dealing with, 413–414, 416, 417–418, 426
Internet information on, 594n
nanobots and, 406–407
self-modifying, 416
solar cells, 397, 457
solar energy, 234, 243, 244, 246–251, 340, 434
calculation of, 248, 566n
cost of, 249–250
Matrioshka shells and, 351
solar panels, 246, 248, 249, 250, 251, 421, 434, 457
solar system:
computational limits and, 349–351, 435
expansion beyond, 351–353
intelligence in, 374
mass of, 349, 350–351, 590n–591n
solvents, halogenated organic, 253
soma (cell body), 124, 155, 192, 208
memory function in, 170–171
somatic gene therapy, see gene therapy
Sommer, Fritz, 160
Somorjai, Gabor A., 567n
Soros, George, 394
sound:
foglets’ control of, 28, 310
localizing of, 123–124, 148, 184
patterns of, 297
in phonemes, 268
processing of, 123–124, 172, 530n
virtual reality and, 105, 310, 312–313, 318
Southern California, University of, 116, 188
Soviet Union, bioweapons program in, 393
space, 23, 520n
curvatures in, 520n
empty, 355
energy generating in, 246, 247, 250
expansion of, 354
exploration of, 280–281, 352–353, 412
general relativity and, 500n
quantum gravity and, 14
special relativity and, 520n
Space Elevator, 250
Space Solar Power satellite, 250
Space Technology 5 satellites, 281
space-time, wormhole in, 140
SpamBayes, 268
spam filters, 267–268
special relativity theory, 341, 354, 520n
species, extinction of, 222, 409, 511n
“Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine” (Good), 22
speech recognition, 122, 265, 286–288, 337
author’s work with, 268, 278, 294, 570n, 599n
Markov models and, 153, 268, 278
neural nets and, 268
search engines and, 286–287
software for, 5, 103, 146, 153, 184, 268, 436, 438, 530n, 570n
sperm cells, genetic information altered in, 552n
Spike, The (Broderick; 1997), 24
Spike, The (Broderick; 2001), 24
spikes, 161, 169–170, 445–446, 530n
defined, 154
growth of, 171
spike trains, 170
spinal cord, 163, 171, 181, 193, 203
injury to, 308
spindle cells, 191–194, 192, 468
spines, 151, 162, 171–172, 180, 197
defined, 171
growth of, 173, 174, 202
spintronics, 112–113, 116–117, 119, 529n
spiral ganglion, 165
spirituality:
Dembski’s views on, 475–477
of nonbiological intelligence, 377
in the physical world, 387
transcendence and, 387–390, 475–476
Sporns, O., 540n
sports, 288, 341
spybots, 406–407
spy satellites, 281
squid neurons, 155
SRI International, 282
Srivastava, Deepak, 562n, 563n
standard of living, 106
Stanford University, 114, 176
Staring into the Singularity (Yudkowsky), 35
stars, 281, 342, 344
collapsed, 141
in Drake equation, 345, 346, 347
Dyson Sphere and, 350
formation of, 360
sun, 349–351, 591n
Vega, 355–356
Star Trek, 348
Stein, Ben, 586n
stem cells:
adult, 223, 556n, 557n
autologous, 216
controversy over, 222, 431, 471
neural, 177
Stenger, Victor, 499n
Stenner, M., 591n
Sterling, Bruce, 588n
Stix, Gary, 529n
stock, stock market, 103, 525n–526n
AI applications in, 284
price of, 13, 108, 109–110
stories:
as composing universe, 5
principles of fields as, 167
Störmer, Horst, 253
strawberry genes, 551n
stream separation, 123
string theory, 359, 360
stroke, 144, 173, 188, 210, 212
strong AI, 259–263, 289–300, 422
brain reverse engineering and, 84, 93, 194–195, 293, 294, 407, 461
Church-Turing thesis and, 454
criticism from ontology and, 430, 458–469
dangers of, 206, 403, 409
defined, 92, 260
friendly, 409, 420, 424, 598n–599n
at human levels, 260, 262
nanotechnology and, 261–262, 412, 426
runaway, 24, 262–263, 569n
skepticism about, 292
wealth creation from, 13, 396–397
Strout, Joseph, 326
student matching program, 2–3, 497n
subatomic particles, 85, 133, 198, 355
computing with, 138–139, 141, 351
transformed energy states in, 403–404
subconscious, 318
subjective experience, 378–380, 386, 388, 467
subneural models, 169–172, 541n
subtraction paradigm, 161
sucrose, 248
suffering, 321, 373, 374–375, 423
alleviation of, 224, 311, 379, 406, 409–410
of animals, 224, 379
sugar, 220, 248
see also glucose
sun, 349–351, 591n
Sung, J. C., 552n
Sung, Kah-Kay, 546n
Sun Tzu, 105
supercomputers, 231, 261, 312, 535n
Blue Gene/L, 71, 125, 482, 533n
Blue Gene/P, 71, 71
human intelligence emulated by, 25, 70, 70, 71, 71, 125, 150, 196, 533n
protein folding and, 209
superconducting, superconductors, 119, 451
superconducting wires, 246
superintelligence, 259–260
runaway AI and, 262, 569n
supernova explosion, 23
supply chains, optimizing of, 271
surgery, 307, 317
brain, 315–316, 386
intracellular, 162–163
optical imaging and, 161
plastic, 310
transplant, 418, 598n
surveillance:
by law enforcement organizations, 413, 421, 424
military, 281, 334
spybots and, 406–407
survival, 90, 152, 325, 396
digestive system and, 301–302
economic imperative as, 96
as evolutionary purpose, 38, 39, 41, 96
family size and, 433
grandmother hypothesis and, 218–219
terrorism and, 421
of virus outbreaks, 402
in warfare, 330–331, 331, 334
Susskind, Leonard, 360, 361, 362, 364
Svoboda, Karel, 171–172, 541n, 542n
swarm intelligence, 333
swarm weapons, 335
Sweden, life expectancy in, 408
Sylla, M. L., 600n
symbolic computing, 460–461, 463–464, 468
synapses, 155, 166, 169–174, 269, 383, 430
backpropagation and, 156
blood flow and, 161
brain scanning and, 161, 162, 166, 171–175, 197
in cerebellum, 180, 180, 181, 182
in cerebral cortex, 190
CPEB protein in, 176, 199–200, 544n
criticism from the complexity of neural processing and, 428, 445–446
defined, 124
formation of, 170, 171, 173–174, 174, 176, 202, 446
Hebb’s neural learning theory and, 156, 157, 170–171
in hippocampus, 175
hormones and, 443
learning and, 179
memory and, 169, 170–171, 175–176, 200, 541n, 543n, 544n
models of, 144, 169–171
neurotransmitters in, 145, 147, 153, 170
nonlinearities in, 137, 148
plasticity of, 151, 156, 169, 171, 173, 541n
resetting of, 124, 150
synaptic scaling, 171
system-on-a-chip concept, 533n
tactical autonomous combatants (TACs), 333
tags and labels, nanoparticles as, 242
Talbot, David, 569n
Tale of Two Cities, A (Dickens), 396
Taleyarkhan, R. P., 567n
Tallal, Paula, 175, 543n
Tammany Hall, 472
Tanaka, K., 547n
tanks, Abrams, 332, 335
tape recordings, 53, 327
tapes, digital, 327–328, 588n
Tasmanian tiger, DNA of, 222
tattoos, 310
Taub, Edward, 174
Taylor, J. G., 143, 537n
T cells, 217–218 417, 557n
“Technological Singularity, The” (Vinge), 22
technology, 372, 375, 498n
author’s interest in trends in, 3, 370
brevity and, 5
centralized, 340, 409, 420, 421
Clarke’s third law and, 4
communications, see communications, communications technologies; telecommunications; telephones
decentralized, see decentralization
decline in cost of, 64–65, 95, 338, 469, 472
failure rates of, 429, 456
in GNR age, see biotechnology; GNR (Genetics, Nanotechnology, Robotics) age; nanotechnology; robots, robotics; strong AI
human intelligence merged with, 15, 20–21
information, see information technologies
life cycle of, 51–56
magic compared with, 4–5
opposable thumb and, 16, 39, 41
relinquishment of, see GNR, relinquishment of
shrinking of, see miniaturization; nanotechnology
three stages of impact of, 408
transcendence of, 389
as unified system, 411
see also specific topics
technology evolution:
biological evolution compared with, 16–19, 17–19, 94, 347, 441, 487
complexity increases and, 38
as continuation of biological evolution, 7, 42, 137
in Epoch Four, 15, 16–20, 17–20, 47
in Epoch Five, 15, 20–21, 40, 47
in Epoch Six, 15, 21
farsighted, 47–50, 48–50
key events of, see key events, of biological and technological evolution
order increased by, 40
theory of, see accelerating returns, law of
TED (technology, entertainment, design) conference (2001), 314–315, 587n
Tegmark, Max, 500n
telecommunications:
adoption of, 97, 264
bubble in (1997–2000), 13, 97, 264
technology hype cycle for, 263–264
teleconferencing, 123
telephones, 17, 18, 317–318, 438
as auditory virtual reality, 318
mass use of, 48, 48, 50, 512n
speech recognition over, 287
surveillance and, 413
telephones, cellular, see cell phones
telepresence, 123
Telescom conference (1998), 394
telescopes, 47
Hubble Space Telescope, 590n
robotic, 281
television, 330, 338
mass use of, 50, 512n
Telford, Ric, 528n
telomerase, 218
telomeres, 218, 219, 221, 223–224, 323
Temple, Blake, 504n
10% Solution for a Healthy Life, The (Kurzweil), 211
termites, 151, 466
terrorism, 247, 280
civil liberties and, 421–422
GNR age and, 395, 397, 400, 401–402, 414, 421, 423–424
nuclear, 401–402
preemptive action and, 423–424
suicide, 402, 421
Tesla, Nikola, 1
Texas, University of, 124, 248
cerebellum model and simulation of, 182–183, 182, 544n
Texas A&M University, Brain Networks Laboratory at, 162
Theis, Thomas, 114
theism, criticism from, 431, 473–478
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior (von Neumann and Morgenstern), 499n
therapeutic cloning, 214, 220, 221, 222, 224, 256, 323
“There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom” (Feynman), 227, 228
thermodynamics:
laws of, 130, 168, 432
second law of, 39–40, 509n–510n, 520n
thermonuclear explosion, 134
Thier, P., 539n
thinking, thought, 86, 144, 167, 316, 386–387 390, 445
about body, 193, 203
Church-Turing thesis and, 454
cortex and, 190, 191
expansion of, 316–317, 325
incredulity and, 432–433
at its best, 379
pattern recognition and, 149, 309
physical action vs., 175
robots controlled by, 194–195
slowness of, 8–9, 309
understanding, 154–157, 198
see also consciousness; intelligence; mind
Thomas, Dylan, 326
Thompson, Donald L., 561n, 562n
Thompson, J. N., Jr., 555n
Thompson, Larry, 598n
Thompson, R. F., 545n
Thorne, Kip S., 355–356 363, 592n
Thorpe, S. J., 574n
threatening stimuli, 541n
three-dimensional molecular computing, 27, 45, 67, 111–122, 128, 133, 292, 434, 526n–533n
bridge to, 112–122, 526n–533n
computing with light and, 113, 119–120
DNA computing and, 113, 117–118, 119, 529n–530n
emulating biology and, 112–113, 116–117, 519n
fractal dimensions and the brain and, 68
nanotubes and nanotube circuitry and, 112–115, 526n–528n
quantum computing and, 113, 119, 120–121
spintronics and, 112–113, 116–117, 529n
three-dimensional shapes:
carbon and, 15, 85
of proteins, 209, 234, 482–483, 550n
Through the Looking Glass (Carroll), 326
thumbs:
of humans vs. chimpanzees, 39, 509n
opposable, 4, 16, 39, 41, 47, 152, 433, 487, 509n
time, 23
digital basis for, 86
general relativity and, 500n
problem solving and, 296
quantum gravity and, 14
reversal of, 4–5
special relativity and, 520n
subjective, 31–32, 33
travel in, 140–141
Time, Future of Life conference of (2003), 11–12, 499n
Tipler, Frank, 500n
titanium dioxide, 252
titanium-oxide nanoparticles, 250
toad, Adrian’s experiments with, 154
Tobias, Phillip, 502n
Toffoli, Tommaso, 130, 518n, 534n
tolerance, 424
Tomlin, Lily, 189
Tom Swift Jr. book series, 1–2, 497n
Tononi, G., 540n
toolmaking, 17, 18, 20, 72, 213
Torcetrapib, 217
Torgerson, Justin R., 139–140, 537n
Toshiba, 247
totalitarianism, 471, 498n
relinquishment and, 395, 406, 407–408
Toth-Fejel, Tihamer, 560n
Townes, C. H., 590n
toxic cells, 219
toxins, 371
Internet information on, 594n
nanotechnology and, 251, 252, 253, 256, 300
testing for, 215
in viruses, 402
Trachtenberg, J. T., 542n
traditional cultures, 387
trains, see railroads
Trajtenberg, Manuel, 540n
transcendence, 373, 387–390, 475–476
of biological intelligence, 375
patterns and, 388
use of term, 388, 390
transcension scenario, 358
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), 161
transdifferentiation, 222–224, 471, 556n–557n
Transend, David Victor de, 198
Transhumanists, 498n
transistors, 20, 45, 59–63, 71, 116, 151, 153, 271, 519n
analog-mode use of, 126, 149–150, 151, 188, 189, 442, 443
digital-mode use of, 150, 442
on integrated circuit, 42–43, 56, 71, 76, 111–112, 114, 157, 351, 434
in Intel processors, 63, 63, 66
manufacturing of, 60
microprocessor cost per cycle of, 62, 62, 66
molecular computing and, 115, 528n
nanotube, 27, 114, 230, 527n
nanowire field-effect, 116
neuron, 308, 313
as paradigm, 67, 67, 75, 75, 127–128
per microprocessor, 63, 63, 498n
price of, 59, 59, 62, 66
shorter electron travel times in, 56, 61
shrinking of, 42–43, 45, 61, 76, 111–112, 113, 351, 434
single-molecule, 121
stacked, 113
tunneling in, 429, 451
transition-state theory, 240
translation, of languages, 288, 292, 313, 337
translation process, 208–209
transportation, 289, 347, 434
of energy, 246, 247, 340
flying machines, 457–458
lock-in and, 429, 430, 457–458
nanotechnology and, 230, 246, 247, 252, 457–458
railroads, 13, 263–264, 420
see also airplanes, aviation; cars; vehicles
transterrestrial community, 361–362
traveling-salesperson problem, 529n–530n
Travis, John, 554n
Treder, Mike, 400, 595n
Trezise, A. E., 553n
Trinity College, 288
TriPath Imaging, 282–283
Trosch, Rick, 308
truth, many paths to, 1
Tryk, Donald A., 567n
Tseng, Yu-Chih, 527n
tuberculosis, 282
Tukey, J. W., 600n
tumorigenesis, 215
tungsten, 536n
turbulence, 90, 522n
Turing, Alan M., 94, 155, 259, 286, 295, 453–454, 504n, 505n, 600n, 601n
Turing machine, 94, 523n
problem solving and, 429, 453–456
Turing test, 25, 200, 201, 263, 294–296, 473, 504n–505n
copies and, 383, 443
language and, 272, 286, 288, 292, 295, 461, 464
“Ray Kurzweil,” 383, 429