[Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Aro2220:
That's cool, but shows how far we've yet to go. We'll all be old before this really unfolds. But, there's something fun about looking at the future and seeing what is yet to come before it does. The computer revolution probably will not slow in our lifetime. Maybe not for a thousand years. I don't know of any theoretical way all the computers of star trek couldn't exist and do at least everything it did in the series. Or minority report. Or 1984.

Space travel, on the other hand, is almost always impossible no matter how simple they try to make the concept. Maybe one day, sure, but unlike computer and software advances, I don't think it's as sure of a thing. I think it takes a LOT of energy and there's more empty space and dead worlds than living ones. A living world takes perfect balance. A dead world takes anything else.

It's more likely and almost certain that one day humanity is going to have to face the threat of the androids(ie: the terminator), cyborgs(deus ex), genetically engineered super humans(and you thought doping at the olympics was bad), or some combination of those. It certainly could exist. It wo:laugh:uld require mapping out the human brain and learning so that we can rewire it. We've already unlocked the genetic code. We already use computers to model protein folding and unfolding. We can already induce or suppress regions of the brain with magnetic induction. There's probably a way to communicate directly with the brain directly as a computer like in the matrix. In a hundred years we could have the computing power to unfold an entire brain. An entire human.

Imagine that -- you put in your DNA and the program literally 'grows' you. You see yourself live and die in the program on accelerated speed. Atom for atom, true to life. Virtual you. Every neuron firing, every muscle growing..all those countless atoms making molecules making cells making organs making you, or him, or her, or them... All ran in a virtual environment at accelerated speeds. Hundreds of them born then die to see if they have any problems with their genes. If you have a super computer that can literally simulate a thousand people atom for atom...are you creating life and are you torturing them? Does a computer program feel pain?

And when they do this, they can cut out the code for one protein and replace it with another and see how that changes things. Simulation after simulation -- like with combinatorial chemistry, they could just throw down every permutation and see which one out competes (out lives in this case) the others. You would just throw all kinds of random variations of DNA in the program and grow one person, then ad ifferent one, then a different one...until you finally find the one that works really well. That one looks like the universal soldier -- so you grow it for real. Sequence the DNA, and fertilize an egg with it and then let nature do it's thing.

And if your computer can keep up with this it can also record this data....so it remembers what does what. If you need to improve your arm strength it can start using what it knows to search for genetic code that might improve things. So, instead of guessing random with brute force hoping for the best, you can guess random but select certain choices first because you have a feeling they might offer better results.

It's not like you're going to throw this information away, either. So each successive generation will have a larger library to work through, a greater understanding, and better tools. They can genetically engineer humans to be even stronger, healthier, happier, faster, smarter, and even more obedient and accepting of social groups. It's only limited by what the universe allows...which is pretty unlimited for our scope.

And if one day we write a programming language and build a computer that can interface with people. Real people. So that we can hack a person and program their brain to do anything, be anything...be anyone. What will become of us then? It's not like the lack of will exists -- what do you think billions of dollars are invested into advertising and marketing every year for? And do you think there are control freaks in the world?

It sounds like a silly question today but one day it will be the only question.

If a Djinni appeared and said, "I will grant you unlimited wishes with which to change yourself", who would you become? Who would we all become?