Jun. 5th, 2009

wolven7: (Dream House)
I dreamed about battles against secret cabals trying to run the world from underground Atlantean cavern temples, and by battles I mean, me, [livejournal.com profile] mech_angel, [livejournal.com profile] lord_of_smoking, and some other people using hand combat weapons, against the cabal. I used the Stop Being Fucked Up Stick. I'd fallen into the temple, down the stairs, from a pizz place, in a strip mall, but the stairs back Up emptied into strange combination of my father's family's first apartment and my first house in Olney. Before the battle, we had to brush our teeth.

Dream conversations with [livejournal.com profile] cailement, with [livejournal.com profile] theapplethief, [livejournal.com profile] giana and Thomas. I don't remember the conversations, only that they were important, and defining moments of all of our relationships with each other.

Something about Optimus Prime and Lucky the Leprechaun having to hide from the military, becacuse they didn't understand that magic was a relatively unknown quantity, in this world....

Dreams are strange.

So, I once held a $240 Worth of Pudding Party. [livejournal.com profile] drstrangeal drunkenly suggested it, and I made it happpen (but ultimately we felt the need to emulate Michael Ian Black).

People-- many of you reading these words-- gave money, for this party. At various other parties, people donated for the purpose of the Final Party. In the final accounting, we had somewhere in the area of $270, which we used for the pudding, the pool, and some of the tarps. This was, then, nit just "my" party. It was Our party. We all had an investment-- of time, money, space, effort.

We all put something into it, and we All got something out of it. It was one of the largest parties ever held at any house in which I've lived. At least 100 people were there, many of whom knew me, but not that it was my house, nor who was hosting the party.

[livejournal.com profile] raoin has suggested that we hold a party and charge a cover, and use the accumulated funds for the purposes of repairing my current car or toward the downpayment on a new-to-me car. But I don't know what I would provide, for you, in exchange, you know? You won't be getting the benefit of 61.25 Gallons of Pudding, at the end of the day. Just a one-time party.

My point is, I need a way to incentivize people into giving me enough money to buy a new car. So I can drive about,get to work, and whatever; what's in it for them?

In other news, Berners-Lee Speaks intelligently about the thing he helped create: The World Wide Web.

Thoughts are always appreciated.
wolven7: (The Very Devil)
Just got this in an Email, thought some of you might want to know.

[CALL FOR PAPERS:

Special Issue of Minds and Machines: A Journal for Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Cognitive Science

on

"Transhumanism, Cognitive Enhancement and AI"

Expected publication: November 2010

Submissions are invited for a special issue of the journal Mind and Machines on the topic of transhumanism, cognitive enhancement, cyborgization, uploading and artificial intelligence.

Guest editors:

* James Hughes Ph.D., Public Policy Studies, Trinity College, Hartford CT USA
* Mark Walker Ph.D., Dept. of Philosophy, New Mexico State University

Contact us with any questions at james.hughes@trincoll.edu

Important dates

Submission deadline: Jan. 15, 2010

Notification of acceptance/rejection: March 15, 2010

Final revision deadline: May 15, 2010


Focus of the Special Issue

Transhumanists believe that we can and should use technology to overcome the limitations of the human brain and body. For example, transhumanists advocate using technology to radically increase our lifespan, intelligence, happiness, and virtue. In relation to the themes of the journal of Minds and Machines transhumanists advocate cognitive enhancement along three vectors.

One vector is cognitive enhancement using pharmaceuticals, genetic therapies and tissue engineering. Direct modification of the organic brain will allow human beings to increase our intelligence, expand our memory, sharpen our capacity for concentration, and eliminate cognitive and psychological disabilities.

A second vector is through 'cyborgization' - the incorporation of devices, nanorobots and computers into the body. This trajectory may permit the augmentation of the senses with artificial hearing and sight superior to organic ears and eyes, the direct augmentation of cognition with brain prostheses, and connecting the brain wirelessly to the Internet. These technologies will likely converge with the growth of virtual worlds and augmented reality, blurring divisions between the "virtual" and the "real."

The third vector of human enhancement is through the creation of 'mind-children,' computers and robots with, at least, human-level cognition, emotions and abilities. These machine minds may be created either through efforts to create artificial life and general intelligence, and/or by uploading human minds into machines. Once created these machine minds may be far more capable and powerful than organic humans.

This special issue of Mind and Machines will explore the philosophical problems and implications of the transhumanist project in regards to these processes, cognitive enhancement, cyborgization and the creation of mind children. How far can these processes go, and how far should they go?


Possible Topics:

* What philosophical questions are posed by efforts to enhance intellectual, aesthetic and moral abilities with drugs, gene therapies, brain machines and computers?
* What philosophical questions are posed by cyborgization, uploading and the blurring of the real and virtual?
* How plausible are cognitive enhancement, human-machine integration, immersive virtual reality and the brain prostheses?
* How should we regulate cognitive enhancement, cyborgization and uploading?
* Is uploading the mind to a computer platform possible?
* What ethical guidelines should govern uploading and the intentional creation of machine minds?
* What implications do these technologies pose for personal identity and legal personhood? At what point, if any, do machines minds become rights-bearing persons?
* How likely is it that our descendents will be embodied in machines that stand to us in intelligence as we do our hominid ancestors?

Length

We anticipate that this issue will contain around 10 papers and, as a working guide, the papers should be between 4000 and 12,000 words in length.

Formatting instructions

Formatting guidelines are available here: http://www.springer.com/computer/artificial/journal/11023

Submission procedure

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically and in the Microsoft Word (not LaTex) format to james.hughes@trincoll.edu (not to the Springer site), properly formatted, by January 15, 2010.

Review process

Each submission will ideally receive two reviews. Completed review forms will be forwarded to the corresponding authors. Please suggest up to three external reviewers to facilitate the review process.

About Mind and Machines

Affiliated with the Society for Machines and Mentality, the journal Minds and Machines fosters a tradition of criticism within the AI and philosophical communities on problems and issues of common concern. Its scope explicitly encompasses philosophical aspects of computer science.

The journal affords an international forum for the discussion and debate of important and controversial issues concerning significant developments within its areas of editorial focus. It features special issues devoted to specific topics, critical responses to previously published pieces, and review essays discussing current problem situations.
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http://www.transhumanism.org/mailman/listinfo/ieet-announce ]

I want to submit something to this, as well... I need to sit down and work on my proposals for:

-DISA

-Dragon*Con

-Mid-Atlantic Popular/American Culture Association

And now this...

I need to go get some Anti-Freeze, for my car.

Later.

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