07.28.09
Posted in AI / Singularity, Deutschsprachige Seiten, Ethics, Technology, Transhumanism at 6:22 am by rheil
Bedrohen die Roboter Mensch und Gesellschaft?
Florian Rötzer 27.07.2009, telepolis
„Eine Gruppe von US-Wissenschaftlern will die Entwicklung der Künstlichen Intelligenz sichern, indem sie vor Gefahren warnen und Regeln für die Forschung fordern
Roboter werden nicht nur autonomer, klüger und geschickter, sie dringen auch in immer weitere Bereiche der Lebenswelt ein. Offenbar ist eine Gruppe von Computerexperten, KI-Forschern und Robotwissenschaftlern, die im Februar an einem Treffen der Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence – natürlich in Kalifornien – teilgenommen haben, um über die künftige Folgen fortgeschrittener Künstlicher Intelligenz auf die Gesellschaft zu sprechen und einen Bericht zu verfassen, durchaus beunruhigt.“ [zum Originalartikel]
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07.27.09
Posted in Politic, Transhumanism at 6:27 am by rheil
Riccardo Campa – Toward a transhumanist politics (re:public)
„The central transhumanist idea of self-directed evolution can be coupled with different political, philosophical and religious opinions. Accordingly, we have observed individuals and groups joining the movement from very different persuasions. On one hand such diversity may be an asset in terms of ideas and stimuli, but on the other hand it may involve a practical paralysis, especially when members give priority to their existing affiliations over their belonging to organized transhumanism.“ [read original article]
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Posted in AI / Singularity, Future, Technology, Transhumanism at 6:25 am by rheil
Scientists Worry Machines May Outsmart Man (By JOHN MARKOFF, published: July 25, 2009, New York Times)
„A robot that can open doors and find electrical outlets to recharge itself. Computer viruses that no one can stop. Predator drones, which, though still controlled remotely by humans, come close to a machine that can kill autonomously.
Impressed and alarmed by advances in artificial intelligence, a group of computer scientists is debating whether there should be limits on research that might lead to loss of human control over computer-based systems that carry a growing share of society’s workload, from waging war to chatting with customers on the phone.“ [read original article]
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07.24.09
Posted in Critics, Politic, Technology, Transhumanism at 6:09 am by rheil
On the Importance of Being a Cyborg Feminist (written By: Kyle Munkittrick, h+ magazin, July 21, 2009)
„Transhumanism’s relationship with postmodern philosophy and critical theory is a strange one. For example, Nick Bostrom’s influential “A History of Transhumanist Thought” spans centuries, covering the gamut from Utnapishtim to the President’s Council on Bioethics, but makes little mention of those who radically challenge the core Enlightenment narrative upon which he builds his history. Figures like Nietzsche, Marx, and Donna Haraway do all receive a nod in Bostrom’s essay, including Haraway’s cyberfeminist motto, “I’d rather be a cyborg than a goddess,” but their ideas go unanalyzed. Of course, the context for these thinkers is often ignored and their works simply mined for epigraphs and potent, argument-punctuating lines such as Haraway’s. Make no mistake: Bostrom’s essay (indeed, his entire corpus of work) is essential reading for any serious transhumanist. But there are gaps in his history that are reflective of a larger dismissal of certain philosophers by transhumanist intellectuals. Among those neglected, I would list Jean Baudrillard, Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Donna Haraway, Bruno Latour, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Jurgan Habermas. Clearly there is insufficient time and space to even begin to discuss all of these figures properly, so I would like to draw your attention to just one in particular, Donna Haraway, and her work with cyberfeminism.“ [read original article]
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07.19.09
Posted in AI / Singularity, biotech, Critics, Cryonic, Nanotechnology, Neuro, Technology, Transhumanism at 6:20 am by rheil
Singing the Singularity
Mike Treder (posted on IEET, Jul 16, 2009)
„Like many a useful concept, the Technological Singularity has become over-invested with emotion, ideological leanings, and tangential agendas. Can its value be recovered?
On October 3, 2009, the fourth annual Singularity Summit will convene, this time in New York City. Among the speakers featured in the two-day event are IEET fellows Ben Goertzel and Aubrey de Grey, along with Ray Kurzweil, Anders Sandberg, Robin Hanson, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Greg Benford, and many others.
So what’s it all about?“ [read original article]
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Posted in biotech, Evolution / Genetics, Technology at 6:15 am by rheil
DNA Not The Same In Every Cell Of Body: Major Genetic Differences Between Blood And Tissue Cells Revealed
ScienceDaily (July 16, 2009) — „Research by a group of Montreal scientists calls into question one of the most basic assumptions of human genetics: that when it comes to DNA, every cell in the body is essentially identical to every other cell. Their results appear in the July issue of the journal Human Mutation. This discovery may undercut the rationale behind numerous large-scale genetic studies conducted over the last 15 years, studies which were supposed to isolate the causes of scores of human diseases.“ [read original article]
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07.16.09
Posted in biotech, Human Enhancement, Neuro, Technology, Transhumanism at 8:33 am by rheil
The Next Hacking Frontier: Your Brain? (By Hadley Leggett, Wired, July 9, 2009)
„Hackers who commandeer your computer are bad enough. Now scientists worry that someday, they’ll try to take over your brain.
In the past year, researchers have developed technology that makes it possible to use thoughts to operate a computer, maneuver a wheelchair or even use Twitter — all without lifting a finger. But as neural devices become more complicated — and go wireless — some scientists say the risks of “brain hacking” should be taken seriously.
“Neural devices are innovating at an extremely rapid rate and hold tremendous promise for the future,” said computer security expert Tadayoshi Kohno of the University of Washington. “But if we don’t start paying attention to security, we’re worried that we might find ourselves in five or 10 years saying we’ve made a big mistake.”“ [read original article]
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07.15.09
Posted in Evolution / Genetics, Future, Transhumanism at 6:53 am by rheil
Stephen Hawking: “Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution”
„Although It has taken homo sapiens several million years to evolve from the apes, the useful information in our DNA, has probably changed by only a few million bits. So the rate of biological evolution in humans, Stephen Hawking points out in his Life in the Universe lecture, is about a bit a year. „ [read original article]
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Posted in AI / Singularity, Ethics, Future, Nanotechnology, Technology, Transhumanism at 6:42 am by rheil
Transhumanist Salvation or Judgment Day? (By Lou Cabron, June 30th, 2009, 10 Zen Monkeys)
„We’re starting to brush up against real robots, real nanotech, and maybe even the first real artificial intelligence. But will emerging technologies destroy humankind — or will humankind be saved by an emerging transhumanism?“ [read original article]
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07.11.09
Posted in biotech, Deutschsprachige Seiten, Human Enhancement, Neuro, Technology, Transhumanism at 12:04 pm by rheil
Angst vor dem Neuro-Hacking (Jörg Auf dem Hövel, Telepolis, 07.07.2009)
“Wie sicher sind neuronale Implantate gegen unautorisierte Fremdzugriffe?
Elektronische Hirnimplantate werden immer häufiger in Forschung und Medizin eingesetzt. Bislang ist der Datenschutz dieser Geräte kaum beleuchtet worden. Wie ist die Zugangskontrolle zu den Geräten organisiert? Viele der Implantate sind durch eine drahtlose Verbindung steuerbar, in den wenigsten ist eine Authentifizierungssystem integriert, das nur autorisierten Personen Zugang zu den Stimulatoren im Gehirn erlaubt.” [zum Originalartikel]
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Posted in Anti-Aging, biotech, Deutschsprachige Seiten, Human Enhancement, Neuro, Nootropics, Technology, Transhumanism at 11:58 am by rheil
Langes Leben mit und ohne Diät
Matthias Gräbner (Telepolis, 09.07.2009)
“In den Spamordnern wird uns bald ein neuer Begriff begegnen: Rapamycin, haben Forscher gezeigt, verlängert das Leben signifikant – und zwar auch bei Säugetieren
50 Milligramm längeres Leben sind derzeit für 32 Euro zu haben. 99-prozentig reines Rapamycin, leicht zu finden, da sogar per Google-Textanzeige beworben vom Hersteller, der Firma LC Laboratories in Woburn, MA – dass die Substanz in der Lage ist, das Leben zumindest von Mäusen signifikant zu verlängern, haben die Spammer seit dieser Woche schriftlich.” [zum Originalartikel]
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Posted in Deutschsprachige Seiten, Neuro, Nootropics, Technology, Transhumanism at 11:49 am by rheil
Doch kein Depressions-Gen
Stephan Schleim (Telepolis, 11.07.2009)
“Eine neue Untersuchung entkräftet die Belege für eine genetische Grundlage der Depression
Depressive Erkrankungen sind für die Betroffenen und die Gesellschaft eine große Belastung. Daher wundert es kaum, dass weltweit mit großem Eifer nach ihren körperlichen Ursachen gesucht wird. Ein Zusammenhang mit dem Botenstoff Serotonin schien durch neuere genetische Untersuchungen untermauert worden zu sein. Eine neue Meta-Analyse widerspricht den früheren Funden jedoch vehement. Damit hat das genetische Programm zur Erforschung der Depression und anderer psychischer Erkrankungen einen herben Rückschlag erlitten. Im Gegensatz zu den Genen gelten schwere Lebensereignisse nach wie vor als großer Risikofaktor für Depressionen. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob die Forschungsgelder bei der Suche nach ihren körperlichen Ursachen überhaupt gut angelegt sind.” [zum Originalartikel]
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Posted in Anti-Aging, biotech, Human Enhancement, Neuro, Nootropics, Technology, Transhumanism at 11:22 am by rheil
First Drug Shown to Extend Life Span in Mammals
Rapamycin, an immunosuppressant, enables elderly mice to live longer.
By Jocelyn Rice (TechnologyReview, Wednesday, July 08, 2009)
“A drug derived from bacteria in the soil on Easter Island can substantially extend the life span of mice, according to a study published online today in Nature. The drug, called rapamycin, is the first pharmacological agent shown to enhance longevity in a mammal, and it works when administered beginning late in life. Prior to this research, the only ways to increase rodents’ life span were via genetic engineering or caloric restriction–a nutritionally complete but very low-calorie diet.” [read original article]
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Posted in biotech, Neuro, Technology, Transhumanism at 11:17 am by rheil
One step closer to an artificial nerve cell, July 6th, 2009
(PhysOrg.com) – “Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University (Sweden) are well on the way to creating the first artificial nerve cell that can communicate specifically with nerve cells in the body using neurotransmitters. The technology has been published in an article in Nature Materials.” [read original article]
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