Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #03517
To: JVernonM@aol.com
From: Steven Bolt sbolt@xs4all.nl
Date: Sat, 22 May 1999 11:01:27 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Evolution Comparison
On Sat, 22 May 1999 JVernonM@aol.com wrote:
> > Imho Moravec's "artificial human" or even a robotic ant colony as a
> > result of machine evolution is extremely unlikely. Machines are
> > evolving a kind of nervous system, but a brain as we or anything
> > alive understands it won't fit their bodies, which only mimick life
> > in certain laboratories and hobby rooms, well away from the real
> > world of machine evolution. We're not looking at artificial life,
> > but at the evolution of something dead.
>
> I agree with all you said until this point. The bots you describe will come,
> simply because someone dreamed.
You may be overrating technology as well as mankind's control over
machine evolution. Especially the latter is a dream; evolution
always runs its course, roughshod over anyone and anything.
The fulfillment of dreams and nightmares is a minor byproduct.
> I firmly believe that if you can see it, it will happen.
I won't argue with religion :)
---8<---
> The artificial human is a ways off, I agree. But, the humanoid
> servant is just around the corner.
---8<---
> I've found that when you make declarations like, impossible or
> never, you usually end up eating them.
True enough in many cases, but Godel didn't have to eat his
Theorem. A machine like the artificial human can't be designed, it
would have to evolve; we can't control evolution, and machine
evolution is extremely unlikely to follow our dreams.
Best,
Steve
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# sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
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