Apr 22 2011: I think this worry could be applied to any scientific or technological progress of any kind - and given the amazing success of SCIENCE and TECH as they get more and more complicated, your worries are completely unfounded.
Computers, more complicated over time? Yes. But we learn how to work with them and create and fix them at the same pace, so they have become a crucial part of your life every day and have taken many tasks away that people like you probably fretted about to begin with.
here are some amazingly important tasks done by technology that has gotten "more and more complicated" over time,off the top of my head:
Commercial Jet Autopilot
Power Plant Management systems
Guided missiles
Computer Security
Is your concern that introducing the biological aspect will create this "less than 100%" control? By the time they figure out HOW this technology works and how to implement it (it won't be that soon) they will be a lot closer to 100% by necessity - in other words for the Singularity to work we will certainly have to be much closer to 100% knowledge of both the biological and technical aspect.
As they get closer to mapping the brain, the proteome etc I think the first opportunities for transhumanism will show themselves as the simplest places that we understand the most and we will work from there.
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A comment on Conversation: Aren't transhumanists committing the Jurassic Park fallacy?
Computers, more complicated over time? Yes. But we learn how to work with them and create and fix them at the same pace, so they have become a crucial part of your life every day and have taken many tasks away that people like you probably fretted about to begin with.
here are some amazingly important tasks done by technology that has gotten "more and more complicated" over time,off the top of my head:
Commercial Jet Autopilot
Power Plant Management systems
Guided missiles
Computer Security
Is your concern that introducing the biological aspect will create this "less than 100%" control? By the time they figure out HOW this technology works and how to implement it (it won't be that soon) they will be a lot closer to 100% by necessity - in other words for the Singularity to work we will certainly have to be much closer to 100% knowledge of both the biological and technical aspect.
As they get closer to mapping the brain, the proteome etc I think the first opportunities for transhumanism will show themselves as the simplest places that we understand the most and we will work from there.