From: gbloom@nyx.cs.du.edu (Gregory Bloom)
Subject: Re: Next?
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Date: Sun, 27 Dec 92 02:50:46 GMT


[lots-o-scenarios omitted...]

The important point to consider in asking 'what next?' is that evolution
has made the jump from an externally directed program (lightning, disease,
predation, warfare, etc.) to an internally directed one.  Intelligence
is no longer the by-product of haphazard forces - it is now a desirable
product.  As we develop the tools for manipulating the matter which is used
in the expression of intelligence, we amplify the ability of intelligence
to shape itself into whatever it desires.  Homo Sapiens is merely the
most recent ripple on the expanding wavefront of intelligence.  

We can see many examples of how we are already increasing intelligence.
First, of course, we have computers.  These are nothing less than
intelligence amplifiers.  Humans who augment their intelligence with
the use of computers are able to solve problems of unimaginable complexity
in comparison to their un-enhanced friends.  (Okay, so most of them
just play 'Tetris'...)  Modern communications technology is also a form
of intelligence amplifier.  Humans now have a far vaster exposure to
the world than, say, our great-granparents.  I expect this greater
exposure translates into a greater ability to solve arbitrary problems.

So to answer 'what next?' we can easily extend these trends - people
will, without direct modification, become smarter and better informed.
We will have more computers, more facts (effectively better memory).
Soon, the average person will be able to say 'how did the quadratic
formula go?' and instantly hear the answer whispered in their ear.

As we refine our control over the matter that expresses the 'intelligence
wave-function' (tm), we will probably come up with things like smart-baby
kits, that allow small modifications to the DNA of sperm or ova to
provide parents to be with slightly smarter, prettier, stronger babies.
On a simpler level, it is easy to imagine positive feedback stimulation
to the pleasure centers of the brain whenever we get into a desirable
mental state - i.e. we can tune our brains to stay in creative-analytic
mode for all 16 waking hours a day.  I strongly suspect this, more than
any other difference, accounts for why folks like Einstein do what they
do - it simply feels good!  (We should be able to do this right now!)

Machine intelligence will, of course, continue to increase exponentially.
It is a misnomer to describe this as being somehow separate and distinct
from human intelligence, however.  Machine intelligence is an extension
of human intelligence, just as human intelligence is an extension of
intelligence as a whole.  Humans will not be replaced.  We will simply
continue the process of transforming ourselves until it is likely that
current humans will not recognize the result.

Gregory Bloom
gbloom@nyx.cs.du.edu

Xref: sparky alt.consciousness:847 talk.origins:16020 talk.religion.misc:25037