Building Benevolent Minds – Will AI Outgrow Us All?

The term “singularity” invokes imagery of the foreboding center of a black hole, so devoid of light that the human eye cannot perceive what lies beyond the cloak of darkness.  

It is no surprise, then, that the same scientific jargon is conjured up to describe the mysterious unknown that awaits researchers striving towards creating Artificial Intelligence.  In this context, “The Singularity” referrs to the rapidly approaching point in human history when Human beings forge an artificial mind capable of expanding upon its own intelligence.

The Singularity lies within the unanswerable question before us:  Will AI surpass human intelligence to the point when human beings can no longer meaningfully contribute to the quest for knowledge?  Surely, this endeavor in which we have devoted millennia, couldn’t simply be over for us.  Could it?

Researchers at The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (which include top minds from IBM, Oxford, and a virtual who’s who of the technology world) see the singularity as an absolute inevitability.  If we succeed in creating AI, it will outsmart us, if nothing else because computers can process information far faster than the human brain, and store vastly larger amounts of it as well.

The real issue is whether or not the AI will take pity on us.  Being the irrational creatures that we are, so limited in our inferior mental capacity, perhaps AI will outgrow us, like an adolescent personality lashing out against a parent. 

 

 
Watch Dr. Ben Goertzel (SIAI Director of Research) Discuss Artificial Intelligence

 

The Institute is working hard to assure that the story won’t unfold this way, aiming to create a benevolent mind that bears no hostility against its makers.  The problem is, much like the center of a black hole, we cannot see what lies before us.  Creating a mind that thinks, learns, and feels is a task that is accompanied by an incredible burden of responsibility.  

To cite the mythology of The Terminator series, the last thing we need is our very own SkyNet becoming “self-aware” of its power over its fleshy parents.

We at The Blockade Runner like what we see over at The Singularity Institute, and trust that our future is in good hands.  Of course, its hardly all gloom and doom.  Benevolent AI will mean wonderful things for the progress of humanity; exploration, understanding of the local universe, insight into ourselves as sentient beings, and far more.

Even more excitingly, the creation of a new intelligent being will mean that we human primates are no longer alone in the sometimes terrifying world of sentience.  Hopefully, science fiction will get the credit it deserves for serving as a forewarning of what could happen if this awesome accomplishment was handled recklessly.  This world has enough problems, we don’t need a real life Cylon apocalypse on our consciences, too.

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The Paternal Woes of Oceanic 815 (Updated! 4/8/08)

We here at the Blockade Runner are religious Lost-junkies, constantly fiending for a fix. We’re the type of fans who tenaciously rewatch episodes – pausing, rewinding, and replaying in slow motion. All we want is a hint, a clue, one little broken branch on the trail for the John Locke in us to sniff out.

The minds behind Lost are tricky, and quite cunning, but they’re human, and therefore not impervious to geek-saavy speculation. These guys have been bombarded with fan theories from the beginning, and for all we know the policy is a stern “deny, deny, deny”. Well, if that’s the case, then we can feel free to speculate openly and still feel completely absolved of any embarassing wrongness as the final seasons unfold! It’s a blogger’s dream come true.

Now we can hop to the point. We’ve drawn some intriguing conclusions from our Lost experience thus far, but one in particular has been nagging us from the first time we met our friendly survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Dads. That’s right – the old man, pops, padre, dad. A noteworthy number of the faces in our oddly attractive band of castaways has had a relationship with their father rivaling those seen in Spanish language soap operas. Lindelof and Cuse acknowledge that this issue will eventually arise in an unexpected way as a connecting force behind the characters of Lost. We already know that certain father-characters on the show are strangely involved in one another’s affairs, but to what extent?

Granted, we haven’t been given extensive insight into the shadowy pasts of all of the characters as of yet, but the door to the closet has been cracked open just wide enough for us to steal a glimpse at the skeletons waiting patiently inside. Each week, we at the Blockade Runner will be exploring the paternal woes of our beloved characters, trying to nose out connections, and hoping to shed a bit of light on this dark territory.

So, without further adieu, we present the first article in our new series, “The Paternal Woes of Oceanic 815”. And, who else would we begin with other than our heroic surgeon himself, Dr. Jack Shepard.

We know that since Jack was a little boy his relationship with his father Christian has been, well, strained. Jack’s childhood conversations with his dad have been revealed to fall slightly shy of enocouraging, so to speak. The Lost writers have plainly established this father-son tight-rope walk throughout the series, arguably making it the most well-acknowledged of these family troubles of ours.

Jack’s father maintains a deep-seated doubt in Jack’s character throughout his son’s life. Christian is not without pride in his son’s accomplishments as a man and as a surgeon, but we fans are sporadically reminded of the stubborn judgments that undercut Jack and Christian’s ability to keep on good terms.

Always believing in the righteousness of his actions, Jack is ultimately Christian’s demise, costing him his career, his credibility, and his life. Not until Sawyer recounts his encounter with Christian to Jack out there in the jungle in ” Exodus Pt. 1″ do we see Jack obtain any semblance of relief from the ghost of his father, metaphorically, of course…

Clearly Jack’s lifetime pursuit of approval from his father brought him into the position he stands in today; leader and savior (or so he thinks). This thirst for acknowledgment and respect brings our good friend John Locke into the mix.

Locke and Jack have been parallel characters since the beginning of the series, with their “man of science, man of faith” dichotomy ensuring that they are constantly butting heads. Locke (who’s father-son relationship we will be exploring in greater detail next week) gives up his kidney, his dignity, and eventually his ability to walk in the struggle for his father’s love. Jack may not have physically killed his father, but then again, neither did Locke. They both set a series of circumstances into motion that lead to the death of their respective fathers.

Much like in Jack’s case, Locke’s father had to die for him to experience any closure. Since Ben isn’t the one giving the orders on the island, we can only assume that it was Jacob’s will that Ben demand that Locke kill his father.

Here’s where it gets really interesting. In the old testament, Jacob (a familiar name for Lost fans) is favored by his mother, while his father’s love is reserved for his brother Esau. Jacob eventually becomes the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, chosen out of all men to enter a new land and a new life (the DHARMA initiative loves to imagine a new-Utopian society, read some BF Skinner).

So, did Jack have to face the ghost of his father, Dagobah swamp-style, the same way Locke had to perform one final act of sacrifice, to earn Jacob’s respect? Does one have to sacrifice their father in order to be worthy of the gifts that Jacob has to offer (presumably life-extension, and even invulnerability in the case of Mikhail). We’ll keep you posted.

Our favorite Jack and Dad Moments:

” Exodus Pt. 1″ Sawyer reveals to Jack that he has met Jack’s father, Christian, and passes on a message of forgiveness and regret.

“All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues” Besides the title being clutch, this episode is the tipping point for Jack and Dad, leaving one jobless and the other full of self-doubt and guilt.

“White Rabbit” Jack goes on a wild-goose chase into the jungle following a series of mysterious fatherly appearances, post-mortem. The clincher: Jack happens upon his father’s coffin, which is missing its supposed tenant…

This feature continues next with the man of faith himself,  John Locke

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An Open Letter to the Sci-Fi Channel (EW)

Dearest Sci-Fi, Why are you not way more awesome?

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Charlton Heston Dead

“The trouble with movies as a business is that it’s an art, and the trouble with movies as art is that it’s a business.”

This is the very first and very last post that will relate to planet of the apes, probably.

Legendary actor, activist, and president of the NRA Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter) has passed away in his Beverly Hills home at the ripe old age of 84.  Heston resigned himself from his position at the head of the NRA in 2003 after developing symptoms forewarning of Alzheimer’s disease.  He is survived by his two children, grandchildren and wife.

Heston is most famously known for his roles as Moses in The Ten Commandments and the monkey-hungry George Taylor in Planet of the Apes.  After a long career of starring in sweeping biblical epics, Science fiction classics and campier films like Earthquake, Heston became the face of Firearms in america.

Random shit about Charlton Heston

In 1971 Charlton Heston originally played Robert Neville, the brilliant scientists Will Smith portrayed in last year’s I Am Legend. Both are adaptations of Richard Matheson’s classic.

In Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston plays the only monkey on the planet with a gun.

Vocally Pro-Life

Machines to Match Man By 2029

MACHINES TO MATCH MAN BY 2029

This BBC article takes a look into the near future, speculating that artificial intelligence and robotics technologies will rapidly progress.  Cylon apocalypse, anyone?  Those fracking toasters won’t take over Brooklyn as long as we have anything to say about it…

The Top Ten Sci-Fi Movies That Haven’t Been Made Yet

10. Ecotopia

This novel by Ernest Callenbach is a futuristic vision of a new, divided America. The Pacific Northwest has divorced itself from the Union, Robert E. Lee style. Except, this time, instead of slavery and state’s rights, the issue is the environment. With our pale blue dot suffering under humanity’s brutal neglect, these American-versions-of-Canucks form an eco-friendly nation. A New York Times reporter is given unprecedented access to the mysterious nation twenty years post-secession, making for an instant futuristic Utopian classic.

Who the Runners think should act/direct: Robert Zemeckis has perfected the art of the stranger in a strange land. He directed Contact, Carl Sagan’s vision of wormhole travel, which we at the Runner love. As far as a star goes, Zemeckis and Tom Hanks work together well, don’t they?

09. Scientology Xenu Film

You heard us right. We’re imagining a hilarious comedy-epic here. Fleets of Alien soul-vaccuum starships trouncing accross the galaxy, weird! How will our frail race survivethe oncoming scourge of extraterrestrial warriors? A certain looney movie star will have to step up as the hero that will save the Thetans within us!

Who the Runners think should act/direct: Paul Verehoven of Starship Troopers can handle the campy goodness. Owen Wilson as the evil alien Lord Xenu, Tom Cruise as his ridiculous self, and Vern Troyer as Baby Suri.

8. Second Firefly movie

Not a Serenity sequel, persay. Our vision is more of a new Joss Whedon creative masterpiece based in the FIrefly universe. The television show is truly unique, with an unlikely fusion of dark comedy, gunslinging western action, and deep space travel. Nathan FIllian’s Captain Mal is the ultimate anti-hero, and has proven his ability to survive as a character on the big screen. Its unfair that such a fantastic show was cut down by the executioner after only one season. Serenity didn’t even get the praise and success that it deserved. Truly great sci-fi must live on! This one’s for you, Browncoats.

Who the Runners think should act/direct: We trust Joss and his cronies.

7. Stephen Hawking’s Universe Project

We here at The Blockade Runner believe that life imitates art. We believe that if there’s any one human who knows what’s in store for all humans, its Stephen Hawking. We had this crazy idea that someone really good could make a sort of sci-fi realist picture in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey, depicting a speculatively accurate view of space exploration. The catch, you ask? Well, we want this film to be loyal to Stephen Hawking’s Universe, and A Brief History of Time. Did we mention that Hawking has to be a technical advisor for the film?

Who the Runners think should act/direct: This has Darren Aronofsky all over it. His depiction of deep space in The Fountain used NO campy CGI, and was truly visually breathtaking.

6. Cormack McCarthy’s The Road

You can’t go wrong with Post-Apocalypse sci-fi. The author of No Country for Old Men hardly needs introduction, either. This is pretty self-explanatory; father and son trek across wasteland future-America while fending off cannibalistic thugs. Priceless.

Who the Runners think should act/direct: Judging by the masterpiece that is No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers should team up for this one again. We smell another Academy Award… this time for a sci-fi film… it’s about damn time.

5. Halo

Fuck the studios for not reaching an agreement on this film. For the god’s sakes, even the humans and the Elites were able to work together when the stakes were high enough! Have you seen the test footage for the film? Shot with NO money, NO actors, NO sets, and nothing but talented camera work! Raw, gritty, brilliant sci-fi action. Peter Jackson the executive producer, had a sparkle in his eye for newcomer director Neil Blomkamp. The script was penned by Alex Garland, who’s repertoires includes 28 Days Later, The Beach, and Trainspotting. There was even a rumor that Denzel Washington was in talks to play Sgt. Major Johnson! Can’t you imagine Denzel charging into battle with his merry band of Marines against hordes of unstoppable alien zealots? I need to sit down…

Who the Runners think should act/direct: The production team for this film has already captured our attention, so we’ll stick with them. The story orbits around a handful of Marines and their perception of the alien-slaughtering war hero Master Chief. We can think of a myriad of appropriate actors to fill the Marine roles; Nathan Fillian (Firefly), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), the list goes on. Chief himself isn’t too pivotal of a role, but we have some ideas for a surprise revelation…the face behind the helmet… Daniel Craig, spartan?

4. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

Ever since George Lucas developed a chronic, nagging urge to destroy Star Wars as we knew it, we’ve watched the franchise go through a decades-long, torturous demise. Face it, fanboys, Star Wars is a Taun Taun freezing its ass to death on Hoth, somewhere out past the second marker. It all started with that fracking Christmas Special, or maybe with the Ewoks, its debatable. Anyway, the point is, Star Wars can be saved. Easily. There’s a goldmine of brilliant expanded universe fiction out there waiting to be adapted for the screen. Most of us can agree that nothing would translate better onto the screen than Steve Perry’s Shadows of the Empire. Lucasfilm already capitalized the shit out of it with action figures and the video game, so why not go the last leg with, say, an animated film voiced by the original cast?

Who the Runners think should act/direct: The Wachowski Brothers, duh. Have you seen the Animatrix? Enough said. And as far as the cast goes, what are Carrie Fischer and Mark Hamill doing? Nothing you say? Available any day of the week, you say!? Well, let’s get started then.

3. Lost: The Movie

Lost is a large polar bear trapped in a small cage. All creative aspects of the show transcend the television medium, and are simply screaming for the big screen. The expansive mysteries of dark shadowy corporations, scientific organizations, and mysterious temporally-displaced tropical islands set the stage for one killer movie. The cast is a menagerie of criminals, adulterers, and pariahs, need we say more? Tell me we haven’t forgotten the Lost Pilot episode, so soon? Feature film quality, visually stunning, and directed by JJ Abrams himself, it was a promising glimpse at what it might look like if this big dream of ours came true…

Who the Runners think should act/direct: This is JJ’s baby, and we trust him unconditionally. Just a few ground rules… no Nikki and Paolo, and at least one Kate nude-scene. Thanks.

2. Marvel Civil War

Two years ago the Marvel Universe exploded into a bloody civil war, and the fanboys subsequently exploded in their shorts. After laying dormant for years, comic culture breached the mainstream once again with the Marvel Civil War series. Everyone from uber-geeks to hipster girls alike indulged in the awesomeness that is Civil War. The fact that Civil War incorporates our reality into the Marvel Universe (i.e. appearances in the comics by Larry King and his ilk) makes the story relatable. Bottom line: Civil War is marketable. But as we all know, there are more honorable reasons for making a movie than the great American dollar. Is it not every Marvel fan’s dream to see all of their favorite characters pummeling the righteousness out of each other for two hours in Imax? Come to think of it, maybe two hours wouldn’t be enough… we’re thinking an epic HBO miniseries.

Who the Runners think should act/direct: We’d put Paul Greengrass behind the camera for this one. He’s the Oscar-nominated director who brought us United 93 and the last two films in the Bourne series. Not only is his camera work sharp and creative, but he’s an avid fan of The Watchmen, from whence Civil War draws inspiration. When Paramount greenlit The Watchmen four years ago, Greengrass was attached to direct, and had already begun production. As far as the cast goes, we’d change everyone except for the actors from X-Men (we’re waiting for Iron Man before we pass judgment on Robert Downey Jr.).

1. Battlestar Galactica Motion Picture

Razor? What? We don’t know you’re talking about. We’re proposing a dark, full-length feature film here that can really capture the war and desperation that makes the mini-series so fracking amazing. We’re talking full-out cylon apocalypse, massive viper-raider dogfights, Colonel Tye’s eyepatch, the works. The cast have all shown themselves to be silver-screen worthy (especially Gaius Baltar, that treasonous David-Keresh motherfucker).

Who the Runners think should act/direct: In our universe, we’d put Ridley Scott at the helm, no question. Besides the fact that he’s Ridley-fucking-Scott (what more do you need?) he has experience with everything you would need to make a great Battlestar flick. He’s perfected the darkness of deep space sci-fi (Alien), he’s dealt with the struggle between man and machine (Blade Runner), and he’s displayed an ability to portray the fast-paced panicked brutality of war (Blackhawk Down). Clearly, the man for the job.

One a side note, we also think Joss Whedon would make a badass Battlestar Galactica film. Never let a man do a fanboy’s job.

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Hibernation for Human Space-Travellers

Hibernation for Human Space-Travellers

This article is excitingly reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the greatest and most creative stories in sci-fi history. Using swamp gas for space-travel hibernation and combat triaj in the battlefield of the future… sounds worthy of the Physics Lab to me.

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