Is I Robot the future of humanity?

[maffski]

CBR JGWRR said:

randlemarcus said:

Alfanatic said:

I think that the US in particular is going to spend itself into bankruptcy trying to keep up technologically and in the export market with China.

Out of curiosity, rather than argument, could you provide some examples of Chinese technological innovation? Not manufacturing of others IP. I just don't recall anything.

Past there are plenty.

Currently however,is more difficult.

http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/knowledge-... - This report says China is now the second largest producer of scientific papers.

And this one https://www.esmt.org/fm/555/From-Paper-Tiger-to-In... suggests they now spend more on R&D than most countries (inc. ourselves).

[Efbe]

maffski said:

http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/knowledge-... - This report says China is now the second largest producer of scientific papers.

which chart did you get that from?

because from reading through that report myself, china seems to be way way way down the list on most of the charts/tables

[maffski]

Efbe said:

which chart did you get that from?

because from reading through that report myself, china seems to be way way way down the list on most of the charts/tables

Firstly a caveat - I might be reading it wrong, not really sure I'm clever enough to be allowed into the science bit

Page 17 of the PDF, Fig 1.1b, lists the US as 21% and China 2nd with 10%, the largest entry is 'others' but China the 2nd largest broken out country

Page 38 shows the top 20 cities for publications (2004-8), and their change since 1996-2000, this shows Shanghai and Nanjing (plus San Paulo) as the only cities to have moved up the ranks by more than 20 places

Page 42 shows R&D spending - known figures (up to 2008) have US 1st, Japan 2nd with China a close 3rd, the projected section shows China more than doubling Japans spend by 2015.

Page 43 shows current publishing trends (with China in 2nd place, as of known figures at 2008), and a linear projection showing China overtaking the USA circa 2013

However I'm nowhere near clever enough to understand any of the stuff in section two (they've stopped being graphs and have just become pretty drawings...)

[Terminator X]

if we ever work the brain out then I can see how our "soul" could be inserted in to a robot thus giving us eternal life (no death of course assuming parts can be maintained). In that scenario remaining humans should be worried ...

TX.

[Cyrus1971]

CBR JGWRR said:

Having this discussion with the missus earlier. (I've read Asimov's book, she's only seen the film. I stopped watching when Will Smith crashed the MV Augusta. Knowing the film industry, several Augustas, but, leaving that highly annoying point aside...)

With computers advancing at current rates, and humanity's alarming tendency to destroy itself, would/could a computer decide to simply stop humans from doing anything?

No eating (risk of choking)

No drinking (same, but drowning as well)

No sex (VD)

No driving (fairly obvious)

No working

Not even twidling thumbs. (RSI)


Or has she just had nightmares over nothing?

Risk, Danger and Harm are, somantics aside, 3 different things in my view. So my answer to your question is no. My answer is based on Asimov's 3 rules for positronic brains. Which are active and operative controls and not passive statements, so they are reliant on stymulus. A positronic brain is not alowed harm to come to someone, which has to be based on an assessment of risk with a probability of that risk manifesting. So one simply controls the perception of harm via vies of what is risky or probabale.

Incidentally IMHO there are lots of other things wrong with the 3 Rules Asimov stated, one of which was fully explored in his novel The Naked Sun. Interesting read BTW.

Cyrus