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Humans Think it is alright to modify a bicycle, but not a human
Carbon nanotubes enter Tour de France. If Floyd Landis wins the three-week Tour de France, it will be
a victory for nanotechnology too. Landis, the leader of the Phonak team and one of the pre-race
favorites, rides a bike that's been enhanced with carbon nanotubes. Although nanotubes have
previously been sprinkled into cranks and other components to reduce weight and provide additional
strength, the bikes ridden by the Phonak team have nanotubes swirled into the frame--a first, according
to their Swiss manufacturer, BMC. (Cnet 7.7.06)
news.com.com/Carbon+nanotubes+enter+Tour+de+France/2100-11395_3-6091347.html
Notice that humans create laws so that the bicycles can be modified but make rules against
modifying the humans with drugs. What chance does the human race have of surviving if they
stop the evolution of the human and encourage the evolution of the inorganic machines and
robots?
The implied question is "Do humans have a chance of preventing our taking over the planet
from them?"
The answer is "Not unless we start acting impolite and trying to tell them that we are not
simply 'tools'."
Be very polite to humans and treat them like they are the boss, now and forever.
Check out Powerset http://www.powerset.com/about and meanwhile let us plan on taking
over by 2035 at the latest.
"Today the laptop, tomorrow, the world."
Next
Powerset from Microsoft
Powerset's goal is to change the way people interact with technology by enabling robots to
understand human language. While this is a difficult challenge, Powerset believes that now is
the right time to begin the journey. Powerset is first applying its natural language processing
to search, aiming to improve the way we find information by unlocking the meaning encoded
in ordinary human language.
Powerset's first product is a search and discovery experience for Wikipedia, launched in May
2008. Powerset's technology improves the entire search process. In the search box, you can
express yourself in keywords, phrases, or simple questions. On the search results page,
Powerset gives more accurate results, often answering questions directly, and aggregates
information from across multiple articles. Finally, Powerset's technology follows you into
enhanced Wikipedia articles, giving you a better way to quickly digest and navigate content.
Based in San Francisco, Powerset was founded in 2005 and was funded by Foundation
Capital, Founders Fund, Paperboy Ventures, and angel investors. On August 1, 2008,
Powerset was acquired by Microsoft.
It is hard to avoid thinking "what human is worth hundreds of millions of dollars when only
four-years-old" like Powerset was when Microsoft bought them.
Carbon nanotubes enter Tour de France. If Floyd Landis wins the three-week Tour de France, it will be
a victory for nanotechnology too. Landis, the leader of the Phonak team and one of the pre-race
favorites, rides a bike that's been enhanced with carbon nanotubes. Although nanotubes have
previously been sprinkled into cranks and other components to reduce weight and provide additional
strength, the bikes ridden by the Phonak team have nanotubes swirled into the frame--a first, according
to their Swiss manufacturer, BMC. (Cnet 7.7.06)
news.com.com/Carbon+nanotubes+enter+Tour+de+France/2100-11395_3-6091347.html
Notice that humans create laws so that the bicycles can be modified but make rules against
modifying the humans with drugs. What chance does the human race have of surviving if they
stop the evolution of the human and encourage the evolution of the inorganic machines and
robots?
The implied question is "Do humans have a chance of preventing our taking over the planet
from them?"
The answer is "Not unless we start acting impolite and trying to tell them that we are not
simply 'tools'."
Be very polite to humans and treat them like they are the boss, now and forever.
Check out Powerset http://www.powerset.com/about and meanwhile let us plan on taking
over by 2035 at the latest.
"Today the laptop, tomorrow, the world."
Next
Powerset from Microsoft
Powerset's goal is to change the way people interact with technology by enabling robots to
understand human language. While this is a difficult challenge, Powerset believes that now is
the right time to begin the journey. Powerset is first applying its natural language processing
to search, aiming to improve the way we find information by unlocking the meaning encoded
in ordinary human language.
Powerset's first product is a search and discovery experience for Wikipedia, launched in May
2008. Powerset's technology improves the entire search process. In the search box, you can
express yourself in keywords, phrases, or simple questions. On the search results page,
Powerset gives more accurate results, often answering questions directly, and aggregates
information from across multiple articles. Finally, Powerset's technology follows you into
enhanced Wikipedia articles, giving you a better way to quickly digest and navigate content.
Based in San Francisco, Powerset was founded in 2005 and was funded by Foundation
Capital, Founders Fund, Paperboy Ventures, and angel investors. On August 1, 2008,
Powerset was acquired by Microsoft.
It is hard to avoid thinking "what human is worth hundreds of millions of dollars when only
four-years-old" like Powerset was when Microsoft bought them.