TIME MACHINES Human bodies are time machines. My grandfather, born in 1896, grew up in the “wild west” of California: horses, buggies, the occasional train. Before he died, he flew 400 mph in a jet airliner as big as a building and watched men walk on the moon. But what happened during my lifetime? There’sContinue reading “Why Didn’t We Go Back to The Moon?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
The Human Essence Assumption
THE PROMETHEAN MOMENT Here’s a couple of examples of a common trope in science fiction. Terminator II: Judgement Day, 1991: The Terminator: “… [Skynet] goes online on August 4th 1997. Human decisions are removed from Strategic Defense. Skynet begins learning at geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. eastern time August 29th. In aContinue reading “The Human Essence Assumption”
Four Assumptions About the Future of Artificial Intelligence
These four assumptions are almost always made in science fiction and popular commentary on AI (or alien life). They are often made by academic futurists and professional scientists (who should know better). The Human Essence Assumption The Chain of Being Assumption The Myth of Steady Progress The Myth of Limitless Progress
I. The Latitude of Falling Sparks
Everybody who is my age or older can remember exactly where there were the day they heard about The Amazing Journey of Colonel Eratosthenes Smith. It was that kind of thing. If you’re too young to remember then forget about it. You have no idea. It’s like that moon landing thing. To you and me,Continue reading “I. The Latitude of Falling Sparks”
Charles Gillingham
I’m in the process of putting together a bunch of things that I’ve written. I’ve never really figured out what to do with them, so I’m posting them here for now. TALES OF THE SINGULARITY or THE LATITUDE OF FALLING SPARKS I wrote a science fiction novel in three parts back in the 1990s. EachContinue reading “Charles Gillingham”
CHARLES GILLINGHAM 