindividual achievements
Develop metrics based onsystems well beyond scope
Sleeping soundly andnot worrying aboutinvasion or your nextcamp or your next mealis relatively new tohumans.
Kurzweil Predictions
2018 10 Terabits (1013 bits) of computer memoryﾑroughly the equivalent of the memory space ina single human brain--will cost $1000. 2020 Personal computers will have the same processingpower as human brains. 2020 By the later part of this decade, virtual reality will be so high-qualitythat it will be indistinguishable from reality. 2030 Mind uploading becomes possible.Nanomachines could be directly inserted into the brain and could interact with brain cells tototally control incoming and outgoing signals. As a result, truly full-immersion virtual reality couldbe generated without the need for any external equipment. Afferent nerve pathways could beblocked, totally canceling out the "real" world and leaving the user with only the desired virtualexperience.Using brain nanobots, recorded or real-time brain transmissions of a person's daily lifeknown as "experience beamers" will be available for other people to remotely experience. This isvery similar to how the characters in Being John Malkovich were able to enter the mind ofMalkovich and see the world through his eyes.Recreational uses aside, nanomachines in peoples'brains will allow them to greatly expand their cognitive, memory and sensory capabilities, todirectly interface with computers, and to "telepathically" communicate with other, similarlyaugmented humans via wireless networks. 2040 There will be social splitting into different levelsof use of reality argumentation, from those who want to live in a life of imagined harems, or thosewho dedicate their thoughts to philosophical extension. Human society will drift apart in its focus,but with ever increasing capabilities to make imagined things occur.
Kurzweil Predictions2045: The Singularity $1000 buys a computer a billion times more powerful than the human brain.This means that average and even low-end computers are hugely smarter than even highlyintelligent, un-enhanced humans.The Singularity occurs as artificial intelligences surpass humanbeings as the smartest and most capable life forms on the Earth. Technological development istaken over by the machines, who can think, act and communicate so quickly that normal humanscannot even comprehend what is going on; thus the machines, acting in concert with those humanswho have evolved into post-biological cyborgs, achieve effective world domination. The machinesenter into a "runaway reaction" of self-improvement cycles, with each new generation of A.I.sappearing faster and faster. From this point onwards, technological advancement is explosive,under the control of the machines, and thus cannot be accurately predicted.The Singularity is anextremely disruptive, world-altering event that forever changes the course of human history. Theextermination of humanity by violent machines is unlikely (though not impossible) because sharpdistinctions between man and machine will no longer exist thanks to the existence of cyberneticallyenhanced humans and uploaded humans.
Post-2045: "Waking up" From this moment onwards, computers can only be made more powerful ifthey are made larger in size.Because of this, A.I.s convert more and more of the Earth's matter intoengineered, computational substrate capable of supporting more A.I.s. until the whole Earth is one,gigantic computer (but some areas will remain set aside as nature preserves).At this point, the onlypossible way to increase the intelligence of the machines any farther is to begin converting all of thematter in the universe into similar massive computers. A.I.s radiate out into space in all directionsfrom the Earth, breaking down whole planets, moons and meteoroids and reassembling them intogiant computers. This, in effect, "wakes up" the universe as all the inanimate "dumb" matter (rocks,dust, gases, etc.) is converted into structured matter capable of supporting life (albeit syntheticlife).Kurzweil predicts that machines will have the ability to make planet-sized computers by 2099,which underscores how enormously technology will advance after the Singularity.The process of"waking up" the universe will be complete as early as 2199.