THE MICHAEL JACKSON DANCE, HUMANOID ROBOTS, AND EXPONENTIAL PROGRESS (REVISED)

(The following was written without the use of ChatGPT, or similar tools. A 2 Minute Read)

Hello

A dancing Humanoid Robot failed to dazzle in a recent exhibition in China - after giving a little 'Michael Jackson' shuffle, the robot tripped up some stairs and then fell over itself to become a lifeless pile. (link) It was quick - and comical. But quirky malfunctions like these distract from the bigger picture.

Ray Kurzweil - futurist, “AI Visionary” at Google, and author of “The Singularity Is Near” - has worked for decades to illuminate the 'technological big picture' - and articulate where our tech might be taking us. For context, Kurzweil predicted a computer would beat a human Grandmaster chess player; that there would be widespread adoption of personal computers; and that self-driving cars would be commonplace. Where once he was thought to be something of a charlatan, Kurzweil's predictions are now almost universally believed by his peers in the burgeoning technocracy. 

The idea guiding his predictions is an exponential curve of progress. Our modern economy - by virtue of this phenomenon - can facilitate ever faster and better developments in technology - and that key innovations can compound together across all tech sectors, increasing the capacity for continued faster and better developments.  In theory, this exponential progress can continue well into the future. 

Suffice it to say, little malfunctions like the Michael Jackson routine - or the flailing robot from one year ago (link) - are negligible in the timeline of this exponential curve. Furthermore, if we’re willing to imagine the full implications of this view - and look to about 2045 - we might see what Kurzweil has called, “the Singularity.” The Singularity, he predicts, is a point where technology reaches such a profound level of advancement - that humanity will need to merge with it in order to control it. This is the doctrine of 'Transhumanism.' 

Kurzweil is a proponent of 'Transhumanism.' We, and the signers of our petition to stop the Humanoids, are very much against this doctrine. Nevertheless, like Kurzweil, we should not forget that these machines as we see them today are in a rudimentary stage and, like Bengal tiger kittens, are hardly representative of the monster they quickly are becoming.

Thank you for taking a moment to sign and share our petition.

Sincerely,

Michael Christensen-