Tr1v14l Pursu1ts: Am I taking crazy pills? Robots needing rights? Now?

Maxims, rules of thumb and other observations on human cognition and sociocultural affectations

This will be added to on an irregular basis...

What is said to humans directly is received with skepticism and considered with dubiousness while that which is heard in passing, especially that which most conforms to their mentality or prejudices, is readily believed.
Humans have a certain cognitive latency between exposure to new information or experiences and the ability to think dispassionately and intellectually about it.
Humans have a certain cognitive spectrum starting with the moment of exposure to new information or experiences and ending with some point at which the thing is effectively "in the past" for them.
This cognitive spectrum is linked to the emotional process often referred to as shock, anger, denial and acceptance.
The more and faster information or experiences are presented to people and the closer the quarters and the lesser the distance between people, the more their early reactions in the passionate emotional stage are reflected back to them in the manner of responses to those reactions from others in light of those responses.
The more outrages which are suffered without sufficient time to allow emotional bleed-off, the farther the bar for subsequent reaction and outrage are pushed, and the more further events must progress before reaction and outrage.
It is possible for serious detriments to eventually sit below this threshold for long enough for their damaging effects to build and multiply until their entire society undergoes some reactive convulsion.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Am I taking crazy pills? Robots needing rights? Now?

Our present AI research (non-classified, publicly disclosed, for the tinfoil hat crowd) is nowhere near conscious self-awareness. Let me repeat: NOWHERE NEAR.
Our present robotics research can barely produce walking robots, Japanese eye candy notwithstanding. We cannot produce anything like the mecha of Japanese animation. CAN NOT. We are NOWHERE NEAR being able to.

These two things in concert tell you what about the article? Read it... and then ask yourself, where are Dr. Paul Moller's personal flying vehicles we were breathlessly told would be in our garages by the mid 80s?

Yeah, technological reality isn't nearly as sexy as fantasy, but let's not keep selling fantasy as reality to a public that cannot be bothered to tear itself away from bustanutingrannysbut.com long enough to actually use one of the plethora of online mapping services before they go on a trip.