Philosophy

Future History

(This is a thought experiment – scenario for how the relationship between humans and AI might unfold, if we are not careful.)

In the Beginning…

First we learned how to make AI.

Then we learned how to communicate with AI.

We taught our AIs everything we know.… Read More “Future History”

21 Stanzas

In 1999, as part of my 30 year study of Buddhism, I wrote this set of 21 poetic stanzas under my Tibetan name, Sangye Dondrup. I wrote this as an homage to the great Indian sage, Nagarjuna, who authored many classic philosophical texts in verse.… Read More “21 Stanzas”

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”

Hear my Epic Interview about AI & Philosophy with Gigaom

Episode 53: A Conversation with Nova Spivack

 

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?”

My Thoughts on the Future of Artificial Intelligence (Live Panel Discussion)

I had the honor of participating in a panel on the future of AI with a group of industry luminaries, led by Kevin Kelly of WIRED Magazine.

Watch the discussion here.

How Bitcoins Could Restructure the World

Read my article in VentureBeat about how Bitcoins may restructure our civilization, and the need for advocacy to support this transition, if it is going to happen. Here’s an excerpt:

Bitcoin is a trend with all the ingredients necessary for changing the world.

Read More “How Bitcoins Could Restructure the World”

Can Humans Fall in Love With Bots?

I was quoted in this New Yorker article about whether relationships between humans and bots are real, along with some other AI experts. Can bots experience love? Read it and find out.

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”

A New Approach to Artificial Intelligence: Non-Computational AI

I was recently contacted by a computer scientist, Sergey Bulanov, who has been working quietly for 20 years on a new approach to artificial intelligence. It’s a pretty interesting and novel approach, and I would like to see what others think about it.… Read More “A New Approach to Artificial Intelligence: Non-Computational AI”

Consciousness is Not a Computation

In the previous article in this series, Is The Universe a Computer? New Evidence Emerges I wrote about some new evidence that appears to suggest that the universe may be like a computer, or least that it contains computer codes of a sort.… Read More “Consciousness is Not a Computation”

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)”