Do you think eventually we'll outsource medicine to computers?

[hasoos]

I think initially it will be introduced as a screening type technology that will grow as acceptance of it grows. For a majority of minor issues, you will go visit some sort of technology center where computers and a trained technician do most of the work, but a Doctor will over see everything going on, empowering them to evaluate many patients at once. Then if it is deemed more serious, you will be directed to specialist.

Then if you consider that other technologies, such as regeneration will be implemented and solve many issues. Hell with the research they are doing, you will probably be able to regrow an missing limb or organ in a few years. Many of these technologies will not regrow just organs and limbs, they will regrow components that wear out within organs.

 

[mook]

Yeah, I've seen a couple of Kurzweil's lectures on Ted.com. The whole idea of the singularity is one of those things that makes my head spin.

The underpinning of it seems to be, "What happens when you invent an artificial intelligence that's smarter than man, and it is set on the course to invent a machine that's even more smart than itself?" You could wind up with these rapidly escalating intelligent machines that pretty quickly outpace the level of thinking of anything we could even imagine. Stephen Hawking wouldn't look like an average person or even an idiot to such an intelligence, but like how we view chickens or mice. At that point modern MD's may seem like nothing better than overpriced witchdoctors.

Kurzweil thinks that in 30 or 40 years we'll have the technology to live for eternity. Assuming we don't all blow ourselves up first.

I haven't drunk the Kool Aid on that one, but it's hard for me to present an argument against it.

 

[Minstrel]

I haven't drunk the Kool Aid on that one, but it's hard for me to present an argument against it.

Yeah, that's where I am too. The idea of essentially turning as much of the universe as we can access into computational power is both brilliant and feels insane.

He also nicely resolves sci-fi fear of "How do we prevent super-intelligent AI from enslaving us?" question. We become those super-smart AI, slowly augmenting/replacing our wetware brains with the AI that we develop.

As crazy as some of these things seem, when you consider how far humanity has come in the last 1000 years...what will we have done in 10,000 more years? Or in a million years? Always assuming we haven't blown ourselves up by then and we have developed some way to at least deflect asteroids off a collision course with Earth.

 

[Ed O]

As crazy as some of these things seem, when you consider how far humanity has come in the last 1000 years...what will we have done in 10,000 more years? Or in a million years? Always assuming we haven't blown ourselves up by then and we have developed some way to at least deflect asteroids off a collision course with Earth.

Stupid GOP.

Republicans Vote To Repeal Obama-Backed Bill That Would Destroy Asteroid Headed For Earth

http://www.theonion.com/articles/republicans-vote-to-repeal-obamabacked-bill-that-w,19025/

Ed O.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Stupid GOP.

Republicans Vote To Repeal Obama-Backed Bill That Would Destroy Asteroid Headed For Earth

http://www.theonion.com/articles/republicans-vote-to-repeal-obamabacked-bill-that-w,19025/

Ed O.

Let's see... According to Spain, the chances this asteroid (1999 RQ36 ) might strike the earth in the year 2182 is about 1:1000. That's 71 years away. And we're going to spend $440,000,000,000.00 at this time to try and shatter it with high-thrust plasma impactor probes.

Gee, I dunno, seems a bit far fetched to me. Of course, none of that $440,000,000,000.00 will be wasted or used as pork.

Perhaps we should wait until, say, 2170 or 2175 and then see what the chances are. Or maybe the Russians or Chinese will take care of it for us and we won't have to spend a dime. Or maybe we should do this jointly thru the UN and spend a lot less. I mean, $440,000,000,000.00 seems like a lot to spend at this time when we have a few minor budget problems.

 

[andalusian]

I think computers can eventually handle medicine, but at what cost? They already get too many viruses as is!

 

[mook]

Let's see... According to Spain, the chances this asteroid (1999 RQ36 ) might strike the earth in the year 2182 is about 1:1000. That's 71 years away. And we're going to spend $440,000,000,000.00 at this time to try and shatter it with high-thrust plasma impactor probes.

Gee, I dunno, seems a bit far fetched to me. Of course, none of that $440,000,000,000.00 will be wasted or used as pork.

Perhaps we should wait until, say, 2170 or 2175 and then see what the chances are. Or maybe the Russians or Chinese will take care of it for us and we won't have to spend a dime. Or maybe we should do this jointly thru the UN and spend a lot less. I mean, $440,000,000,000.00 seems like a lot to spend at this time when we have a few minor budget problems.

I love it when somebody actually takes the Onion's absurdity seriously, and then argues against the common sense logic its parodying. It's one of the Internet's great joys.