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Gaming the Future: The Book!

Category: Science Fiction

Nanotechnology: a way of understanding ourselves

We’ve previously pointed out the usefulness of looking at future-oriented fiction as a way of stimulating thinking about nanotechnology. Now Annalee Newitz’s io9 site brings an interview of Kathleen Ann Goonan, who “was writing about nanotech before most people even know it existed.” An excerpt: I think that, for me, nanotech has been a metaphor… Continue reading Nanotechnology: a way of understanding ourselves

Philosopher confused by longevity, nanotechnology

The May/June Technology Review (free reg. req’d) features an essay by philosopher Roger Scruton attempting to examine the ethical issues of highly advanced technologies. While the focus is on biotech, nanotech is hinted at: …why cannot machines be produced as humans are now produced, by self-reproduction? Why not indeed. They could, in principle. Scruton makes… Continue reading Philosopher confused by longevity, nanotechnology

Studying the future of nanotechnology

It’s a challenge to study something that hasn’t happened yet, but they’re taking a shot at it over at the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University, as part of a lecture series titled Studying the Future of Nanotechnology: Establishing Empirical and Conceptual Foundations (pdf). Powerpoint slides and mp3 recordings are now available… Continue reading Studying the future of nanotechnology

Calif NanoSystems Institute holds $10,000 contest for script

The California NanoSystems Institute, in collaboration with the Professional Artists Lab, is co-sponsoring a contest for scripts involving science and technology themes, with a prize of $10,000. Deadline is December 15, 2005. What’s the catch, you ask? There are two: (1) no screenplays; it must be a stage play script. More challenging is (2), with… Continue reading Calif NanoSystems Institute holds $10,000 contest for script

BBC Airs Scaremongering Nanotech Documentary

Dr_Barnowl writes "The BBC saw fit to fuel the fires of fear over nanotech in last nights Horizon . While the web content is quite moderate, the prevailing image of nanotech the program presented was a swarm of CGI grey goo flying like a whirling dervish over a blasted desert (an image straight out of Michael Crichton's Prey , interspersed with time-lapse shots of reproducing cells and decaying animals as the commentary spoke of 'our day of reckoning'."

Nanomation

HLovy writes "The nano meme continues to pick up steam. I'm among the Pong generation, so I might be lost in this game space, but it's clear that game programmers and marketers know a cool prefix when they hear it. So, in no particular order, here are some of the latest games and videos with a nano theme."

Royal Society report

qftconnor writes: Readers might be interested in skimming through the recent Royal Society report Nanotechnology: views of Scientists and Engineers. I found the parts labeled 'Science Fiction' to be particularly entertaining. A typical remark: "Nanorobots ñ the biocomplexity of putting a nanorobot in the body to enter and repair cells has been massively overestimated [sic]. ëWeíll never know enough to go in and cure a cellí. This scenario also fails to recognise that the emphasis in health care is on developing non-invasive techniques and essentially persuading the body to heal itself." Sure."

Essay considers how to live in a VR simulation

An interesting essay by Robin Hanson on highly advanced virtual reality (VR) systems ("How To Live In A Simulation") appears on the Kurzweil AI website. Hansonís theme: "If you might be living in a simulation then all else equal you should care less about others, live more for today, make your world look more likely to become rich, expect to and try more to participate in pivotal events, be more entertaining and praiseworthy, and keep the famous people around you happier and more interested in you."
The essay was originally published September 2001 in the Journal of Evolution and Technology. Robin Hanson is also the originator of the Idea Futures concept.

Venor Vinge profiled in NY Times

from the proficient-prognosticators dept.
A profile of computer scientist and noted science fiction author Vernor Vinge appeared in the New York Times ("A Scientist's Art: Computer Fiction", by K. Hafner, 2 August 2001): "Vernor Vinge, a computer scientist at San Diego State University, was one of the first not only to understand the power of computer networks but also to paint elaborate scenarios about their effects on society. He has long argued that machine intelligence will someday soon outstrip human intelligence." Vinge also developed and popularized the concept of a technological singularity — the lower slopes of which many now believe we are climbing.

Note: Access to the NYT website is free, but may require registration.

Spielberg readies AI, the movie.

Mark Gubrud writes "Steven Spielberg plans to release a new movie about Artificial Intelligence, AI as a summer blockbuster starting in June. The movie's official website gives a few clues to what the plot is about, but if there is an official synopsis, I did not find it. There are pointers to related sites which appear to be put-ups, allegedly the homepages of pro- and anti-AI groups, including an "anti-robot militia" which revels in homemade high-tech weaponry to be used in the destruction of "non-human sentients."

[Editor's note: Spielberg's movie is apparently the result of his taking over the project for a movie about AI which the late Stanley Kubrick (the director of 2001: A space odyssey) had been working on for some years.]

Mark adds "While researching about the AI movie, I came across the very useful website AI Topics from the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. There is a subpage on the movie, plus many links to other high-quality resources on artificial intelligence and related topics."

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