CCR 067: The Artilect War with Dr. Hugo de Garis

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE is already here. But how will the singularity, or the point at which machines achieve sentience be received by humanity? In this episode, Basil and Gonz are joined by Professor Hugo  de Garis, author of the very fascinating book entitled The Artilect War: Cosmists vs. Terrans: A Bitter Controversy Concerning Whether Humanity Should Build Godlike Massively Intelligent Machines. Professor de Garis speculates that the major political clash of the 21st century will be between what he calls the Cosmists, who touts we should pursue creating godlike machines, and the Terrans, who touts this will lead to the destruction of mankind. While discussions about the potential of massively intelligent machines is currently reserved for the few, with movies like ‘Transcendance’ starring Johnny Depp hitting theatres, Professor Hugo de Garis believes that we are on the cusp of this topic hitting the mainstream. Currently, there are no clear lines drawn in the sand between Cosmists, Terrans, and even Cyborgians, yet it is impossible to deny that the seeds of the theories presented by Hugo de Garis are well watered and ready to sprout.

In this discussion, Basil and Gonz also dive deep into a discussion of the metaphysical properties theorized by Professor de Garis which led him to open up to the possibility of deism being true. While reductionist materialism has ruled the mainstream scientific and scholastic milieu, Hugo de Garis believes that science is reaching a point at which the distance between the spiritual or religious worldview and the scientific worldview are drawing ever closer. In fact, in conjunction to the Artilect War, de Garis believes that what the Cosmists are pursuing will eventually become an endeavour of religious fervor, and a necessary step in the evolution of mankind.

Professor hugo de Garis is an Australian native and a researcher in the subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) known as evolvable hardware. He became known in the 1990s for his research on the use of genetic algorithms to evolve neural networks using three-dimensional cellular automata inside field programmable gate arrays. He claimed that this approach would enable the creation of what he terms “artificial brains” which would quickly surpass human levels of intelligence. He has a PhD from Brussels University, Belgium author of 2 books. including “Multis and Monos : What the Multicultured Can Teach the Monocultured : Towards the Growth of a Global Stateâ€Â and “The Artilect War : Cosmists vs. Terrans : A Bitter Controversy Concerning Whether Humanity Should Build Godlike Massively Intelligent Machines”

LINKS

Dr. Hugo de Garis’ Website Click HERE (http://profhugodegaris.wordpress.com/)

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