Image via WikipediaWe have used the back office of 'Forward and Share'
as a virtual time machine many times now, thanks to
some of our Guest Writers who've taken us on great
informative guided trips down Memory Lane.
But, we haven't actually used this improvised
time machine to travel to the future...
Until now, that is.
This time, Dan Ronco, our Guest Contributor for today's
post, has made a point of taking us to a journey into
post, has made a point of taking us to a journey into
the future...
And, we are in good company as we're given a chance to
briefly observe some of the Star Trek Universe's legendary
heroes while we're there...
Enjoy and (of course) live long and prosper!
Loup Dargent
Image via Wikipedia
______________
The
Future
Is Not
Star Trek
Future
Is Not
Star Trek
Dan Ronco
I have always loved Star Trek, from the original series
beginning in 1966 to the ever present reruns on television just
about any day. Admirable characters, a stern but humane
Starfleet code to live by, lots of action (but no gore) and the
wonder of new frontiers. Traveling in glistening starships
several hundred years in the future, facing all types of
dangers. Great television, but the reality we are spiraling into
will be very different.
First consider the Enterprise crew; basically, they are no
different than you or me. Okay, Mr. Data is the exception, but
all the others are plain old biological humans, even if wearing
Vulcan ears. It's as if technology hadn't progressed over the
next centuries. Sure, the hardware is more sophisticated —
phasors instead of pistols — but everything seems very familiar.
Consider Captain Picard, the leader of the Enterprise. First of
all, he looks like your old high school math teacher. Medium
build, medium height, hair just about gone. Nice guy, pretty
smart, but no exceptional or unusual powers. Not directly linked
to computer intelligence, no implants to enhance his senses, no
nanobots in the bloodstream regulating biological processes.
Bor-ing!
By the way, how old is Picard? I always wondered about that.
With the wrinkles and the hair, he looks late forties, but it's
hard to tell. Actually, nobody in the crew seems very old. Hey,
they all act age appropriate, and from their conversations, it
seems everyone is in the twenty to forty range. It appears they
experience about the same aging process as we do here in the
first decade of the twenty-first century.
Now that's just ridiculous. In 1900, the average lifespan was
about forty-nine years, while now it's pushing eighty. As
science continues to learn more about human biological
processes, we will develop cures for many of the diseases that
cut our lives short. In addition, we will develop a much better
understanding of the aging process, enabling us to tune up our
bodies and stretch out normal lifespans. Tiny nanobots in our
cells will monitor, report and regulate many of our biological
processes. By the middle of this century, the average lifespan
in the developed nations should be well over one hundred years.
Our bodies will change dramatically during the next few decades.
Hip, shoulder, elbow, tooth, artery and knee replacements are commonplace.
Contact lenses and hearing aids enhance our senses. Mechanical legs
allow the severely injure to walk, even run, again. I've seen a
paralyzed man control his personal computer through thoughts
that interface with a network.
How much will we accomplish during the next few decades? Well,
for one thing, we will be able to replace virtually any part of
our skeleton system. Bone broken, joints wearing out? Replace
them. Want to think faster, move with more agility? The nanobots
in our cells can become a computer network that responds
hundreds of times faster than our neurons. Need more and better
information at your fingertips? Forget about fingertips. A
wireless interface between nanobots in your brain and computer
databanks will allow you pull down whatever processed
information you need. How about a second heart? A mechanical
heart could reduce the pumping load on your biological heart,
maybe take over during a heart attack. Better yet, eliminate the
need for a heart with blood cells that power their own mobility.
But that's just the start. Artificial intelligence will
eventually dominate biological intelligence. And let me cue you
in, it's a short eventually. Here's what I mean. Your brain
processes information relatively slowly. Computer hardware is
already much faster and the difference is growing year by year.
On a pure horsepower basis, AI beats the brain's processing. Of
course, you need much more than fast computer hardware, the
software has to be in place, too.
Let's separate AI into two classes, weak AI and strong AI.
Strong AI is general purpose intelligence, the ability to handle
a wide variety of tasks at the same or higher level than a
human. Weak AI is designed to process a very limited number of
tasks, for instance, playing chess or walking.
Strong AI is still some years away, maybe decades, but weak AI
is available in many areas. Most of us know that IBM's Big Blue
computer can defeat the best human chess players. Robots can hit
a baseball or dance (check out my videos), although not at the
level of the best humans. Not yet, anyway.
However, it's clear that we are only a few decades from seeing
very intelligent computers approach and then exceed human
intelligence. Humans will need to link into networked AI just to
stay competitive with our computers. But that's just delaying
the inevitable. In the end, our biological brains won't cut it.
Blood and flesh is just too slow and inflexible. In the second
half of this century, we will be able to download our personal
intelligence into robots. Mr. Data isn't too bad an example of
what humanity will become.
But the story doesn't end there. Mr. Data's brain, while much
faster than a human brain, is still constrained by limited size.
A networked intelligence will outperform a single Mr. Data, so
that's the direction science will drive us. Maybe Star Trek has
a pretty good example, after all. It's called the Borg.
Please realize a networked intelligence need not be evil. The
Borg could very easily be a beneficial superintelligence, with
all units working toward a good purpose. Or many good purposes.
Each individual would very likely retain his or her unique
personality, rather than being stamped out of one mold. A
diverse set of androids networked together would seem to have
greater survival capabilities than one individual repeated over
and over.
And it would be a lot more fun. Imagine how close you would
become to the people you love. In addition to the physical
intimacy we now enjoy with our flesh and blood bodies, think
about the emotional intimacy of joining your lover's mind
through the net. Step aside, Vulcan mind-meld!
Misunderstandings would be cleared up, feelings and thoughts
immediately transmitted and received. I could describe the sex,
but it's not that kind of article.
Maybe the future is Star Trek after all.
____________
About The Author
Dan Ronco's expertise in engineering and
computer science infuses his fast-paced
techno-thriller Unholy Domain with detail
and authenticity. His second novel, it warns
techno-thriller Unholy Domain with detail
and authenticity. His second novel, it warns
of the looming clash between religion and
advanced science. Visit danronco.com.
advanced science. Visit danronco.com.
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