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The Singularity Is Already Here

The human machine in action. Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

The Singularity Is Already Here

November 30, 2012 • Will machines over take us, as futurists and writers of science fiction like to think? Not to worry, says commentator Alva Noë. They already have. We are the singularity.

Embracing Your Inner Robot: A Singular Vision Of The Future

"Child-robot with Biomimetic Body" (or CB2) at Osaka University in Japan in 2009, where the android was slowly developing social skills by interacting with humans and watching their facial expressions, mimicking a mother-baby relationship. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Embracing Your Inner Robot: A Singular Vision Of The Future

November 14, 2012 • Human-machine integration looms on the horizon, with a promise to redefine who we are as people. Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil is an apostle of the coming Singularity, a time when it is envisioned that technology will advance to the point that life is redefined as something other than what we know and experience today.

When (Alien) Gods Err

Michael Fassbender plays a replicant in Ridley Scott's Prometheus. Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

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Twentieth Century Fox

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

When (Alien) Gods Err

June 13, 2012 • Ridley Scott's movie Prometheus makes us wonder about the benefits and risks of trying to artificially create life and intelligence in our labs. Could our creations destroy us?

Can 'Hackstability' Save Civilization?

Nigel Treblin/AFP/Getty Images

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Can 'Hackstability' Save Civilization?

April 24, 2012 • Between the techno-utopia of AI singularities of and apocalyptic environmental collapse there just might exist the relative equilibrium of "hackstability."

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

Assimilation: Siri And Your Life With The Machines

January 17, 2012 • Now we have taken another step into making our machine fantasies a reality. It is, literally, impossible to know how things will turn out. But we should at least be cognizant of the corners we turn.

Blog Of The Nation

The Future: Sans Blades, Pulses, Typing

June 15, 2011 • I am officially overwhelmed by the future. First, I discovered bladeless fans. Next, I heard the Morning Edition story about the pulseless artificial heart. And now, two new Google features: "Search Out Loud" and "Search by Image."

IBM's Watson: A Hard Case

Watson: Rooted in place AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

IBM's Watson: A Hard Case

February 18, 2011 • The IBM Jeopardy challenge has been billed as Man v Machine. IBM has done a lovely job using this storyline to hype its stupendous technology. But in fact, that's never been the real story.

Opinion

13.7: Cosmos And Culture

When Robots Attack: New Mythologies For A New Age

February 15, 2011 • They say there are no new stories to tell. They are wrong. There is a drama being played out between humans and our machine creations whose final script is yet to be written.

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