I have worked with computers since 1978 so what have I missed:)

Have you not noticed that a computer that can fit in your pocket is still millions of times faster than the big ones in 1978?

Of course:) So what?
But its still the same basics. Nothings changed with software.
A lot of so called languages to 'help' developers.
Doesn't help without a specifikation to describe what the machine shall do.
Without proper software a computer is useless no matter how fast the computer is.

A recent example is what happend to SETI web server today!
A 5 minute problem took several hours to fix.
A VERY simple problem. And that is Berkley.
It was however a human error. A simple mistake.
Been there. Done that. Skit happens.

Fast and failures its called here.

Or do you have specification for how to build a mechanical brain?
Dont think so. Nobody has.

Like Julie just said. They have no soul.
What a boring World.

Well yeah, but we don't need to build an exact replica of the human brain. All we need is the bit that gives it self awareness and intelligence. Granted, not an easy task, but given the extremely big leaps we made in the fields of computing and artificial intelligence of the past few decades and Im confident that it wont take more than a few more decades before we have self aware, hyper intelligent computers.

Is Awareness, ability to Feel Love, Hate, Joy & Sadness: Just 'Computing Power'?

+1
Sort of:)
But we dont know how it works.

A lot of Chemistry is involved as well.
Very complex and we dont know how that works either.

It's sold on E-Bay or on Overstocks.com.

May I recommend a basic book on Macro-economics. Capital is created by production. Capital is spent on consumption. The excess of revenue vs cost-to-produce is available to create more capital.

The car you drive is an expert system and is becoming more so with each new model year.

Does anyone remember the 'Manual' Choke and 'Vacuum' Windshield Wipers?

Those are nothing, how about the old timing lever and crank handle with manual hand wipers?

Cheers.

The car you drive is an expert system and is becoming more so with each new model year.

I'll call it an expert system when my car drives me.
I don't consider not having to pull out the choke to start my car much of an expert system.

Are you an 'Old Timer' like me?

Does anyone remember the 'Manual' Choke and 'Vacuum' Windshield Wipers?

I'm a 'semi-old timer' and I still drive a manual choke. I refuse to buy a smartphone and flat screen TV as well.

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Old timer here 8 track tape players , manual choke, indicators where your hands or a little thing that pop out and blinked ,remember the Morris Minor

Julie i can understand a smart phone (dogtag) but a flat screen T.V !! You don't know what you missing having a big screen and for old timers with bad eye sight there the best thing since sliced bread

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A computer brain is not as far away as people think . There letting the computers work out for them self's the programming . Google Big Blue and you will get a idea of how it is being done .

I.B.M built it to play Jeopardy and it beat the best humans at the game and it's the hardest game for a computer to learn and play yet it still beat the best humans so it's not that far away maybe 20-30 yrs

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Is Awareness, ability to Feel Love, Hate, Joy & Sadness: Just 'Computing Power'?

I believe awareness is an emergent property of our brain. Its not just raw computing power of course, its also the way the different software components interact with each other. But it is definitely something we can recreate in the not so distant future.

Should we make them is another question .!

A basic income is something we may not have to worry about .

Terminator , I robot !!

Just because we can does not mean we should !

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+1
Sort of:)
But we dont know how it works.

A lot of Chemistry is involved as well.
Very complex and we dont know how that works either.

Ehm no, we kinda do know how the whole chemistry in your brain works. From how many neurotransmitters there are, to how they work, we got that figured out.
What we need though, is a way of translating this decisively analog method into computer software. Which again, is just an engineering problem.

Should we make them is another question .!

A basic income is something we may not have to worry about .

Terminator , I robot !!

Just because we can does not mean we should !

Now why would an intelligent computer system want to kill all life? Why would we even build a computer system that can make that decision and give it the possibility of killing all life?

Its a premise that looks nice in the movies, but in non of those cases does it properly explain why it happens.

Should we proceed with caution? Of course, but we should ALWAYS proceed with caution.

Is Awareness, ability to Feel Love, Hate, Joy & Sadness: Just 'Computing Power'?

I believe awareness is an emergent property of our brain. Its not just raw computing power of course, its also the way the different software components interact with each other. But it is definitely something we can recreate in the not so distant future.

You're scaring me Michiel...

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Now why would an intelligent computer system want to kill all life? Why would we even build a computer system that can make that decision and give it the possibility of killing all life?

I don't think it would kill all life , just us humans . If it can think and is self aware then it will ask the question . Are humans good or bad for the earth and other creatures . I would not be surprised if it came up with the answer that we are a virus or plague on the Earth and take us all out so it can rebuild and look after the earth for all the other creatures on it .

get rid of us and the rest of the animal world will be ok and so will the Earth .
Don't get rid of us and the Earth and all the creatures on it may be doomed .

Those type of movies do explain very well why it may just happen like Terminator . Maybe if something like Transcendence happens it mite be a different thing .

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It's sold on E-Bay or on Overstocks.com.

May I recommend a basic book on Macro-economics. Capital is created by production. Capital is spent on consumption. The excess of revenue vs cost-to-produce is available to create more capital.

Alright, time for some econ 101.

Capital = machines, buildings, literally everything you need to process raw materials into finished products.

Labor = the people working the capital.

Consumption = the act of consumers spending money to get your product.

Production = the actual act of transforming raw materials into finished goods.

Now if I am to believe you, by the act of production I create capital? Well thats an idiotic statement for two reasons. First of all, if I dont have capital to begin with, I cannot actually produce anything. Secondly, even if I did have the means to produce, why would I use my factory to make another factory or more machines for my own factory? If I make stuff for myself, I do not sell it, if I do not sell it I make no money and therefor no profit.

It is true that I spend capital on consumption, but not in the way you mean. If Im setting up a factory, I probably start out with a huge pile of cash but not with a factory building or machines, so I spend that money at other places to get those machines and buy that factory building. Technically that is consumption but not for me, it consumption for the people that build factories and factory machines. For me that is transforming capital into capital. Turning money into machines so I can begin production. Of course, my clients do spend their capital on buying my products.

That leads us to our final statement which is the only statement that is correct.

I don't think it would kill all life , just us humans . If it can think and is self aware then it will ask the question . Are humans good or bad for the earth and other creatures . I would not be surprised if it came up with the answer that we are a virus or plague on the Earth and take us all out so it can rebuild and look after the earth for all the other creatures on it .

get rid of us and the rest of the animal world will be ok and so will the Earth .
Don't get rid of us and the Earth and all the creatures on it may be doomed .

Those type of movies do explain very well why it may just happen like Terminator . Maybe if something like Transcendence happens it mite be a different thing .

By extension that logic would lead the computer to kill itself as its a product made by us. Furthermore, its an extremely dumb way of reasoning. I would hope that a smart computer would have some ethics subroutine build in to prevent it from making such a callous cost-benefit calculation.

Even so, even if it did not, why would that computer automatically kill us all? Its only dangerous if you hook that computer up to the nuclear launch facilities and give it the ability to fire off the entire nuclear arsenal. without any human intervention. Which is generally the biggest plot hole in all those terminator movies. Who is the idiot that hooked all the nuclear launch facilities to the freaking internet so a semi smart computer can decide to wipe out all life?

+1
Sort of:)
But we dont know how it works.

A lot of Chemistry is involved as well.
Very complex and we dont know how that works either.

Ehm no, we kinda do know how the whole chemistry in your brain works. From how many neurotransmitters there are, to how they work, we got that figured out.
What we need though, is a way of translating this decisively analog method into computer software. Which again, is just an engineering problem.

Just an engineering problem?
Where are all those engineers capable doing such intelligent Machines?
Have anybody seen such machines?
Are humans intelligent?
We are spoiling and over-exploiting our only planet.
How intelligent is that?

Mike in your logic all robots will become smarter than humans.
Maybe so smart that they will feed endangered spieces with humans:(

Just an engineering problem?
Where are all those engineers capable doing such intelligent Machines?
Have anybody seen such machines?

Just because they haven't been build yet doesn't mean they won't be build in the future. But if you wanna know, all those engineers are working at IBM and Google. Which is where they are building those machines as well.

Are humans intelligent?
We are spoiling and over-exploiting our only planet.
How intelligent is that?

Hmm you are talking about wisdom, not intelligence. We are highly intelligent, but as a species we are not very wise.

Mike in your logic all robots will become smarter than humans.
Maybe so smart that they will feed endangered spieces with humans:(

Indeed, they will become smarter than humans but that really shouldn't be such a surprise. They consist of superior hardware, of course they will be smarter. And yes, maybe they will feed us to endangered species. Or maybe they help us restore the endangered species back to more sustainable levels. Without using us as food.

If a computer has free will it won't have subroutines as that would mean it does not have free will and being a computer that is much quicker than us it would be able to work out how to connect itself up to the net anyway . And i'm shore it would not need all them nukes . Just turning the power off , opening the flood gates at dams , will go a long way to causing a lot of people to die , and if it is self aware who's to say that it doesn't take itself out with us useing your logic.

Get rid of man and his machines and the whole world will still be here and the Earth will repair itself . If a computer is self aware you can bet it will take all that into it's thinking and even if it did decide to use nukes the Earth will survive and repair it's self animals will come back and it would relizes this and take us out .
You didn't watch I robot well then did you as it had to obey Asimov's 3 laws of Robotics but still killed his maker

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Here is a nice robot called Asimo:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skXYr8BzjpM
Not so intilligent though