1. Computing & the universe Singularity & Beyond

2. Imagine a powerful computer that behaves like a human Is it conscious?

3. Imagine a computer simulating a universe Could it be our universe? If so, is God The Programmer?

4. Computing & the universe Singularity & Beyond Preview The seminar will discuss two topics

5. 1st Topic Preview:The future of computing will change the nature of humanity Bionic humans

6. 1st Topic Preview: The future of computing will change the nature of humanity Bionic humans Non-biological human intelligence based on future’s computing

7. 1st Topic Preview: The future of computing will change the nature of humanity Bionic humans Non-biological human intelligence based on future’s computing Superintelligent beings beyond human “Beings of pure energy and spirit” Space Odyssey

8. 2nd Topic Preview:The future of computing must change now our view on big philosophical questions Sciencedelivered deep philosophical changes the Future of Computingshould have equally large impact We evolved from monkeys Darwin’s Evolution Theory The probability of an Intelligent Creator is near zero! God is dead! Nietzsche Dawkins Science fiction leads the way

9. 2nd Topic Preview: Computing must influence big questions on the universe and the nature of reality – with surprising answers Does science make a Creator highly improbable ? Do we live in an intelligently-created universe ? Are miracles compatible with materialism ? … and many more

10. Preview: A chance to walk on a wide range of topics A chance to walk from • the future of computing • to …

11. … to ancient arguments on the nature of reality … Plato’s Cave Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Descartes’ Evil Genius

12. … to Sci-Fi and recent philosophy inspired by computing Brains in Vats Simulation Theorem

13. Computing & the universe Singularity & Beyond 1st Topic Let’s take a walk in the future … see how computing will change humanity • Computing as human enhancement • Superintelligence • Singularity … and make observations that will become useful in addressing the big questions of the 2nd Topic

14. Extensions of human abilities • The Bionic Woman TV Series, 1976-78: • Jaime Sommers had bionic surgical implants: • amplified hearing in her right ear • could hear the bad guys from a distance • enhanced legs • could catch the bad guys • enhanced right arm • just one bionic arm is enough to beat up the bad guys

15. Extensions of human abilities: The future arrives Computing, electronic & robotic extensionsvia Brain-Machine interfaces • fixing diseases • enhancing abilities The 70s TV show! becomes reality

16. Intervening even directly within the brain From deep brain stimulation • currently saving depression patients To computer-based neuronsin lieu of biological ones • a hope for Parkinson patients

17. Non-biological intelligence, Path A: Radical enhancement of mental abilities with computer extensions to the brain • What if …your memoryis enhanced withsize, speed, association ability …your thinkingis enhanced withmore speed, invent faster, empathize better

18. Non-biological intelligence, Path B: Intelligent machines with human-like intelligence and 80s looks In a future dystopian LA,the Blade Runner pursues human-like replicants with implanted “human” memories… like Roys & Pris …falls in love with replicant Rachael, …by the end , he strongly suspects his memories are implanted; he is a replicant

19. Path B++: Machines with superintelligence Space Odyssey’s HAL 9000 comes with superintelligence and a human-like neurosis

20. Imagine a powerful computer that behaves like a human Is it conscious? What is consciousness anyway? Is it a human? Or a superhuman? Consciousness question revisited: Awareness of self in the same way with us? Does it warrant the same rights with a human? Question time …

21. Blade Runner says that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…

22. also known as... Functionalism: the duck argument scientifically expressed Substrate independence: Mind can reside on multiple types of physical substrates, eg. biological or digital

23. we will assume to be true when we think the big questions ... Functionalism: the duck argument scientifically expressed Substrate independence: Mind can reside on multiple types of physical substrates, eg. biological or digital

24. Still not convinced about functionalism ?Feeling that Mind can only live in biological brains ? Whatif 10% of a human brain is electronics ? What if 50% is electronics ? What if 90% ?

25. Personal identity:Computation’s inroad in applied fields (psychiatry, psychology) Soul Theory Materialism Your essence is your soul or mind, understood as a non-physical entity distinct from your body. You are essentially the material that you are made out of Psychological Continuity Theory No Self View The self is an illusion. The "I" is a grammatical fiction (Nietzsche). • You are essentially your memories & ability to reflect on yourself (Locke) • Pattern • Computational Theory of Mind : • The mind is essentially the program running on the hardware of the brain, that is, the algorithm that the brain implements. Susan Schneider. Science Fiction and Philosophy(p. 245). Kindle Edition

26. Question time … Imagine a powerful computer that behaves like a human … could it be more than imagination ? Will computers obtain broad intelligence ?

27. Moore’s law: Computers will soon surpass the computing power of the human brain

28. Will superior computing power enable broad, creative intelligence? Yes After the loss Kasparov said that he sometimes saw deep intelligence and creativity in the machine's moves, suggesting that during the second game, human chess players, in contravention of the rules, intervened. Beyond chess, into other areas assumed a unique privilege of humans?

29. “Rupture of the geeks”: consciousness upload and other paths to immortality soon to be available to you Vs objections to the exponential increase • … in Computing • … in Razor Blades

30. Ignore immediate self-interest to enhance andupload/backup your mind… and let the philosopher step in Let’s ignore whether it will happen in our lifetimes and focus on (the near certainty) that machine-based intelligence will eventually happen • Path A: Computing as human enhancement • Path B: Intelligent machines • From Machine Intelligence to an explosion of Super Intelligence • Singularity

31. Heading to the Singularity:The creation of the first superintelligent machine(s) “ Irving John Good1965 ” in  Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine Let an ultraintelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities, an ultraintelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an "intelligence explosion," and the intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make.

32. Singularity: A philosophical turning point http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/singularity But if the transformation discussed in this issue of Spectrum occurs, the world will become intrinsically unintelligible to the likes of us. (And that is why “singularity,” as in “black hole singularity of physics,” is the cool metaphor here.) If the singularity happens, we are no longer the apex of intellect. There will be superhumanly intelligent players, and much of the world will be to their design. Explaining that to one of us would be like trying to explain our world to a monkey. In human history, there have been a number of radical technological changes: the invention of fire, the development of agriculture, the Industrial Revolution. […] Each has profoundly transformed our world, with consequences that were largely unimagined beforehand. And yet those consequences could have been explained to earlier humans.

33. A quick review of the past and a preview of the future.The Universe as an evolution of complex patterns,computation and ever higher intelligence Singularity 1 2 3 4 5 6 Physics & Chemistry Biology & DNA Brains Civilizations & Technology Merger of Computing Technology with Human Intelligence The Universe Wakes Up The six epochs of Evolution, by Ray Kurzweil

34. Asimov’s Last Question (1956):A 12-page trip into the computing future of humanity, with a surprising religious allusion Two technicians in the21st century ask an evolving computer:“Can we invert the second law of thermodynamics? and keep the humanity alive forever ?“ A Computer God Now Galactic-scale Transhumanism INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR MEANINGFUL ANSWER LET THERE BE LIGHT Let there be light!

35. Back to our main question … Imagine a computer simulating a universe Could it be our universe?

36. Question time … Imagine a computer simulating a universe Could it be our universe? Do you live in a universe created by something like Last Question’s Computer God ?

37. Question time … Imagine a computer simulating a universe Could it be our universe? Do you live in a computed universe created by something like Last Question’s Computer God ? Is your life a thought computed in the Mind of a Computer God ?

38. Living in a computed universe: The Matrix (1998)

39. Living in a computed universe: 13th Floor (1999)

40. Do you live in a universe that is not exactly what it seems to be? • Some steps back: ancient skeptical thought experiments on the nature of reality and why we didn’t consider them probable • Some steps forward: how computing turns ancient skeptical arguments to a very probable reality

41. 2500 years before the Matrix: Plato’s Cave in The Republic The nature of reality may be different than the senses convey http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/platoscave.html

42. 2000 years before computing: Zhuangzi’s butterfly Once Zhuangzi dreamt he was a butterfly. He didn't know he was Zhuangzi. Suddenly he woke up and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuangzi. But he didn't know if he was Zhuangzi who had dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi. in Zhuangzi

43. 500 years ago: Descartes is worried about an Evil Genius What do I really know about reality? My senses could be systematically deceived by an Evil Genius in Meditations on First Philosophy

44. Descartes happily finds that there is something he surely knows: the existence of Mind & Intelligence I think. Therefore I am!

45. In response, Descartes suggests studies in Math & Computer Science “Physics, Astronomy, Medicine and other sciences that consider objects of corporeal nature are of a doubtful character. But Arithmetic, Geometry, Computer Science and the other sciences that regard merely the simplest and most general objects and do not inquire whether they are really existent, contain something that is certain and indisputable. For whether I am awake or dreaming, it remains true that two and three makes five and any formal system that includes natural numbers can express undecidable statements.” This quote has two parts that could not have been said by Descartes! Identify these two parts. in Meditations on First Philosophy

46. A problem with reading medieval and renaissance philosophy I am flammable. Therefore I write in hedged & roundabout ways boring… Meditations on First Philosophy Series canceled: • Meditations on Second Philosophy • Meditations Reloaded: Evil Genius’ Showdown Descartes Giordano Bruno

47. The Matrix (not boring):Zhuangzhi for the computer age Watch on Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real?What if you were unable to wake from that dream?How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

48. The Matrix:Descartes for the computer age Watch on What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

49. Plato’s Cave, Descartes’ Evil Genius were “skeptical hypotheses” • “I am skeptic about nature of reality andyou cannot do anything to prove me wrong”

50. …skeptical hypotheses had a big Occam’s Razor problem • Why would I assign a • serious probability onthe existence of • an immensely complex • Evil Genius (or a God),when there are simpler answers? • more on this later, in Materialism Vs Intelligent Design Prefer the simpler explanation over the more complex one