Robots will start replacing human brains by 2045 and
artificially intelligent machines may be capable of doing anything that
humans can, including masturbating. And standing in line for new Apple products.
Moshe Vardi, a computer science professor at Rice University, traces
the evolution of the idea that artificial intelligence may one day
surpass human intelligence, from Turing to Kurzweil, and looks at the
current rate of progress.
Early predictions were rubbish and it has taken 15 years to go from
Deep Blue beating Kasparov at chess to self-driving cars and Watson
beating Jeopardy champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.According to The Atlantic,
Vardi thinks it's reasonable to believe intelligent machines may one
day replace human workers almost entirely and put millions out of work
permanently, just as the world's food runs out.
What he is suggesting is an economic singularity, after which the
labour market as we know it will cease to exist. Historically the
labour market has evolved and adapted. Accelerating technology over the
last few centuries has consistently erased some jobs only to replace
them with others but the question is if the machines have replaced our
brains what is there for us to do?
Vardi thinks that the world in 50 years either will be a utopia or a
dystopia. Either we will solve the problem before it happens or things
will get very very nasty.
He is not optimistic. If machines can do almost all of our work,
then it is not clear that even 15 weekly hours of work will be required.
He does not find the prospect of leisure-filled life appealing.
"I believe that work is essential to human well-being and our
economic system would have to undergo a radical restructuring to enable
billions of people to live lives of leisure," he said.
The unemployment rate in the US is currently under nine percent and is considered to be a huge problem.
Read more:
http://news.techeye.net/science/robots-might-replace-human-brains-by-2045#ixzz2VQiYRQYH
The World's Oldest Civilization
The cradle of civilization is one of the five possible locations where civilization first emerged. According to many experts, civilization began in what is called the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia), and then spread to other areas due to a nomadic lifestyle. But this traditionally held view is disputed by several scholars and archaeologists who support the view point that there is no single cradle of civilization, but independent development of civilization occurred in several areas, which were Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, Shang (Yellow River Valley), and Mesoamerica and Andean South America. The reason for this belief in multiple cradles of civilization has resulted from observation, and study of relics of the period that point out how different features developed irregularly and independently in these different civilizations. The interaction between different communities due to nomadic lifestyles led to the development of common systems and techniques in agriculture, pottery, metal work, etc. It is therefore difficult to specifically state which is the oldest civilization in the world, as there is no definite answer to the question.
Mesopotamia
Many experts, as mentioned above, believe that Mesopotamia, being located in the Fertile Crescent, is the oldest civilization in the world. The reason for this is that Mesopotamia is where the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers converge, making the area extremely suitable for agriculture. Many agrarian societies are therefore believed to have been established here. Also since the Ubaid, Sumerian, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyrian civilizations are all located in this area, Mesopotamia is widely considered to be the oldest civilization in the world. Settlements can be traced in Mesopotamia to the start of the Early Bronze age, which is much before 7000 BC. The earliest sites were in Jarmo, and the earliest cities were established in Sumer under the Uruk period. Mesopotamia, over the years, has been ruled by the Hellenists, Persians, Mongols and Turks. Mesopotamia is the area that we now identify as Iraq.
Egypt
One of the oldest civilizations in the world, there is archaeological and anthropological evidence that point towards the existence of a settlement in the area as early as 10000 BC, but there is no definite evidence to determine the time period. The settlement then took to farming as their main source of sustenance, but remains of another settlement found in the area, that can be dated back to the same period, shows practice of hunting and fishing. It is indicated by studies that the land around Sahara was not as arid as it is today and was perfect for grazing ground. It was around 2500 BC that the settlements moved towards the Nile due to change in climate and inhospitable conditions, where the civilization was established as a more complex society. The civilization of Ancient Egypt has been responsible for several lasting legacies for humankind as a whole, including pyramids, mathematical systems, practice of medicine, glass making techniques, and also paper, in its earliest form.
Ancient India
Settlements have known to exist in the area since before 6000 BC, as there is evidence that has been found that dates back to this period. These settlements were very self sufficient with remains of granaries, burial tombs, drills for stones and copper, etc., found in the area near present day Balochistan in Pakistan. The Indus Valley Civilization, which saw complex societal structures, have known to exist since 4000 BC, with the major cities being Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Both these cities have been discovered to be large cities with many structures of great magnitude inside city limits. The decimal fraction system is one of the gifts of the Indus Valley Civilization to the modern day world. Excavation of the sites that are believed to be a part of the civilization have been on since 1920 and the most recent discovery was in 1999.
China
Along with being a contender for the title of the oldest civilization in the world, China is already heralded as the world's oldest continuous civilization. Pre-civilized settlement relics dating back to 7000 BC have been found in China. In fact, in some cases, the date variance ranges between 9000 BC and 5500 B. There is evidence of agricultural practice, pottery, craft work and even animal husbandry. The civilization can be traced back to the establishment of city states in the Yellow River Valley around 2200 BC. But this claim is disputed with the first dynasty that is archaeologically definable being traced to the Shang Dynasty of Ancient China which started its reign somewhere around 1750 BC. There is very little verifiable data about earlier settlements in the area due to the lack of written records or any such documents.
Andean South America and Mesoamerica
In the Americas, the oldest civilizations were located in South America and Mesoamerica. The oldest Mesoamerican civilization was the Olmec Civilization which was established sometime around 1200 BC, but settlements have been traced back to 5100 BC, due to records of maize cultivation from then. Some of the main cities that were established under the Olmec rule were San Lorenzo and La Venta, which like other cities, are said to have had giant statues of the then Emperor. In South America, the oldest civilization was the Norte Chico that was a group of connected settlements, with huge cities at Aspero and Caral.
It is difficult to answer a question like what is the oldest civilization and how old is it because there are no definite records or dating methods that can give us an exact time period for when these civilizations existed. But these five civilizations were the predecessors to our modern day countries and geographical demarcations. Regardless of which of these is the oldest civilization in the world, some of the most important inventions and discoveries, like farming or pottery can be credited to these civilizations.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/oldest-civilization-in-the-world.html
