Ito: Think twice about immortality and the singularity

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The director of the MIT Media Lab said sci-fi visions of computers and humans emphasize the wrong priorities for development. Technological progress should aim for resilience, not efficiency.

MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

Ray Kurzweil's vision of the "singularity" -- when nanobots make humans immortal and computer progress is so fast that the future becomes profoundly unknowable -- is a bad idea.

That's the perhaps surprisingly contrary opinion of Joichi Ito, who as a high-tech investor and director of the MIT Media Lab might be expected to be a natural ally. The lab, after all, aims to be at the center of today's technology revolution.

Ito, speaking today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he believes the singularity vision puts the wrong priorities first.

"I'm on the other side of the singularity guys. I don't think immortality is a good thing," Ito said. People who think about maximizing efficiency "don't think about the ecological, social-network effects. In the future, every science invention we do should be at least neutral," and preferably positive.

"When you introduce immortality, you have to think about what does it do to the system. At the Media Lab, our design principle is not to make the world more efficient, but making the system more resilient, more robust."

Ito called for a radically restructured educational system, too.

"You're training kids to become obedient members of a mass-production society," he said. "But as there's more and more automation, you want people to be more and more creative," like kindergarten when children spend more time playing around, exploring, and teaching each other.

Tests today judge kids in a computer-free testing environment completely unrelated to what's in the real world.

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Ito: Think twice about immortality and the singularity

Guns, Debt, and Climate Change Give Obama Shot at Immortality

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Gun violence, climate change, and $16 trillion in U.S. debt are major issues of life and death that give President Obama the opportunity to become a truly transformational president. Pity his legacy if Obama fails, or fails to try.

Today's headlines reflect the high risk and reward of striving: Vice President Joe Biden is meeting with the gun-rights lobby in the quest for a post-Newtown solution to American-on-American massacres; 2012 was the hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous United States; and dysfunctional Washington is no closer to a responsible budget deal that requires sacrifice from all voters, including the middle class.

These are the kind of problems that, when fixed, get presidential faces carved in granite. If he's willing to adjust his leadership habits (more on that later), Obama has a shot at immortality.

First, the political landscape is ripe for bold ideas and big change:The public is overwhelmingly discontented with the direction the country is headed, and is craving outside-the-box leadership. In times of tumult, voters are likely to forgive a president, if not reward him, for compromises made in service of solutions. And if Americans can ever again be summoned to a spirit of shared sacrifice, this would be that moment.

Second, polls show a majority of voters want Washington to address guns, debt, and the climate. True, there's no easy agreement on exactly how to solve the problems, but events of the past few weeks have at least galvanized the country behind the need for answers.

Finally, Obama has the post-partisan, pragmatic instincts (not to mention a sense of history) to pull it off. The fact that he didn't live up to his potential in a first term doesn't mean he won't in a second.

"He has a rare opportunity to make a real mark," said John Baick, professor of history at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass.

Gun control has been off-limits since the 1994 and 2000 elections, both Democratic defeats that were partly blamed on President Clinton's efforts to impose modest regulations on guns. Since then, Obama's party has grown less wary of gun control, as moderate Democrats from pro-gun states lost congressional sway. The wave of mass shootings, particularly the December slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., gives Obama the opportunity to test the public's appetite for gun legislation.

A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted after the Newtown shootings suggests that Americans overwhelmingly favor banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips and requiring background checks at guns shows. Most want laws governing the sale of guns to be more strict.

Banning semiautomatic guns known as assault rifles is favored by a minority of voters, just 44 percent, making it a test of Obama's ambition: The way to leave his mark on the guns issue is to support an assault-weapons ban and use the bully pulpit to shift polls in favor of it.

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Guns, Debt, and Climate Change Give Obama Shot at Immortality

Immortality Status in Kids’ Mystery Novels – Video

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Immortality Status in Kids #39; Mystery Novels
We see it in Nancy Drew and Scooby Doo, and pretty much every other kid-friendly crime fiction: the protagonists can do really stupid things without dying. Even Enid Blyton #39;s The Rat-a-Tat Mystery, which is a pretty good book, isn #39;t immune to this tendency.

By: Rusty and Rachel Ad

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Immortality Status in Kids' Mystery Novels - Video

Mr Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista (2011) Official Trailer #1 – Documentary Movie HD – Video

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Mr Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista (2011) Official Trailer #1 - Documentary Movie HD
Subscribe to TRAILERS: bit.ly Subscribe to COMING SOON: bit.ly Like us on FACEBOOK: goo.gl Mr Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista (2011) Official Trailer #1 - Documentary Movie HD Get front row access to the life of a Hip Hop Superstar - Twista, as he readies his highly anticipated new album and navigates us through his hometown of Chicago, where murder rates continue to rise. Cast: Director: Vlad Yudin Producer: Twista Rawle Stewart Vlad Yudin Ed Mejia Writer: Editor: Cinematographer: Brandon Riley Composer: "Mr Immortality trailer hd" "mr immortality twista" "twista rapper" "twista documentary movie" "twista chicago" chicago "rap documentary" "hip hop doc" "hip hop documentary" ne-yo usher 2pac "kanye west" "jay z" HD 2011 zedison movieclips movieclipstrailers movieclips movieclipsDOTcom movieclipscomingsoon

By: oldhollywoodtrailers

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Mr Immortality: The Life and Times of Twista (2011) Official Trailer #1 - Documentary Movie HD - Video

Citizens For Immortality Podcast – Video

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Citizens For Immortality Podcast
We are Citizens for Immortality. What has the government been hiding? How can you help us find out? Like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter @ImmortalCitizen. In this Podcast we explore the meaning of life, and why people want to live forever. Listen our entire backstory at Citizens for Immortality on youtube. Remember, only you can help deunk the myth that is death!

By: Sami Sota

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Citizens For Immortality Podcast - Video

MORTAL MANS JOURNEY TO GOD HOOD AND IMMORTALITY – Video

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MORTAL MANS JOURNEY TO GOD HOOD AND IMMORTALITY
Little Hajj El #39;Shabazz Explain That MORTAL MANS is on A JOURNEY TO GOD HOOD AND IMMORTALITY TURNING FROM A MORTAL MAN TO A IMMORTAL GOD DEATH IS A MUST THESE DECAYING BODIES CANT ENTER TO KINGDOM OF GOD WHY BCUZ GODS KINGDOM IS FOR IMMORTAL SPIRITUAL BEINGS NOT MORTAL HUMANS SO JUMP FOR JOY LOOK FOR DEATH NOW THT U KNOW WHATS TOO COME

By: Smiley Chatt

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MORTAL MANS JOURNEY TO GOD HOOD AND IMMORTALITY - Video

Atheist Experience #343- Death and Dying, Immortality – Video

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Atheist Experience #343- Death and Dying, Immortality
If you have any questions about atheism, please email me at ggatheist@gmail.com. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin. The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.

By: goodguyatheist

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Atheist Experience #343- Death and Dying, Immortality - Video

IC-2 with Gwenelan [Price of Immortality] – Video

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IC-2 with Gwenelan [Price of Immortality]
This is my second I #1057; with Gwenelan (her video here: http://www.youtube.com At this time the rules were a bit different: the music - the same for both, the video - everyone chooses by own preferences, time of creation the clip - in total, it took five hours (the intro and credits - not included). But the main condition - we worked absolutely at one and the same time. Enjoy 🙂

By: yulialan

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IC-2 with Gwenelan [Price of Immortality] - Video