2050 and beyond, the human networks...

[Sam Barona]

Ever wonder what the world is going to be like in the future? Will human life spans increase to 250 years or more? Will your personal computer become smarter than you? Will machines shrink so small they can make repairs inside a human cell?

22nd CENTURY is an innovative PBS series about technological advances taking place today that, within our lifetimes, will significantly change the way humans live and interact. Many scientists and futurists believe we are on the verge of a technological explosion so profound that life will become unrecognizable. In the next 100 years, we may experience as much technological change as has occurred over the course of human history. After all, during the past century we went from horse-drawn buggies to supersonic aircraft; by most estimates the pace of change is accelerating.

The premiere episode of 22nd CENTURY, "World Wide Mind," airing Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on PBS, explores an intriguing theory that posits that in the future, miniature computer brain implants will allow our brains to be connected to other brains much the same way today's computers are linked together via the World Wide Web. Science fantasy or futuristic nightmare? This show lets viewers decide for themselves.

The series consists of first-person stories about people who are on the cusp of this technological revolution. In this first episode, viewers meet a young man whose injuries in a devastating automobile accident left him unable to communicate with the outside world. Surgeons implanted an electrode in his brain and he has learned to communicate just by thinking about what he wants to say.

In another segment, a leading neurophysiologist explains how he has developed bundles of wires thinner than spider webs that can be inserted into the blood vessels of human brains. While these wires have so far been tested only in animals, they prove that the worldwide mind may not be so far off. U.S. agents from the National Security Agency quickly showed up at the MIT laboratory where the wires are being developed.

The series is hosted by Robin Robinson, a Chicago television personality, who is joined by two virtual co-hosts, each with insightful and often conflicting viewpoints about the merits of this new technology.

One is an actor playing Aldous Huxley, the late author of Brave New World, who worried about the dehumanizing consequences of scientific discoveries. The other is Orlanda Bell, a time-traveling visitor from the future, who represents the best-case scenario of these technological advancements.

[SendBlast]

So, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Thats the question..

[chriswick]

The premiere episode of 22nd CENTURY, "World Wide Mind," airing Wednesday, January 17, 2007, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on PBS, explores an intriguing theory that posits that in the future, miniature computer brain implants will allow our brains to be connected to other brains much the same way today's computers are linked together via the World Wide Web. Science fantasy or futuristic nightmare? This show lets viewers decide for themselves.

Then we wouldn't be part of the real world then. More a matrix/holographic world, a world that only exists as a perception.
Watch Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...97377629019446

Chris

[solomonsmine]

Interesting reference to the matrix given Sam's Avatar(subtlety). I am watching the video Chris as i write this. Off topic but Sam your site is just awesome My 5 year old was glued to screen and kept asking me to go back to the 'robot menu'.

[Sam Barona]

Its an inevitable thing. people dont like change, but change happens whether you resist it, partake in it, or drive it forward. I much rather be in the latter group; helping to shape the future gives you more power to influence the final destination.

Nanotechnology is spearheading these advancements and making them happen with awesome speed. The thing with these nanobots is that they are so small that they dont need to be "implanted" as such; they could be injested in food, drink, or even inhaled.

Whether its good or not depends on what side of the line you are; a recent report from the BBC pretty much replicated my own thoughts on the subject. It proposed that tere will be a massive gulf between the technical elite, who will develop "super human" powers (mnemonics, increased strength, increased ability to analyse, increased happiness, increased speed of thought, etc) and those who will simply evolve at the current, unaided natural human rate.

I firmly believe that it is every intelligent person's responsibility to position themselves on the side of the beneficiaries of this mammoth change.

My wife believes, and I concur, that this is comparable with the evolutionary changes that lead to the extinction of the Neanderthals.

Some say that nanotechnology is as important as the discovery of fire; I personally believe that its bigger than that. The changes that will be derived from this are far more fundamental and far reaching than fire.

if indeed its a Brave New World in our not too distant horizon, then it will certainly belong to the bravest amongst us.



Out of topic, the site is just there as a place holder, we are having a more sensible one developed. Shame, I actually liked the RoboChicken!!
Sam