The Flowing of the Dao

In San Jose, California – October 25th 2008.

For more information go here.

Doctor Terry Grossman, Ray Kurzweil’s doc, is being interviewed and the video will be carried on the Immortality Institute’s (IMMINST) USTREAM site here.

Check it out! Times are vague but I think it would be wise to tune in about 5-5:30 PM EST or about 10 PM GMT.

Cheers,
Ben

UPDATE So, as anyone who tuned in yesterday noticed .. Dr. Grossman had to reschedule. But have no fear! I got you guys a couple vids from UABBA!! Check them out here!

Ray Kurzweil is a futurist with a track record who makes his predictions using what he calls the Law of Accelerating Returns.

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Went to see Ray speak tonight at MIT. It was highly enjoyable. Matt from DIYBio Boston was there, as well as Grant from the Boston Transhumanist Group, John Cumbers from Brown University also attended. It was good to see a strong DIY Bio presence at the lecture.

Ray went over the concepts outlined in his book The Singularity Is Near and it was a really good discussion. Mag-Muzzle was also there and both Matt and Mag asked some great questions.

Matt’s was in response to Ray’s op-ed he co-authored with Bill Joy that was published in the New York Times describing the failure of the US Gov’t to keep tighter controls on biological information of biological agents which could be weaponized. Ray explained how he is working in collaboration of the US Army which overseas biological terrorist preparedness and would be tasked with addressing such a problem. I would assume it to be a militarized version of CDC. I don’t think that the US Gov’t is involved in the proliferation of biological weapons, and yet … didn’t we sell VX to Saddam in the 80s?

In any event, Matt’s question was appropriate: why restrict access to information? Ray’s counterpoint was “well you wouldn’t widely publish schematics on how to build a nuclear bomb.” The problem as I think Matt sees it is that government restriction of molecular biology may hurt the human race more than unfettered access to knowledge and tools.

My counterpoint to Ray’s well-intentioned move to censor certain knowledge is that, as far as biological threats are concerned .. the more trained people we have experimenting and acquiring data the more possibilities that a breakthrough that helps to counter these pathogens would arise.

Ray quipped, “what would you suggest? We have a great amount of classified military data, would you suggest we declassify our military secrets as well?”

Many in the crowd, at least around where I was sitting actually favored this notion with enthusiastic nods of the head and broad smiles.

Mag-Muzzle’s question was grand though.

“Are there any patterns of technological growth that you’ve noticed that seem to be growing according to the Golden Ratio?”

The crowd erupted in laughter. It truly was a great scene. See the video below …

I’m selling Mag-Muzzle’s hit album “Fresh Flesh.” A must have for any Transhuman or Singularitarian. PayPal me (benATtheflowingofthedaoDOTcom) $15 and it’s yours.

Also Digg this story.

MIT was so advanced in 1965 (the year I entered as a freshman) that it actually had a computer. Housed in its own building, it cost $11 million (in today’s dollars) and was shared by all students and faculty. Four decades later, the computer in your cellphone is a million times smaller, a million times less expensive and a thousand times more powerful. That’s a billion-fold increase in the amount of computation you can buy per dollar.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/11/AR2008041103326_pf.html