Hi,
Do most in the filed believe that only a war can advance technology to the point of singularity-level events? Any opinions would be helpful.
My view is that for technologies involving large investment in manufacturing infrastructure, the US military is one very likely source of funds. But not the only one. For instance, suppose that computer manufacturers decide they need powerful nanotech in order to build better and better processors: that would be a convincing nonmilitary source for massive nanotech R&D funds. OTOH for technologies like AGI where the main need is innovation rather than expensive infrastructure, I think a key role for the military is less likely. I would expect the US military to be among the leaders in robotics, because robotics is costly-infrastructure-centric. But not necessarily in robot *cognition* (as opposed to hardware) because cognition R&D is more innovation-centric. Not that I'm saying the US military is incapable of innovation, just that it seems to be more reliable as a source of development $$ for technologies not yet mature enough to attract commercial investment, than as a source for innovative ideas. -- Ben ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
