Category Archives: Philosophy

Spiritual Machines are Not Possible

The Paradox of the Artificial Zen Master:

If we make an artificial Zen master, 
And it perfectly reproduces everything
that a real Zen master can say or do, 
Is it a Zen master?

My commentary:

No. To be an actual Zen master it would have to be sentient.… Read More “Spiritual Machines are Not Possible”

Proposal for a Consciousness Test

Summary

A proposed experimental design to test whether consciousness of a future event improves the ability of humans and/or computers to predict that event. If we find that this is true, it implies the existence of consciousness, as well as retrocausality as a result of conscious observation.… Read More “Proposal for a Consciousness Test”

The Keeper of the Book: My Childhood Dream of the Future

When I was eight years old, I had a very unusual dream in which I saw many lifetimes of my future. In this dream I saw a very clear picture of what the world would go through for perhaps a century or two into the future.… Read More “The Keeper of the Book: My Childhood Dream of the Future”

What Did Blade Runner Get Wrong?

I’m quoted in this article in TheStreet.com on what predictions Blade Runner got wrong.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14331182/2/blade-runner-future-technology.html

In the place of artificial intelligence, we have what Spivack calls “artificial stupidity,” which makes robots do the “stupid things” humans don’t want to do, such as vacuuming your house.

Read More “What Did Blade Runner Get Wrong?”

How Bottlenose Could Improve the Media and Enable Smarter Collective Intelligence

How Bottlenose Could Improve the Media and Enable Smarter Collective Intelligence

This article is part of a series of articles about the Bottlenose Public Beta launch.

Bottlenose – The Now Engine – The Web’s Collective Consciousness Just Got Smarter

How Bottlenose Could Improve the Media and Enable Smarter Collective Intelligence (you are here)

A New Window Into the Collective Consciousness

Bottlenose offers a new window into what the world is paying attention to right now, globally and locally.… Read More “How Bottlenose Could Improve the Media and Enable Smarter Collective Intelligence”

Bottlenose – The Now Engine – The Web’s Collective Consciousness Just Got Smarter

Recently, one of Twitter’s top search engineers tweeted that Twitter was set to “change search forever.” This proclamation sparked a hearty round of speculation and excitement about what was coming down the pipe for Twitter search.

The actual announcement featured the introduction of autocomplete and the ability to search within the subset of people on Twitter that you follow — both long-anticipated features.… Read More “Bottlenose – The Now Engine – The Web’s Collective Consciousness Just Got Smarter”

Is the Universe a Computer? New Evidence Emerges.

I haven’t posted in a while, but this is blog-worthy material. I’ve recently become familiar with the thinking of University of Maryland physicist, James Gates Jr. Dr. Gates is working on a branch of physics called supersymmetry. In the process of his work he’s discovered the presence of what appear to resemble a form of computer code, called error correcting codes, embedded within, or resulting from, the equations of supersymmetry that describe fundamental particles.… Read More “Is the Universe a Computer? New Evidence Emerges.”

My Father and Me. A Memoir. For Mayer Spivack (1936 – 2011)

My father, Mayer Spivack, passed away on February 12, 2011, in the Kaplan Family House, a beautiful hospice outside of Boston. He passed away, at the young age of 74, after a difficult year and a half battle with colon cancer.… Read More “My Father and Me. A Memoir. For Mayer Spivack (1936 – 2011)”