Thesis

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(No Transcript)
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Thesis

• There are several minor limiting factors to
  technology, the main ones comprised of human
  design. Morality and politics play a greater
  role in limiting the advancement of technology
  than any physical limitations.

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Limitations

• Laws of Physics
• Laws of Software and Algorithms
• Difficulties of Organization and Distribution
• Impact of Economics/Materials
• Politics
• Morality

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Laws of Physics

• The Laws of Physics create several limitations.
  The speed of light is absolute and cannot be
  exceeded. Perfect time synchronization is
  impossible. The laws of thermodynamics must also
  be obeyed. Any computation dissipates heat,
  which creates problems with higher level
  technologies.

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Laws of Software and Algorithms

• Some technological problems are non-computable,
  creating serious limitations to what can be
  accomplished. Some problems that can be
  calculated take impractically long periods of
  time. Equations with multiple variables prove
  challenging for even the most powerful software
  programs to compute.

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Difficulties of Organization and Distribution

• Technological advancements require large amounts
  of data which must be properly stored and easily
  accessible. More data bits cannot be stored than
  there are elementary particles in the universe.

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Impact of Economics/Materials

• Advanced technologies require massive budgets to
  research and operate. Economic and material
  issues limit technological capabilities.

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Politics

• Political limits dictate the rate of expansion
  of technology. Some laws discourage hasty
  technological progress. Even within
  corporations, internal strife limits
  technological growth.

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Morality

• Perhaps the most limiting factor of all, human
  ethics dictates technology. Technologies such as
  space exploration and genetic modification are
  subject to the scrutiny of morality.

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Opposition

• Arnold Gehlen argues that autonomous technology
  is the most advanced technology humans can create.

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Jonathan Huebner

• Huebner is a leader of the opposition to the
  theory that technological advancement is severely
  limited. He claims, Rather than growing
  exponentially or keeping pace with population
  growth, innovation peaked in 1873 and has been
  declining ever since.

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Huebner

• Says that there are limits to technology and that
  we are reaching a technological dark age.
• We have made 85 of technologies economically
  feasible.
• By 2024 innovation will reach a Dark Ages.

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Future Technologies

• Ramjets/Hydrogen Scoops
• Death rays
• Von Neumman Probes
• Artificial Intelligence
• Life extension Possibilities

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Ramjets

• A ramjet is a futuristic engine that could
  prove incredibly useful in jets. It involves an
  air intake in place of standard fuel.

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Hydrogen Scoop

• A hydrogen scoop is a proposed spaceship
  propulsion method involving a massive scoop to
  intake loose hydrogen atoms in space, converting
  them to acceleration potential.

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Death Rays

• A) Death rays are cool.
• B) Andthey can potentially destroy the universe,
  i.e, their awful power and majesty make us bow
  down
• C) They cause death

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DeathRay
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Von Neumann Probes

• Von Neumann probes are tiny spaceships that can
  colonize moons. They then proceed to build
  robotic factories and produce more of themselves.
  They program themselves to explore more unknown
  space, thus exploring the galaxy at an incredible
  rate.

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Artificial Intelligence

• Artificial consciousness
• Strong vs. Weak AI
• Turing test
• Chinese room
• In other words, no.

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Life Extension Technologies

• Genetic Manipulation
• Stem Cells
• Small biomechanical devices (MEMS)

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Civilization Types

• Type 1 Civilizations- Able to harness all the
  energy from a planet (1017 W)
• Type 2 Civilizations- Able to harness all the
  energy from a sun (1026 W)
• Type 3 Civilizations- Able to harness all the
  energy from the galaxy (1036 W)

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• The only limiting factors to technological
  innovations are simple laws of physics and those
  of human creation. Just as man extends his
  potentials, he also limits them via internal
  strife and morality.

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• Just as electricity seemed uncontrollable to
  earlier people, humanity may yet stumble upon
  unknown scientific and technological
  breakthroughs. The human mind is an amazingly
  adaptive biochemical supercomputer whose limits
  rest in the stars.

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Works Cited

• Source URL http//www.singinst.org/seedAI/
• Source URL http//www.kurzweilai.net/articles/ima
  ges/vitamoreprimo02.jpg
• Source URL http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_poi
  nt
• Source URL http//www.kurzweilai.net/
• Source URL http//www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/
  rational/library/2082.html
• Source URL http//www.iep.utm.edu/c/consciou.htm
  H6
• Source URL http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_te
  st
• Source URL http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosoph
  y_of_artificial_intelligence
• Source URL http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificia
  l_consciousness
• Source URL http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_r
  oom
• Source URL http//www.newscientist.com/article.ns
  ?iddn7616