The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (121 page)

        virtual reality and, 341

        wireless,
see
wireless communications

        
see also
telecommunications; telephones

compact discs, 53, 519
n

complexity, 44–47, 198, 209

        of brain, 89, 145, 147, 198, 200, 428–429, 430, 442–450, 463, 465, 475, 523
n

        of brain models, 4, 153, 168–169

        class 4 automata and, 89–90, 91, 522
n

        of digestion, 301

        of emotion, 192

        exponential growth of, 20, 358

        failure rates and, 429, 456

        increase in, 15, 36–40, 44, 45, 47, 85, 91, 93, 359, 360, 389, 398, 476, 507
n

        of neurons, 143–144, 153, 155, 197, 455

        order compared with, 38–40, 90, 372

        physics and, 86, 519
n

        probabilistic fractals and, 46

        of rock vs. human, 37, 508
n
–509
n

        of software, 428, 437–438

        of “super-critical” machines, 259

complexity theory, 89, 145, 151, 271, 480

computational capacity of the human brain, achieving of, 111–142

        bridge to 3–D molecular computing and, 112–115, 526
n
–528
n

        estimates of, 70, 122–127, 150, 199, 452, 506
n
–507
n
, 527
n
, 529
n
–533
n

        human memory capacity compared with, 126–127

        uploading of personality and, 124–125, 199

computational limits, 5, 72, 112, 113, 127–142, 300, 432, 485–486, 533
n
–536
n

        Church-Turing thesis and, 453–456, 601
n

        criticism from Malthus and, 427–428, 434–435

        error rate and, 132

        intelligence in the cosmos and, 349–351, 590
n
–591
n

        memory and computational efficiency and, 136–138

        nanocomputing and, 133–135

        pico- and femtotechnology and, 138–139, 141, 351, 536
n

        reversible computing and, 130–135, 428, 534
n

        Singularity date setting and, 135–136

        speed of light and, 139–140

        time travel and, 140–141

        of universe-scale computer, 364–365, 485–486, 592
n

computer-aided design (CAD), 231

computer-assisted instruction (CAI), 336–37

Computer History Museum, 327

computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), 285

computerized physician order-entry (CPOE) system, 283

computers, computation,
17
, 36, 309, 375

        analog, 149–150, 442

        author’s early experience with, 2–3, 64, 497
n

        autonomic, 284, 437

        biological cells as, 221

        
biological evolution compared with, 47

        brain compared with, 149–153, 293, 444

        brain’s interfacing with, 194–195

        capacity of, 96, 127

        chaotic, 145, 173, 441, 475

        chess playing of, 8, 146, 274–278,
274
, 441, 459, 498
n

        consciousness of, 430, 458–469

        decentralization of, 351

        Dembski’s views on, 474–477

        design of, 40, 45, 62, 71, 434, 481, 499
n

        digital, 148–151, 442, 461

        doubling of power of, 8, 16, 41–42, 56–66,
57–65
, 145, 261, 498
n
, 506
n

        dualism of, 444–445

        efficiency of, 136–138, 362

        exponential growth of, 25, 56–73,
57–65
,
67
,
69
–
71
, 75,
75
, 102, 112, 127, 128, 135, 276, 292, 432, 434, 436, 470, 498
n
, 514
n

        hacking into, 406, 426, 594
n

        invention of,
17
,
18
, 38, 40, 45, 86, 93–94

        invisible, 105, 136, 312

        inward vs. outward expansion of, 351

        mechanical, 93–94, 135, 228–229

        memory of,
see
memory, computer

        modular approach to, 481

        Moore’s Law and, 35–36, 41–42, 56–66,
57
–
65
, 434

        nanotechnology and, 133–135, 139, 232–236,
233
, 248–249, 349, 412, 434

        neuronal information processing compared with, 503
n
, 504
n

        new universe created for, 405

        nonlinearity required by, 155

        optimal level of, 21, 29

        parallel processing in, 129–130, 135, 149, 150, 350, 461, 462

        price-performance of, 12, 41–42, 45, 56–71,
57–65, 67, 69–71
, 100, 102, 125–128, 135–136, 142, 243, 261, 292, 432, 437, 506
n
, 514
n

        productivity growth and, 100

        programmable, 445

        quantum,
see
quantum computing

        relay-based, 67,
67
, 127–128, 434

        research budgets for, 25, 42, 259

        reverse engineering of, 157–158

        reversible, 130–135, 244–245, 350, 428, 534
n

        self-healing, 151

        software programs for,
see
software

        speed of, 127, 261, 276, 436

        spread throughout entire universe, 45, 511
n

        star-scale, 350

        symbolic, 460–461, 463–464, 468

        three-dimensional molecular,
see
three-dimensional molecular computing

        transistors in, 27, 42–43, 45, 63,
63
, 67,
67
, 150, 151, 153, 434, 498
n

        Turing test and, 25, 263, 286, 292, 504
n
–505
n

        typesetting on, 54

        universal, 91, 94, 139, 228, 523
n

        universe-scale, 364–365

        vacuum tubes in, 45, 56, 67,
67
, 434

        viruses for,
see
software viruses

        
see also
laptop computers; notebook computers; personal computers; supercomputers

conditioning, 182–183

Congress, U.S., 422, 594
n
, 599
n

connectionism, 155–156

consciousness, 86, 190, 191, 326, 338, 369, 394

        criticism from ontology and, 458–469

        as emergent pattern, 463–464, 467–468

        of nonbiological intelligence, 376–380, 385, 475

        quantum computing and, 201, 429, 450–452

        Singularity and, 374–382, 384

        spindle cells and, 468

        spirituality and, 388

        subjectivity and, 378–380

        of universe, 375, 388, 390

Consilience
(Wilson), 195

“constructive destruction” process, 114

consumers, power of, 104

contact lenses, 312, 472

contraception, 321, 433

contradiction, 152

Cooley, J. W., 600
n

Copernicus, Nicolaus, 433

Coren, R., 502
n

coronary artery disease, 302

Correlogic Systems, 282

cortex, cerebral, 27, 157, 179, 189–194

        architecture of, 68, 505
n

        auditory, 124

        frontal, 176

        frontoinsular, 193

        inferotemporal, 186

        insula regions of, 166, 193, 314

        MEG and, 160

        motor, 175

        prefrontal, 170

        spindle cells in, 191–194,
192

        tactile input and, 174

        
V5 region of, 156

        visual, 156, 172, 176, 181, 530
n

cosmological constant, 359, 361

Cossman, J., 552
n

Coteus, Paul, 533
n

Coull, J. T., 543
n

Council of Europe, 471

“Countdown to Singularity” chart:

        linear plot of, 18,
18
, 501
n

        logarithmic plot of, 17,
17
, 501
n

Covey, Ellen, 545
n

Cowan, W. M., 532
n
, 538
n

CPEB protein, 176, 199–200, 543
n

Craig, Arthur, 193

Cray 1 supercomputer, 535
n

C-reactive protein, 211

creativity, 2, 128, 145, 476

        in GNR age, 340, 341, 398

        human intelligence and, 4, 9

        love and, 485

        recursive search and, 273, 577
n
–580
n

        Singularity and, 21, 389

credit-card fraud, 269, 276, 284

Crick, Francis, 206, 207, 549
n

Cristofori, Bartolommeo, 53

criticisms, 427–483, 599
n
–602
n

        from analog processing, 428, 442

        from the Church-Turing thesis, 429, 453–456

        from the complexity of neural processing, 428–429, 442–450

        from failure rates, 429, 456

        from holism, 431, 479–483

        from incredulity, 432–433

        from likelihood of government regulation, 430–431, 470–473

        from lock-in, 429–430, 457–458

        from Malthus, 427–428, 433–435

        from microtubules and quantum computing, 429, 450–452

        from ontology, 430, 458–469

        panopoly of, 427–433

        from rich-poor divide, 430, 469–470

        from software, 428, 435–442

        from theism, 431, 473–478

Crosby, Alfred W., 595
n

Crowley, Justin, 523
n
, 539
n

cruise missiles, 255, 279–280, 335

cryonics, 384

Cuban missile crisis, 401

Cullen, Steve, 513
n

cuneiform, 536
n

curved surfaces, Bernoulli’s principle and, 265

Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Joel, 472, 602
n

cybermirror, 315

Cybernetics
(Wiener), 86

cybernetic totalism, 380, 435

cyberwarfare, 333, 335

cyberweapons, 300

cyborgs, 309, 377

CYC (enCYClopedic), 267, 291–292

Cyclomatic Complexity Metric, 437–438

cystic fibrosis, 549
n

Dahan, M., 586
n

DAISI (Document and Image Storage Invention), 328, 329

Damasio, Antonio R., 193, 548
n

Dana Farber Cancer Center, 218

Daptobacter
bacteria, 297, 298, 583
n

“Dark Winter,” 398, 595
n

Darnell, James, 549
n

DARPA,
see
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Darwin, Charles, 433

“Darwin, Charles,” 31–33, 367, 381, 425–426

“Darwin Among the Machines” (Butler), 205

data-compression techniques, 36–38, 47, 507
n
–508
n

        redundancy and, 36, 508
n
, 516
n
, 517
n