Neuroscientist Thinks Singularity is ‘Hot Air’
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The Singularity represents the moment when artificial intelligence comes to equal human intelligence.
CREDIT: Robot image via Shutterstock |
Think the singularity is nothing but a sci-fi fantasy? If so, you’re not alone. Miguel Nicolelis, a neuroscientist at Duke University says the idea that artificial intelligence will one day replicate and even surpass human intelligence is just “a bunch of hot air.”
For those not familiar with technological singularity, here’s a bit of background. The term “singularity” was popularized by science fiction writer Vernor Vinge in the 1990s and describes a time in the future when artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence, bringing about an end to the human era.
Vinge’s theory has been promoted through various channels, one of the most popular being the work of Ray Kurweil who has been making headlines lately for his appointment as the new director of engineering at Google.
But regardless of all the accolades Kurzweil has won of late, skeptics like Nicolelis are still calling his bluff.
Nicolelis, who is the author of several pioneering papers on brain-machine interfaces, recently said he thinks that computers will never be able to replicate the human brain.
“You could have all the computer chips in the world and you won’t create a consciousness,” Nicolelis told MIT Technology Review.
And though Nicolelis isn’t a believer in the singularity, he does promote the idea that technology will expand the capacities of the human brain.
In a recent Duke University study, Nicolelis and his team were able to use brain implants to allow mice to sense infrared light, which is not something mammals can do on their own. The neuroscientist is currently working on developing other brain implants that could one day be used to extend human intelligence.
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