Cognitive Modeling
by tim on Jun.28, 2009, under Artificial Intelligence
I spent Saturday evening on a party barge on Lake Grapevine. My wife and I had been invited by some friends from the Reality Abatement Bureau to go and listen to some dub step played by some of the coolest DJ’s in the metroplex. Much to my surprise, my good friend David Hanson was there as a last minute step-in for someone else who decided not to come.
It’s always a good time when I get to speak with Dr. Hanson. We spoke of Genetic Algorithms and how evolutionary development (ontogenesis), while continuous, is punctuated. We particularly spoke of evolution at the social level and using a MMORPG as a breeding ground for social agents where player characters (controlled by humans, of course) provided the fitness score for these agents.
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Welcome!
We live in a very exciting time! Technological advancements continue to move forward at an increasing rate. If you read any decent amount of Verner Vinge or Ray Kurzweil, you'll come to understand the Law of Accelerating Returns. The idea is that every innovation feeds the engine of change causing it to move at a rate that increases over time. These gentlemen assert that the speed at which change accelerates is not linear, but exponential. It is thought, then, that we live at the bend in the curve just waiting for that near vertical take-off. What will happen then? Will it be change for the positive? For it to be so, we have to set the precedents now. History has shown that technology will be used for maleficent purposes. We must learn from this and work towards infusing our research with ethics.
