X-Message-Number: 13416
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 05:59:52 -0500
From: Thomas Donaldson <>
Subject: CryoNet #13411 - #13412

Hi everyone:

Since the Morevec-Kurzweil conference seems to be attracting some 
attention here, I have decided to put in my own 2 cents. 

I reviewed Kurzweil's book and found that it totally omitted any
discussion of one major ability which humans have and which will
not come with intelligence alone. It's called "desires", and
no matter how intelligent (whatever reasonable definition of 
intelligence you wish here) a computer or device may become, without
its own desires it remains a useful slave at best. I have not reviewed
Moravec's most recent book, but he too seems to think that the main
problem in substituting a computer for a person is to make one
intelligent enough. (My review of Kurzweil was in CRYONICS).

I will also point out that considerable work is now underway to
make neurons regrow. Neurons in the spinal cord are likely to 
come to that point some time before we start repairing brains. 
This form of repair looks to me like one that will ultimately work
much better than any current electrical device... basically because
our electrical devices will need to imitate neurons, which makes
their construction complex. Yes, growing new connections in
spinal cord has already been done, with some success. 

And what will we attach to ourselves and use in the future? That
is the most interesting question of all. I myself think that 
computers in the current sense will look far too primitive to 
provide additions to ourselves, but that does not exclude other
much more advanced additions at all.

		Best and long long life to all,

			Thomas Donaldson

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=13416