Making the universe wake up

With the way technology is accelerating, at least according to Ray Kurzweil, it's obvious that mankind and its machine/cyborg counterparts will be able to do some pretty cool things. We might even be able to obtain some sort of immortality. But would it be true immortality? I mean, the universe itself is going to eventually fizzle out and die, right? At least, assuming no artificial intervention?

Kurzweil predicts that, after the singularity, human/machine civilization will ultimately spread out to the rest of the universe at the speed of light, convert all "dumb" matter into computational substrates. He predicts that this hyperintelligent civilization will be able to circumvent or even change the laws of physics, thermodynamics, etc. Essentially, he predicts that human civilization will eventually make the universe "wake up" and prevent its demise, whether it's through heat death or a "Big rip". Do you think his predictions hold any water?

 

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The question is whether or not the idea of a technological singularity holds any water, and I don't think that it does, mostly for the reason that I think that technological progress will eventually slow down to a crawl once it reaches a certain critical point. At that time, technological breakthroughs will still occur, but not nearly as often, and they will be less relatively significant. Remember that exponential growth itself is not an indicator that such growth will necessarily continue indefinitely, and certainly not to a point where it is effectively infinite.

One of the reasons that I am mostly convinced of this is because technological progress is linked to scientific progress. The reason for the leaps and bounds that have been made in the last century or so is because low hanging fruit is the easiest to pick. Further progress is going to require much more time and effort.

 

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I used to think it was a compelling idea, but now I think it's unrealistic. The exponential extrapolation from existing trends is not an accurate way to predict things. Real events are more complex. I feel that we will run into a dynamic of diminishing returns from technology. Scientific progress depends on a society of high energy inputs. I have doubts about our ability to use technology to replace energy losses as the supply of fossil solar energy reaches it's peak. It seems to be a very narrow window of escape.

 

Its prolly alredy hapened :shrug:

 

But assume there were no social or economic constraints. Theoretically speaking, would it be possible for a civilization to be so technologically advanced that it could either change or circumvent the laws of physics in order to prevent the death of the universe? Could they, for example, stop the expansion of the universe, find a way to create new energy (thereby violating the law of conservation of energy), or circumvent the second law of thermodynamics. Could they also theoretically escape into either a basement universe or a parallel universe using a wormhole?

I mean, is it really right for us to say those things are impossible given how little we know?

 

But it's it unrealistic to say that there will be no social or economic contraints? What if most people don't care about the death of the universe? It's highly unlikely our species will even last beyond the life of our sun.

 

You would have thought that immortality, combined with time travel - surely an inevitability given endless technological progress and the ability to change the laws of physics - would find our local space crawling with travellers from the future. There doesn't, however, seem to be any.

 

Maybe we truly are alone in the universe then?

 

I mean, is it really righ tfor us to say those things are at all possible given how little we know?

The great thing about human immagination is there are virtually no limits except for maybe time constraints.

Personaly I like thinking anything is possible its more freeing...even if it is all in my head.

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But isn't it possible that such evidence already does exist yet we haven't found it yet? Remember, our intelligence is like that of slugs compared to the type of intelligence that will be prevalent in a century. Isn't it a bit solipsistic to think that we know ANYTHING about the universe? Couldn't sufficiently advanced technology make what we consider impossible possible?

 

Such stuff is fun to speculate but what practical value is it.???

 

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Yeah, people were sooo dumb in 1910: couldn't even stand up and breathe at the same time.

 

You're not thinking exponentially. The last 100 years may not seem like much, but that's because exponential functions don't grow much at low values. For example exp(100) << exp(200).

So, yes, the civilization of 100 years from now will be as advanced compared to ours as ours is to people who couldn't "stand up and breathe at the same time". Thus, it's foolish to think that ANYTHING we know about the universe holds any kind of water. It's like giving credence to a five-year-old's theories about where babies come from.

 

No, but I am thinking.

Please re-read your own post:

What indication is there (any at all, please) that intelligence is increasing exponentially?

Really?
Any evidence of that?

 

I don't think intelligence is increasing as a whole. But it is obvious that there are many more people who have had a lot of schooling. That makes them productive in researching, and furthering technology.

I think technology will keep increasing exponentially, because of this.