h+ Magazine

It seems to me there are essentially three main questions when it comes to human-robot sex. First, can we build a machine that anyone would want to have sex with? Second, how “intelligent” should that machine be? Third, is this just a fetish for weirdoes?

MorpHex, a morphing hexapod. Adjusting the body size when walking. Transforming into a sphere. Video demonstration.

An overview of science news from the last week, and some older news items of interest. Includes news on nanotechnology, regenerative medicine, stem cells, and metamaterials.

Many people are presented with options to enhance their abilities and do so on a regular basis; even though the most popular option may be caffeine, there are many others available, and even more will become available in the coming years. The future holds the potential for a wide variety of scientific discoveries to change the way the brain works and improve it drastically. There are varieties of cognitive enhancement being developed, but they may not achieve their potential unless scientists are able to overcome specific hurdles in development.

2016 presidential candidate Bob Glitch is preaching to the Republican Party faithful: “With God as my witness, we’re going to bring morality and family values back to America and we’re going to turn back the homosexual agenda…” Anonymous member Bob Dobbometer joins the cheering throng, raising his fist in the air and points his magnetic truth ring right at the candidate. Glitch continues. “I have nothing against homosexuals. Jesus said we should love every… (Glitch pauses, twitches slightly) “Man, that dude in the muscle shirt is freaking’ hot. I’d like to meet him in a men’s room and…” The mic goes dead.

The human brain is a massively parallel processor — each of its 100 billion-plus neurons is processing data all the time, and responding if appropriate. By contrast, today’s default computer architecture is highly serial — our processors operate, by and large, one step at a time. Certain types of operations that are slow for brain cells are extremely fast for today’s computer processors, enabling our computers to do a lot of amazing things in spite of their serial architecture.

For thousands of years, humans have strived to move beyond the limits of their own minds through education, philosophy and meditation. Cognitive neuroscientists like myself are trying to turn such aspirations into reality by applying knowledge of neuroplasticity and cognition to cognitive training programs. Millions of people use their income to buy cognitive training games. This trend will continue as new discoveries foster the development of improved training programs, and the implementation of these programs will eventually cause a significant impact in society and education.

The cyborgization process of becoming in which we presently take part has a long history and a very likely and highly plausible future. This will include an array of options for radically enhancing our bodies and minds. However, the cyborgization of our civilization is a multilayered, multidimensional progression that can be parsed in many ways, one of which is the hyper-connected, virtualized enmeshed reality already in progress.

H+: So what is “Cities on the Edge”?

Waldemar: Cities on the Edge is a sourcebook for the role-playing game Transhuman Space, published by Steve Jackson Games and written by noted transhumanist Anders Sandberg and I. The primary purpose of the book is to give Transhuman Space players good entertainment, but some of the best entertainment also makes you think about important issues. We also wanted to make the book accessible for readers uninterested in role-playing games or the setting.

You’re the director in an ultra-low-budget movie set around an alien encounter. You select scenes, summon special effects, and play the supporting cast members: G-Man, Scientist, Alien, and Little Girl. Your lead actor Ted is a struggling reporter who wakes up tied-up on an alien spaceship. What do you do? You improvise.

Ben Goertzel converses with Hugo de Garis on his transhumanist argument for the reality of a Creator.