The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (123 page)

electromagnetic force, 140

electromagnetic radiation, communication with (radio transmission), 344–349, 590
n

electromagnetic technologies, 76, 434

electromechanical paradigm, 67,
67
, 127–128, 434

electron-beam lithography, 113

electronic circuits, 27, 71, 503
n
, 504
n

electronic neurons, 172

electronics, 3, 53, 54–55, 73, 227, 242, 245, 347, 444

        communications bridge between biological information and, 308, 313

        contemporary process of, 122

        democratization and, 406

        disposal problems and, 251

        nanotechnology and, 227, 407

        portable, 56, 113, 247

        price-performance of, 111–112, 526
n

        value of, 339

Electronics
, 111

electrons, 114, 141, 355, 499
n

        in atoms, 14, 85, 131

        computing with spin of,
see
spintronics as digital vs. analog phenomena, 519
n

        movies of movement of, 138

        quantum effects and, 119, 238

        transistor travel times of, 56, 61

elements, 14–15

        
see also specific elements

elimination process, 304–305

Ellis, Havelock, 376

e-mail, 30–31, 78, 255–56

        FBI snooping on, 413

        spam filters for, 267–68

embryos, cloning and, 222, 555
n
–56
n

Emerson, J. J., 510
n

emotional intelligence, 8, 28, 124, 389

        machine, 28–29, 145, 377–379, 385

        spindle cells and, 191–194,
192

emotions, 300, 310, 315–316, 319, 341, 475

encryption codes, 121, 354, 412, 419

encryption trapdoor, 413, 422

encyclopedias, 54, 363

endangered species, preservation of, 222

endocrine (hormonal) system, 163, 257, 325, 475

        artificial, 243, 306–307

        bandwidth of, 200, 443

        circulatory system and, 442, 443

endostatin, 218

endothelial cells, 163, 165, 210, 216

energy, 32, 33, 243–250, 339, 407

        black holes and, 7, 363, 503
n

        cell aging and, 209, 552
n

        cellular, 219–220, 583
n

        centralized, 420, 421

        computational limits and, 72, 113, 128–134,
129
, 136, 300, 349–351, 427–428, 432, 434–435, 533
n

        cost of, 96, 243, 246, 249–250

        as digital vs. analog, 14

        distributed, 421

        Dyson Sphere and, 350

efficiencies in the use of, 243, 244, 248–249, 566
n

        fossil fuels as source of,
see
coal; oil, oil industry

        information’s relationship with, 86, 87, 243, 457, 522
n

        lock-in and, 429, 430, 457

        for nanotechnology, 230, 238, 244, 245, 352

        nanotechnology-based, 133, 243–250, 340, 395, 397, 430, 434, 457

        nonbiological intelligence’s saturating of,
15
, 21, 29, 45, 364, 375, 389, 511
n

        patterns of, 325, 383, 385, 431, 474

        potential, 133

        recycling of, 249

        renewable, 243, 244, 251, 372, 395, 421, 434, 457

        for smart-dust systems, 334

        solar,
see
solar energy

        spintronics and, 118

        storage of, 246, 247, 248, 421, 434, 457

        total metabolic output of, 249

        transmission of, 246–247

        transportation of, 246, 247, 340

        utilization of, 244–246

        wind, 243, 244, 334

        worldwide requirements for, 243–244

        wormholes and, 355, 356

Energy Department, U.S., 247, 567
n

Enger, John, 524
n

engineered negligible senescence, 213

Engines of Creation
(Drexler), 111, 139, 228

enhancers, 551
n

ENIAC, 56

Enough
(McKibben), 410

entertainment, 259, 288, 339–340

entropy, 39–40, 130, 134, 510
n
, 520
n

entropy rate, 508
n

“Entscheidungsproblem,”
see
decision (halting) problem

environment:

        cleaning up of, 241, 249, 251, 372, 397, 410

        complexity of, 449, 475

        computing distributed in, 105, 136, 312

        diversity and, 45–46

        energy and, 243, 246, 249

        entropy and, 130

        exponential growth and, 44, 128, 433

        factory farming and, 224

        gene expression and, 551
n

        nanotechnology and, 229, 230, 250–253, 259

        survival and, 39

        virtual-reality, 105, 312, 314, 337, 340, 341

        voxel (three-dimensional pixel) maps of, 285

environmentalists, 391, 395, 414–415

enzymes, 147, 207, 208, 217, 218, 238, 301, 306, 482, 550
n

        digestive, 168

        DNA computing and, 117, 530
n

        as molecular machines, 231–232

        nanotechnology and, 238–239, 247

        
see also specific enzymes

epigenetic information, 16, 147

epilepsy, 188, 216

epithelium, 165

Epoch One, 14–15,
15

Epoch Two,
15
, 16, 47

Epoch Three,
15
, 16, 47

Epoch Four,
15
, 16–20,
17–20
, 47

Epoch Five, 14,
15
, 20–21, 40, 47, 205, 367

Epoch Six, 14,
15
, 21, 32, 367, 390

equity markets,
see
stock, stock market

equivalence principle, 136–138, 536
n

esophagus, upper, 307

ethanol, 247

ethical issues:

        biotechnology and, 221–22, 223, 224, 553
n

        consciousness and, 379

        defensive technologies and, 416

        genetic engineering and, 402

        nanotechnology and, 229, 418, 423

        SETI and, 348

        xenografts and, 418, 598
n

“Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence” (Bostrom), 260

“Ethics for Intelligent Machines” (Bostrom), 369

ETI,
see
extraterrestrial intelligence; SETI eukaryotic evolution,
17, 18
, 450, 583
n

Eumenes II, 54

Europe:

        bubonic plague in, 398, 402

        GMOs in, 471

European Commission, 414

Evans, Thomas, 569
n
, 570
n

event horizon, 7, 29, 486–487

        gravity in, 23, 363, 486, 503
n

Everett, Hugh, 500
n
–501
n

evolution:

        complexity increases and, 36–39, 44, 45, 47, 389, 476, 507
n

        farsighted, 47–50

        indirection and, 14,
15
, 16, 30, 40–41, 92, 94

        of language, 190

        law of accelerating returns and,
see
accelerating returns, law of

        as learning paradigm, 152

        as open system, 40, 41, 42

        order and, 14, 15, 20, 36–45, 47, 509
n

        patterns and, 14–21, 389

        positive feedback in, 40, 41

        as runaway phenomenon, 32

        self-replicating nanotechnology and, 418

        six epochs of, 14–21,
15, 17–20

        of universes, 360, 361

        
see also
biological evolution; technology evolution

evolutionary (genetic) algorithms, 38–39, 42, 91–93, 270–272, 405, 455, 480–481

        in AI applications, 280, 281, 284, 288

        basic schema for, 575
n
–576
n

        defined, 539
n

        evaluation function for, 272

        neural nets combined with, 271, 278–279

        order in, 38–39

        pattern recognition and, 92, 152, 271, 461

Evolution of Complexity by Means of Natural Selection
(Bonner), 509
n

existential risks, 400–408, 422, 495
n
–496
n

exomuscle, 332

experience beamers, 316, 379

expert systems, 266–267, 280, 282–283

exponential growth, 425, 486

of brain reverse engineering, 73, 144, 196–198

of brain scanning, 25, 161, 197, 407

of communications, 35, 76–77,
77
, 102, 112, 245–246, 470

of complexity, 20, 358

of computing, 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

criticism from Malthus and, 427–428, 433–434

in DNA sequencing, 74,
74
, 470, 514
n

double, 12, 25, 27, 28, 41–42, 56, 506
n

of education, 108,
108
, 525
n

GNR and, 73, 227, 245–246

of information technologies, 3, 9, 25, 35, 72, 84, 85, 109, 245–246, 265, 377, 385, 429, 433–435, 457, 469, 470, 491–496, 504
n

“knee of the curve” and, 9,
10
, 97, 154

of knowledge, 9, 73, 105, 302, 396

limits of, 128, 433–434

linear growth vs., 8, 10–14,
10
, 97–98, 108, 109, 137

Moore’s Law and,
see
Moore’s Law nearly vertical phase of, 24

of nonbiological intelligence, 257, 300, 316, 377, 407

of order, 20, 45

paradigms and, 42–46,
43, 44
, 263–264

in productivity, 98–101,
98, 99, 101

of quantum computing, 121

rabbits in Australia and, 128, 433

see also
accelerating returns, law of “Exponential Growth of Computing” chart, 70,
70
, 125, 135

extinction, 222, 409, 511
n
, 588
n

extracellular aggregates, 220

extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI), 372, 406

        search for,
see
SETI

eyeglasses, 105, 312, 472

eyes, 130, 186–187,
187
, 482

facial animation, 294–295

factoring large numbers, 121, 354, 530
n

factory farming, 224, 379

famine, 406

Fandel, D., 512
n

Fantastic Voyage
(Kurzweil and Grossman), 210, 217, 323

Fantastic-Voyage.net, 490

Faraday, Michael, 326

Fast ForWord, 175

fat cells, 12, 219, 303

fat insulin receptor (FIR) gene, 12, 303

FATKAT (Financial Accelerating Transactions by Kurzweil Adaptive Technologies), 569
n

fats, dietary, 301

Fay, R., 545
n

FBI, 392, 413, 421

FDA,
see
Food and Drug Administration fear, 241, 541
n