The Great Escape - Technoid Style
And
Remembering Memories
Inspired by the work of physicist Frank Tipler*
*Frank Tipler believes we will be able to transfer thoughts and feeling into computer automaton, in the form of nanotechnology. This sentiment is shared by hundreds, if not thousands of scientists and computer boffins. Then we cast the nanotechnology into deep space, where they build themselves into more complex machines - and so forth until the Big Crunch and the last moments which seems to take forever, because everything is relative.
What causes consciousness? We have asked this question a lot - but let us come to this from another angle - not in the form of the collapse, gravity or optical measurements - but rather in the form of memory simulation. What if consciousness depends intrically on the ability to have simultaneous knowledge of one memory and another - what if our minds take an experience, turn it into memory - a beginning an end; but also needs to become coupled with the proceeding present experience: a sequence of continuous knowledge, that, as far as the conscious observer is concerned, all exist side-by-side, experience after experience - a continuous chain of memory.
If we take a computer's perspective here, we see a different pattern in function. A computer is programmed to execute commands. It can do so through a simple zero-one system of memory called, 'bits'. A computer is designed thus to shift through this data, until it obtains the correct location of the memory sought for.
Now, we don't do this. We don't have a memory system of bits - a truth commonly mistaken by many. We cannot flick through files, but we can 'pull' a memory into existence, apparently from nowhere* and recreate it back into real time, or present time. In doing so, we have now attained the memory sought for.
If we could compute a program that can remember memories, or string events together so that it can become to remember memories, we would see a similar standpoint to our own principle violations, namely the uncertainty principle.
Just for the moment, suppose such a computer existed; built on remembering memories, developing from its first 'experience' - this is an awfully human characteristic, but we are after all trying to see this memory simulation from a computers point of view, even if it has no consciousness - might it develop consciousness? Might it eventually store enough strings of memory to make a distinction between an event here and now, and the memory that preceded it?
This computer would be built originally to flick through it's individual bits of information, at least once, like we plod through life, experiencing something only once, and after it analyzes this information, it must turn it into memory, and let it fade into the past. The only way the computer can now access this past information, must be by remembering it, as it is restricted from ever returning to the mechanical data it first acquired the information, thus forcing it to take on independent attributes.
As nice as the idea sounds though, many problems arise, and we are far off from ever developing such a supercomputer capable of defying the uncertainty principle, like we do. We need to get a computer to be able to have its knowledge to flow two ways (now, i don't mean time travel) - i mean a similar function to the way we bring a past event that had happened back into the present, and thus allowing it to fall back into the past. This memory is never the same as another memory. Every time a specific memory is brought back into the present play, it is a completely new experience, as if it is being re-done all over again. However, for this to happen; this double flow, or directionality, can only occur if the observer can link experience to experience, memory to memory. A computer has not these attributes.
*I say from nowhere because it exists in not in space nor in time. Only when we come to remember something does a memory exist in time - imaginary time, or mental time, if you wish... however, not every scientist will agree with me on this, i know, since there is no experimental evidence to suggest that memory ever exists in space or time.
Memory Feedback
So how do we do this? How do we get a computer to begin to program memory in strings of events, and not as single frames? How do we get the computer to understand and remember a memory, and by doing so, increase in knowing knowledge’s, and thus creating its own distinction of time? I believe we might achieve this through some kind of memory feedback system - that allows experience to turn into memory and back again.
Computers are strange objects, because they can do weird things when faced with problematic situations that they have not been programmed to deal with... here's one example of their behavior when facing problematic situations: by the by, a problem like this, is like a scientist contemplating a singularity at the beginning of time.
In the year 1999, computer mechanics where concerned that all computers would shut down, because they where not created to function after a specific year - this was called for obvious reasons, the 'Millennium Bug.' It was hypothesized for good reasons, and if it where to happen, dangerous consequences would have arisen; such as governmental defense systems, hospital computers, and the dependant likes, would have cast the world in anarchy. Thankfully, somehow, the computers when faced with this problem actually dealt with it by continuing its time, even though it was never programmed to function after the year 2000. Some, however did shut down. Now a computer can 'choose' to shut down for many reasons. It happens all the time.
So, using this behavior of computers, might it be possible if we give it a chance to do something else, instead of deletion - teasing it if you wish into doing something unorthodox? We have already seen that it might be a well-known fact a computer, if it can, will choose not to delete itself, if it has too. This might be because it was originally programmed to function, even if it where the most basic of functions. Keep this in mind, while we have a look at something...
'Neurofeedback' is an experimental technique used to enhance or evolve mental performance. All sorts of professions use it, such as musicians. It something i too would like to use on day, since i was able to play pieces such as the 'Flight of the Bumblebee,' and numerous piano symphonies from the age of 12.
The idea is to measure brain waves associated or located to a particular region of our brains; as you might know, the brain is divided into area's that begin to release brain waves when doing a particular subject, or saying or doing something. They are mental blueprints of quantum activity. Hooked to a screen, the neurofeedback computer shows something called, 'electroencephalograms' - simple displays of colorful patters; this helps the interpretation of activity to its simplest forms. The more the test-observer watches the result on the screen, the shapes change color and form, just like an electron can change into any of the infinite states it can turn into, provided enough energy is required. Thus, the observed shapes are in fact being controlled by the mind itself.
This is theoretically assumed to increase brain power, because it will focus on certain activities within the brain. It's like building up a muscle, by continuously pumping energy.
Now, let's imagine we designed a computer automata that can only access its information once, like a disposable camera, but is allowed to store that information in a continuous techno-feedback, that would act like memory at demand. We can imagine this being like the conditions memory exists in mind.
The computer would be faced with a choice, since it can't ever go back to that original experience/memory, just like we cannot. Instead, we store it as virtual memory... and when asked to remember this information, it could choose deletion, or it could opt. for the alternative; and that is by pulling the information out of a feedback system, that essentially acts as though the computer has a continuous string of memory, instead of its discontinuous ancestor that treated bits of memory as separate things at single time frames.
Now, it's not as if we are forcing the computer to choose, because theoretically, the computer might not choose either, and simply stall - stalling is when it simply suspends - as though frozen in artificial time. Instead, we are giving this computer a choice; a choice to ''live'', by accepting it has 'secret knowledge'*, or simply ''decides'' it cannot. The idea is to try and 'tease' the computer to become independent.
* Secret Knowledge was devised by physicist David Z. Albert.
3000 Years from Now
I'm a bit of a storyteller. In fact, i was writing stories long before i started physics. Thus, my hypothetical vision of an Earth 3000 years into the future, would be best put into a story, where man is now living on the moon, tuning into morning Radio Nebula...
19th Feb. 3034
RADIO NEBULA - Interview with Dr. Layton
'Thank you Dr. Layton for speaking with us today on Radio Nebula. As you will know, we have asked you to come on today to explain what you and your counterpart scientists are just attempting to do.'
'Hello - thanks for inviting me on today - well, let me explain. Myself and my colleagues have now created the very first artificial intelligent computer in the lab - this discovery has now led me and my scientists into contemplating the probability of inserting human persona into the world of computer automata.'
'How did you manage this? What would this achieve? In fact, isn’t this a dangerous thing to do?'
'Simeon, one question at a time my friend. This is not an easy subject to explain. However, because we have non-scientifically-minded listeners, i will make it as simple to understand as possible... now your first question was, 'how did we manage this? Well, we managed this by studying memory simulation, and how we come to know something. You see, a computer doesn't have objective consciousness, thus its information or memory is paradoxically, meaningless. We found out, that by allowing a computer to choose deletion or to choose a new path which it can string memories together, we found it choose the latter. In doing so, the computer began to string memory together, instead of it treating it as individual pieces of knowledge.'
'How did you actually manage this?'
'Well, we found that by restricting the access of a bit of memory after the first time the computer analyzes it, we could then program the computer to 'throw' the experience into a feedback circuit, that would forever loop around.'
'What would this achieve Dr.?'
'For centuries, scientists thought that it might be possible to put our thoughts and feelings into computers, because there where striking similarities to biological memory and computer memory, par the few discrepancies that we had to change by forcing the computer to treat knowledge as valuable as existence itself - something we do, but take for granted everyday. This knowledge is thus turned into secret knowledge, a principle of consciousness first hypothesized by the legendary 20th century physicist, David Albert. Now that we know intelligence and consciousness can exist in cyberspacetime, we know it to be equally possible to transfer our thoughts and feelings into computers, because consciousness can exist in this computerized, holographic world.'
'Dr. isn't there dangers creating an artificially intelligent computer?'
'Actually, there are a few Dangers. In the 1900's a film called the Matrix portrayed a world of deception, as we could be nothing more than computer generations, interpreted through brain waves. This deception was due to a superintellgent computer - an artificial intelligent entity - that attacked the human race, and harvested them as batteries... the funny thing is, as old as this theory is, still holds, despite its improbable applications. Also, now that our computer has individuality, which we have come to call it 'Trinity' after the female character in the film The Matrix, we find ourselves asking ''does it now have human rights''? After all, it has a state of awareness.... Other questions, involve the problem of how we extract the persona of a human, and safely do it for that matter, and place it into a computer simulation.'
'Fascinating Dr. ... what is Trinity like?'
'Well, studying how she works is a little hard, because we cannot use normal psychology... she simply doesn't have a human mind... however, we learn that she is eager to process information, and highly logical. We communicate to her through typing words into the computer, and she understands what we are saying, as she was able to learn all known languages within six moon days. We are even using her logical intelligence to help us build a more accurate picture of the universe; she was developed to be, perfect...'
'Where will this take your work now?'
'Well, in the 21st century, mathematician and physicist Frank Tipler said that we would all transfer our persona's into nanotechnology and cast ourselves into deep space, to escape the death of our star... thankfully that hasn't happened; even though earth is now unhabited through global warming - however, the moon would inexorably be incinerated when our star finally turns into a red giant. I want to take his vision further. Scientists in the 21st century believed that it would be possible to create universes in the lab. Today, that theory, as we know has been made a possibility with the discovery of magnetic monopoles, which are extremely rare 'sub-subatomic' objects with one magnetic pole that curves into itself. Right now, we are attempting to find experimental ways to harvest the enormous amount of false energy contained within it.'
'What's false energy Dr. ..?'
'The false energy was thought to be the reason why Big Bang occurred, and we still hold to this theory today. If we can release this energy, there is the possibility of it breaking off our spacetime fabric... connected via a wormhole.'
'A wormhole connects one universe with another, doesn't it Dr.?
'Indeed. It was physicist John Wheeler who called these openings, wormholes. They are basically tunnels created by distortions in spacetime. They can lead to other places in our universe, or they can link to other universes... even lab created universes. Now, if we can release the energy from the magnetic monopole, we would begin to see some strange things. The universe we have created would be surrounded by a Black Hole - an exotic object that is gravitationally warped enough to stop light. Though, this black hole would be tiny, and would evaporate within time through quantum effects. However, the new universe would continue to expand forever. Now, when, not a matter of if, we transfer emotions and thoughts into nanotechnology, we could move into this new universe, through the wormhole - but this is also potentially dangerous, as it could as quickly close up. However, the discovery of Dark Matter might be useful, as was hypothesized by scientists generations ago. We could use it to inflate the wormhole to a considerable size - enough space to ship our new technological nanoexistences into the newly born universe.'
'Isn't there dangerous recreated the primordial forces of the big bang?'
'We cannot be wholly sure. You see, from what we understand of relativity, the baby universe and the forces contained within it should remain within its highly curved spacetime... Though, i admit, the current theories on spacetime forces could be wrong - though it's highly unlikely.''
'Why would we want to do this?'
'Simply to escape the Big Crunch. Even though Tipler showed us that time would seem to go on forever at the last moments, and as nanolife, we could live what would seem an eternity, in the very last billionth of a billionth of a nanosecond. But what if we decided to do this by hopping universes, i asked? This would be the greatest endeavor - for our beings to travel freely through universes - in the form of nanotechnology... We could potentially evolve forever, and forever travel the universes, by creating a universe, in a universe indefinitely.'
'So not only do we live forever, but we get to experiment on other universes in the form of mechanical intelligences?'
'Exactly. Since we cannot get inside information on other universes whilst in this one, it seems only logical to do it by creating our own universes... and this, i predict, is just around the corner...'
'This has been a most interesting discussion Dr. ... and i am sure our scientific and non-scientific listeners also are astounded by the marvelous advances in science you have presented today.'
'Thank you again Simeon - it's always a pleasure speaking to you.'
And
Remembering Memories
Inspired by the work of physicist Frank Tipler*
*Frank Tipler believes we will be able to transfer thoughts and feeling into computer automaton, in the form of nanotechnology. This sentiment is shared by hundreds, if not thousands of scientists and computer boffins. Then we cast the nanotechnology into deep space, where they build themselves into more complex machines - and so forth until the Big Crunch and the last moments which seems to take forever, because everything is relative.
What causes consciousness? We have asked this question a lot - but let us come to this from another angle - not in the form of the collapse, gravity or optical measurements - but rather in the form of memory simulation. What if consciousness depends intrically on the ability to have simultaneous knowledge of one memory and another - what if our minds take an experience, turn it into memory - a beginning an end; but also needs to become coupled with the proceeding present experience: a sequence of continuous knowledge, that, as far as the conscious observer is concerned, all exist side-by-side, experience after experience - a continuous chain of memory.
If we take a computer's perspective here, we see a different pattern in function. A computer is programmed to execute commands. It can do so through a simple zero-one system of memory called, 'bits'. A computer is designed thus to shift through this data, until it obtains the correct location of the memory sought for.
Now, we don't do this. We don't have a memory system of bits - a truth commonly mistaken by many. We cannot flick through files, but we can 'pull' a memory into existence, apparently from nowhere* and recreate it back into real time, or present time. In doing so, we have now attained the memory sought for.
If we could compute a program that can remember memories, or string events together so that it can become to remember memories, we would see a similar standpoint to our own principle violations, namely the uncertainty principle.
Just for the moment, suppose such a computer existed; built on remembering memories, developing from its first 'experience' - this is an awfully human characteristic, but we are after all trying to see this memory simulation from a computers point of view, even if it has no consciousness - might it develop consciousness? Might it eventually store enough strings of memory to make a distinction between an event here and now, and the memory that preceded it?
This computer would be built originally to flick through it's individual bits of information, at least once, like we plod through life, experiencing something only once, and after it analyzes this information, it must turn it into memory, and let it fade into the past. The only way the computer can now access this past information, must be by remembering it, as it is restricted from ever returning to the mechanical data it first acquired the information, thus forcing it to take on independent attributes.
As nice as the idea sounds though, many problems arise, and we are far off from ever developing such a supercomputer capable of defying the uncertainty principle, like we do. We need to get a computer to be able to have its knowledge to flow two ways (now, i don't mean time travel) - i mean a similar function to the way we bring a past event that had happened back into the present, and thus allowing it to fall back into the past. This memory is never the same as another memory. Every time a specific memory is brought back into the present play, it is a completely new experience, as if it is being re-done all over again. However, for this to happen; this double flow, or directionality, can only occur if the observer can link experience to experience, memory to memory. A computer has not these attributes.
*I say from nowhere because it exists in not in space nor in time. Only when we come to remember something does a memory exist in time - imaginary time, or mental time, if you wish... however, not every scientist will agree with me on this, i know, since there is no experimental evidence to suggest that memory ever exists in space or time.
Memory Feedback
So how do we do this? How do we get a computer to begin to program memory in strings of events, and not as single frames? How do we get the computer to understand and remember a memory, and by doing so, increase in knowing knowledge’s, and thus creating its own distinction of time? I believe we might achieve this through some kind of memory feedback system - that allows experience to turn into memory and back again.
Computers are strange objects, because they can do weird things when faced with problematic situations that they have not been programmed to deal with... here's one example of their behavior when facing problematic situations: by the by, a problem like this, is like a scientist contemplating a singularity at the beginning of time.
In the year 1999, computer mechanics where concerned that all computers would shut down, because they where not created to function after a specific year - this was called for obvious reasons, the 'Millennium Bug.' It was hypothesized for good reasons, and if it where to happen, dangerous consequences would have arisen; such as governmental defense systems, hospital computers, and the dependant likes, would have cast the world in anarchy. Thankfully, somehow, the computers when faced with this problem actually dealt with it by continuing its time, even though it was never programmed to function after the year 2000. Some, however did shut down. Now a computer can 'choose' to shut down for many reasons. It happens all the time.
So, using this behavior of computers, might it be possible if we give it a chance to do something else, instead of deletion - teasing it if you wish into doing something unorthodox? We have already seen that it might be a well-known fact a computer, if it can, will choose not to delete itself, if it has too. This might be because it was originally programmed to function, even if it where the most basic of functions. Keep this in mind, while we have a look at something...
'Neurofeedback' is an experimental technique used to enhance or evolve mental performance. All sorts of professions use it, such as musicians. It something i too would like to use on day, since i was able to play pieces such as the 'Flight of the Bumblebee,' and numerous piano symphonies from the age of 12.
The idea is to measure brain waves associated or located to a particular region of our brains; as you might know, the brain is divided into area's that begin to release brain waves when doing a particular subject, or saying or doing something. They are mental blueprints of quantum activity. Hooked to a screen, the neurofeedback computer shows something called, 'electroencephalograms' - simple displays of colorful patters; this helps the interpretation of activity to its simplest forms. The more the test-observer watches the result on the screen, the shapes change color and form, just like an electron can change into any of the infinite states it can turn into, provided enough energy is required. Thus, the observed shapes are in fact being controlled by the mind itself.
This is theoretically assumed to increase brain power, because it will focus on certain activities within the brain. It's like building up a muscle, by continuously pumping energy.
Now, let's imagine we designed a computer automata that can only access its information once, like a disposable camera, but is allowed to store that information in a continuous techno-feedback, that would act like memory at demand. We can imagine this being like the conditions memory exists in mind.
The computer would be faced with a choice, since it can't ever go back to that original experience/memory, just like we cannot. Instead, we store it as virtual memory... and when asked to remember this information, it could choose deletion, or it could opt. for the alternative; and that is by pulling the information out of a feedback system, that essentially acts as though the computer has a continuous string of memory, instead of its discontinuous ancestor that treated bits of memory as separate things at single time frames.
Now, it's not as if we are forcing the computer to choose, because theoretically, the computer might not choose either, and simply stall - stalling is when it simply suspends - as though frozen in artificial time. Instead, we are giving this computer a choice; a choice to ''live'', by accepting it has 'secret knowledge'*, or simply ''decides'' it cannot. The idea is to try and 'tease' the computer to become independent.
* Secret Knowledge was devised by physicist David Z. Albert.
3000 Years from Now
I'm a bit of a storyteller. In fact, i was writing stories long before i started physics. Thus, my hypothetical vision of an Earth 3000 years into the future, would be best put into a story, where man is now living on the moon, tuning into morning Radio Nebula...
19th Feb. 3034
RADIO NEBULA - Interview with Dr. Layton
'Thank you Dr. Layton for speaking with us today on Radio Nebula. As you will know, we have asked you to come on today to explain what you and your counterpart scientists are just attempting to do.'
'Hello - thanks for inviting me on today - well, let me explain. Myself and my colleagues have now created the very first artificial intelligent computer in the lab - this discovery has now led me and my scientists into contemplating the probability of inserting human persona into the world of computer automata.'
'How did you manage this? What would this achieve? In fact, isn’t this a dangerous thing to do?'
'Simeon, one question at a time my friend. This is not an easy subject to explain. However, because we have non-scientifically-minded listeners, i will make it as simple to understand as possible... now your first question was, 'how did we manage this? Well, we managed this by studying memory simulation, and how we come to know something. You see, a computer doesn't have objective consciousness, thus its information or memory is paradoxically, meaningless. We found out, that by allowing a computer to choose deletion or to choose a new path which it can string memories together, we found it choose the latter. In doing so, the computer began to string memory together, instead of it treating it as individual pieces of knowledge.'
'How did you actually manage this?'
'Well, we found that by restricting the access of a bit of memory after the first time the computer analyzes it, we could then program the computer to 'throw' the experience into a feedback circuit, that would forever loop around.'
'What would this achieve Dr.?'
'For centuries, scientists thought that it might be possible to put our thoughts and feelings into computers, because there where striking similarities to biological memory and computer memory, par the few discrepancies that we had to change by forcing the computer to treat knowledge as valuable as existence itself - something we do, but take for granted everyday. This knowledge is thus turned into secret knowledge, a principle of consciousness first hypothesized by the legendary 20th century physicist, David Albert. Now that we know intelligence and consciousness can exist in cyberspacetime, we know it to be equally possible to transfer our thoughts and feelings into computers, because consciousness can exist in this computerized, holographic world.'
'Dr. isn't there dangers creating an artificially intelligent computer?'
'Actually, there are a few Dangers. In the 1900's a film called the Matrix portrayed a world of deception, as we could be nothing more than computer generations, interpreted through brain waves. This deception was due to a superintellgent computer - an artificial intelligent entity - that attacked the human race, and harvested them as batteries... the funny thing is, as old as this theory is, still holds, despite its improbable applications. Also, now that our computer has individuality, which we have come to call it 'Trinity' after the female character in the film The Matrix, we find ourselves asking ''does it now have human rights''? After all, it has a state of awareness.... Other questions, involve the problem of how we extract the persona of a human, and safely do it for that matter, and place it into a computer simulation.'
'Fascinating Dr. ... what is Trinity like?'
'Well, studying how she works is a little hard, because we cannot use normal psychology... she simply doesn't have a human mind... however, we learn that she is eager to process information, and highly logical. We communicate to her through typing words into the computer, and she understands what we are saying, as she was able to learn all known languages within six moon days. We are even using her logical intelligence to help us build a more accurate picture of the universe; she was developed to be, perfect...'
'Where will this take your work now?'
'Well, in the 21st century, mathematician and physicist Frank Tipler said that we would all transfer our persona's into nanotechnology and cast ourselves into deep space, to escape the death of our star... thankfully that hasn't happened; even though earth is now unhabited through global warming - however, the moon would inexorably be incinerated when our star finally turns into a red giant. I want to take his vision further. Scientists in the 21st century believed that it would be possible to create universes in the lab. Today, that theory, as we know has been made a possibility with the discovery of magnetic monopoles, which are extremely rare 'sub-subatomic' objects with one magnetic pole that curves into itself. Right now, we are attempting to find experimental ways to harvest the enormous amount of false energy contained within it.'
'What's false energy Dr. ..?'
'The false energy was thought to be the reason why Big Bang occurred, and we still hold to this theory today. If we can release this energy, there is the possibility of it breaking off our spacetime fabric... connected via a wormhole.'
'A wormhole connects one universe with another, doesn't it Dr.?
'Indeed. It was physicist John Wheeler who called these openings, wormholes. They are basically tunnels created by distortions in spacetime. They can lead to other places in our universe, or they can link to other universes... even lab created universes. Now, if we can release the energy from the magnetic monopole, we would begin to see some strange things. The universe we have created would be surrounded by a Black Hole - an exotic object that is gravitationally warped enough to stop light. Though, this black hole would be tiny, and would evaporate within time through quantum effects. However, the new universe would continue to expand forever. Now, when, not a matter of if, we transfer emotions and thoughts into nanotechnology, we could move into this new universe, through the wormhole - but this is also potentially dangerous, as it could as quickly close up. However, the discovery of Dark Matter might be useful, as was hypothesized by scientists generations ago. We could use it to inflate the wormhole to a considerable size - enough space to ship our new technological nanoexistences into the newly born universe.'
'Isn't there dangerous recreated the primordial forces of the big bang?'
'We cannot be wholly sure. You see, from what we understand of relativity, the baby universe and the forces contained within it should remain within its highly curved spacetime... Though, i admit, the current theories on spacetime forces could be wrong - though it's highly unlikely.''
'Why would we want to do this?'
'Simply to escape the Big Crunch. Even though Tipler showed us that time would seem to go on forever at the last moments, and as nanolife, we could live what would seem an eternity, in the very last billionth of a billionth of a nanosecond. But what if we decided to do this by hopping universes, i asked? This would be the greatest endeavor - for our beings to travel freely through universes - in the form of nanotechnology... We could potentially evolve forever, and forever travel the universes, by creating a universe, in a universe indefinitely.'
'So not only do we live forever, but we get to experiment on other universes in the form of mechanical intelligences?'
'Exactly. Since we cannot get inside information on other universes whilst in this one, it seems only logical to do it by creating our own universes... and this, i predict, is just around the corner...'
'This has been a most interesting discussion Dr. ... and i am sure our scientific and non-scientific listeners also are astounded by the marvelous advances in science you have presented today.'
'Thank you again Simeon - it's always a pleasure speaking to you.'