The Coming Technological Singlularity

The Singularity is something I've been meaning to bring to this forum for some time. What has kept me, I think, is the scope of its implications, and trying to say anything intelligible about it.

I think it was around 5 years ago when I first came across Vernor Vinge's concise but potent and provocative essay, The Coming Technological Singularity, in which Vinge outlines what he sees as an imminent future of super-human intelligence, at which point, he claims, "the human era will have ended." The time which Vinge expects this to happen by is 2030.

For those who don't know, Vernor Vinge is a sci-fi author, computer scientist and now-retired math professor. He's written a handful of Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas, including Fire Upon The Deep, A Deepness In The Sky, Rainbows End, and Fast Times at Fairmont High. His article on the singularity was published in 1993 in conjunction with a NASA-sponsored event called VISION-21 Symposium.

Basically, this short essay is something that I haven't been able to forget. It's like an impassive, left-justified afteraffect, or a whirling spiral funneling into oblivion that appears whenever I begin to think about 'human progress' and notions of morality.

For example, what prerequisite is there for environmental alarmism if machines are to be the next expression of evolution? ¹

And for theists—what significance do popular conceptions of 'God' have in a universe where consciousness can be uploaded and preserved? ²

What will become of human selfhood, that perceived uniqueness which leads to ideas like 'soul'—as all forms of intelligence become omni-accessible—and by entities with a far greater capacity to create cogent understanding than ourselves?

Does this not turn Jesus of Nazareth and his all-too-human brand of prophecy on its nappy head?

I feel confident that a dizzying and accelerating stage of technological advancement is underway, and while there are always Ludites—history tends to preserve them as such.

Vinge concludes his essay thusly:

I think the new era is simply too different to fit into the classical frame of good and evil. That frame is based on the idea of isolated, immutable minds connected by tenuous, low-bandwith links.

He then goes on to quote the Amercian physicist, Freeman Dyson:

"God is what mind becomes when it has passed beyond the scale of our comprehension."

Time recently did a feature on The Singularity, check it out: 2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal

---

¹ I think the word 'machine' is provincial here. What we're really talking about is forms of AI that could foreseeably comprise processes which are quite biological.

² And perhaps re-implanted in our bodies which might be healed or reconstructed through biological engineering

GOD, LLC's 100th Post!!!

Jesus lullaby from Matthew Henderson on Vimeo.

Crystal Cathedral files for bankruptcy

Two things I love in this post: architecture and mega-churches going under.

Crystal Cathedral, its glimmering 'prayer spire,' and the handy "International Center for Possibility Thinking" (whatever the fuck that means) constitute an almost-buffet of modern-master church architecture. With a collaborative work between Philip Johnson and Richard Neutra, and a later addition by Richard Meier, it's the sort of trove that an enterprising pastor might like to polish regularly with a soft, lint-free cloth, getting the in-between parts with a Q-tip and mild cleanser.

But the mega-church ministry behind the nice architecture has filed for bankruptcy, citing unrest among creditors and a 30% drop in revenue, largely a result of the weakening donation stream from the church's televangelist show "Hour of Power."

Reports of the news when it first broke in October depict a convoluted scene:

Huffington Post

Wall Street Journal

NPR

The Game of Merit

Believe it or not, my grandfather invented this game. It's called Merit, "The Catholic Game," and it comes with "Ecclesiastical Approbation" and bearing the inscription:

"Unless you turn and become as little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

(That is, of course, Matthew: 18: verse 1-6, for those who don't know.*)

The game is meant to be a fun educational tool for kids and adults alike to learn the rules and commandments of Catholicism. I found it to actually be somewhat demanding. For example, what is it to land on "Extreme Unction"? No, don't get out your 'wonder killer,' aka iPhone, that's cheating.

(Extreme Unction, as the accompanying graphic seems to indicate, has to do with some sort of a deathbed blessing, or perhaps confession. Basically, it's something Christopher Hitchens will likely opt out of.)

In general, this board game (and my Grandpa Ed) gets two thumbs up for presentation and execution. It's a very refined product. Very much in line with other more established board games. It seems to be based on Monopoly, except instead of houses you plant churches, and instead of a shoe, you are Mary.

As for playability, it is difficult for people like myself who lack a Catholic education to play this game. It is very much an educational game, and perhaps not the best drinking/party game.

Questions range in difficulty from "Who made you?" (Answer = "God made you." Silly!) to ones more exacting and obscure, like:

Q: Name the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary?


A: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning of Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion and death of our Lord."

You may draw a card which says:

"SAY ALOUD ONE HAIL MARY THEN MOVE TO ANY LOCATION ON THE BOARD DESIRED."

or this one, which caused surprise/laughter/confusion (in that order):

"SAY ALOUD AN EJACULATION, THEN MOVE TO ANY LOCATION ON THE BOARD DESIRED."

(Next thing I know I'm googling "examples of ejaculations," this could only be bad...)

Basically, this game is kind of fun. I take it back, it is a good drinking game. Or a good 'educational tool' depending on your idea of an education. I suspect there aren't too many of these floating around out there with board/game pieces/cards intact, but if you happen to see Merit "The Catholic Game" in the Goodwill bins, say aloud one Hail Mary and snatch it up cos my Grandpa designed that game!

I've added some pictures at Flickr.

The Alpha of Wikipedia

It's only too appropriate that one of the first and most controversial articles created in Wikipedia's infancy was that of Jesus Christ. Slate gives an interesting overview, as Wikipedia turns 10:

http://www.slate.com/id/2281294/

Good press for God

America loves a good rags-to-riches story. And God loves America.

I hope things continue to work out for this kind-hearted fellow...

Xhurch Update: Winter survival and beyond (and before).

So it's a dramatic title and it isn't. Xhurch life is hard in a sense. I've had to forfeit a handful of domestic luxuries; shower, washer/dryer, dishwasher, and in the early days, heat and kitchen sink. I'm happy to say I've been enjoying the latter two amenities for some time now—life without would have truly been shit.

One of my two electric ranges broke back in November so I've been running on a single cylinder in the kitchen (Comfort Zone CZ-SS95 burner). Of course there's always the Chefmate Toaster Oven and Broiler which continues to impress me with its reliability and efficiency. Quorn Chick'n Nuggets for example can be prepared in a quarter the time it takes to bring a conventional oven to temperature, and with no compromise in taste or texture!

The oven's interior dimensions are of course nothing to boast about.

***

Outside of the kitchen, which sees a lot of the same meals prepared over-and-over, I'm continually impressed by the versatility of the xhurch's interior topography. The pews, heavy as they are, have found themselves in a host of different positions, coinciding with the different events that have been held here.

Quiet concerts, and talks—notably, the xhurch's lecture series—have been highlights of the xhurch's brief but nurturing trajectory.

A loud-and-proud Halloween concert was—well for one super rad—but also an important, if ill-advised episode for the xhurch, as it spurred instantaneous feedback from the neighbors and local law enforcement. This forced pressing matters of diplomacy in the ensuing weeks, and I'm glad to be in a position now to say the xhurch's neighbors are an insightful bunch, with great vision for the neighborhood, and a mind open to possibility.

***

Perhaps the crowning achievement of the Xhurch's 5 months of (hyper) activity was the nativity, which has been reported on in previous posts, and at other blog(s). This will surely evolve into a sort of holiday tradition, if the Xhurch-and-I can continue to make our marriage work.

Here's to luck and chance and everything nice in the new year!