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7 Best-Case Scenarios for the Future of Humanity

7 Best-Case Scenarios for the Future of Humanity
Related:  Possible Ending Scenarios

Artificial Intelligence will not kill us all | WISDOMINATION Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking are worried the human race might be replaced by robots. A couple of problems with that: They never said that, until the news got exaggerated (to put it mildly) by clickbait science & tech tabloids.Although they did not say it, others did – and I disagree.It might be a good thing. From the top: such scandalising journalism is enormously irresponsible, because it warps public perception of science and technology into a cartoon, increasing the risk that important research and groundbreaking discoveries with incalculable benefits to human knowledge and well-being will (again) be opposed by misinformed screaming baboons. There is a gigantic difference between “AI researchers agree we need to develop this in beneficial and controlled ways”, which is what the open letter actually says, and “TWO GREATEST MINDS ALIVE SAY ROBOTS WILL KILL US ALL!” Now, onto the second point. An important distinction Strong AI is proper, self-aware* machine intelligence. Why common sense?

Spirit Science Spirit Science is the animated series that started it all. The show follows Patchman, a little multidimensional patch-doll who takes you on a journey into the unknown and begins a long discussion about what it means to be Spiritual. Thoughts, Chakras, Sacred-Geometry, Astral Travel, and even Atlantis, through Spirit Science we look at all of these topics. Most people don’t realize that there is a very powerful connection between Spirituality and Science. All of the atoms, particles, plants, animals, humans, and galaxies, all function under very similar patterns and principles of existence. Lesson Guide Lesson 1 – Thoughts Patchman begins your journey into the unknown with the basics. Lesson 2 – Chakras In this lesson, we take a look at Chakras, and how your body picks up energy on a vibratory level. Lesson 3 – Channeling We talk about one of the methods to communicating with beings of consciousness both higher, and lower than ourselves. Lesson 4 – Male and Female Energy Lesson 7 – Dimensions

5 Psychological Experiments That Prove Humanity is Doomed Cracked.com's new book is now on sale. What follows is one of 22 classic articles that appear in the book, along with 18 new articles that you can't read anywhere else. Psychologists know you have to be careful when you go poking around the human mind because you're never sure what you'll find there. A number of psychological experiments over the years have yielded terrifying conclusions about the subjects. Oh, we're not talking about the occasional psychopath who turns up. No, we're talking about you. The Asch Conformity Experiment (1953) The Setup: Solomon Asch wanted to run a series of studies that would document the power of conformity, for the purpose of depressing everyone who would ever read the results. Subjects were told that they would be taking part in a vision test, along with a handful of people. The Result: Questions the subjects were asked were like the puzzle shown here: All they had to do was say which line on the right matched the one on the left. "Wait, you're right! C.

Marshall Goldsmith Library Providing feedback has long been considered to be an essential skill for leaders. As they strive to achieve the goals of the organization, employees need to know how they are doing. They need to know if their performance is in line with what their leaders expect. They need to learn what they have done well and what they need to change. But there is a fundamental problem with all types of feedback: it focuses on the past, on what has already occurred—not on the infinite variety of opportunities that can happen in the future. Over the past several years, I have observed more than thirty thousand leaders as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise. • Pick one behavior that they would like to change. • Describe this behavior to randomly selected fellow participants. • Ask for feedforward—for two suggestions for the future that might help them achieve a positive change in their selected behavior. • Listen attentively to the suggestions and take notes. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

10 Reasons an Artificial Intelligence Wouldn't Turn Evil Awesome post.. I'm now more afraid of having my limbs chopped off, despite your skilled arguments against such a fate. Some general thoughts on the matter - I see no reason why an AI, or any set of AIs, wouldn't be susceptible to some form of irrationality, or even emotions of a very alien kind. In particular, this seems more plausible if much of the AI is assembled via evolutionary processes. Imagine an AI learning how to interact with humans via Internet discussions/comments. - I tend to fear indifference as a destructive potential in powerful AIs, more than evil. Okay, yeah, if the AI is educated via message boards, we are all nuked.

5 Things Your Brain Needs More Of Every Day The things we put into our bodies have a gigantic effect on the way that we feel. While it's obvious that a salad for lunch will give us more energy in the afternoon than a plate of cheese fries, there's a whole range of consumables--via eating, drinking, or otherwise--that can boost your alertness, awareness, and productivity. Some of these things you're probably already doing, like drinking tea. Some of these things you're not getting enough of, like sunshine. What you need: Caffeine + Theanine to get relaxed and alert If you know how to use it well, caffeine can help you remember things. How to get more: Thankfully, the caffeine and theanine super combo is readily present in one of the most-sipped beverages the world over: the black and green varieties of tea. What you need: Sunlight for a sunny disposition The most and least obvious of the things we need more of is sunlight. How to get more: Take a walk outside, as early in the day as possible. Hat tip: io9

“Doomsday Seed Vault” in the Arctic – Bill Gates, Rockefeller and the GMO giants know something we don’t (2007) One thing Microsoft founder Bill Gates can’t be accused of is sloth. He was already programming at 14, founded Microsoft at age 20 while still a student at Harvard. By 1995 he had been listed by Forbes as the world’s richest man from being the largest shareholder in his Microsoft, a company which his relentless drive built into a de facto monopoly in software systems for personal computers. In 2006 when most people in such a situation might think of retiring to a quiet Pacific island, Bill Gates decided to devote his energies to his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest ‘transparent’ private foundation as it says, with a whopping $34.6 billion endowment and a legal necessity to spend $1.5 billion a year on charitable projects around the world to maintain its tax free charitable status. So when Bill Gates decides through the Gates Foundation to invest some $30 million of their hard earned money in a project, it is worth looking at. Did we miss something here? John H.

The 150 Things the World's Smartest People Are Afraid Of Every year, the online magazine Edge--the so-called smartest website in the world, helmed by science impresario John Brockman--asks top scientists, technologists, writers, and academics to weigh in on a single question. This year, that query was "What Should We Be Worried About?", and the idea was to identify new problems arising in science, tech, and culture that haven't yet been widely recognized. This year's respondents include former presidents of the Royal Society, Nobel prize-winners, famous sci-fi authors, Nassem Nicholas Taleb, Brian Eno, and a bunch of top theoretical physicists, psychologists, and biologists. What keeps the smartest folks in the world awake at night? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. image 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. image 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. image 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78.

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