Batteries

Okay this is a cool little movie.

More Wetware

Here is another article in the same vein as my earlier post.

Virginia a battleground????

Well, things do change. It appears listening to all the talking heads that Virginia is not a Republican lock as was thought earlier in the campaign. While it is not sure that it will fall to the Democrats either, but still that means carrying Virginia will become more important in the next few national elections.

We probably wont see much this election, but next presidental we will see more political ads and more visits.

Robots

Funny how Science Fiction heralds Science Fact. An article on the BBC website talks about the predicted growth of robots.

I firmly believe that Robots will herald social upheaval. Time and time again, science fiction authors have pointed to the fact that robots will take human jobs in certain industries. The question that these authors have constantly proposed is how do we handle this change. Robots will further the gap between the haves and have-nots. And this not only applies to Robots, but as we further the concepts of artificial intelligence. I am not a doom sayer, but I think we have to go forward open eyed.

I think the potential for expanding humanity is too great to not advance both robotics and ai. We will conceive and build machines that will allow us to go further than we have ever.

I do have questions about how this will impact us as a race and here are some of my questions.

1. How will Asia adapt to robots? With the largest and fastest growing population on the planet, the nations of Asia are economic powerhouses who could become social powderkegs with large scale displacement of workers.

2. Will the advances in Robotics and AI stall the industrialization of the developing world? The developing world depends on getting cheap manufacturing jobs that the post industrial doesnt want. Sure the startup costs are more than a person, but with the potential for even more productive hours and no labour headaches does it outweigh other concerns.

3. What effect will it have on the immigrant labour population in the Post Industrial World? Immigrants take jobs in our nation that no American would take, but the job needs to be done. What happens to our ability to absorb new immigrants?

4. Since I firmly believe that robots will be huge in the Space industry, what laws will we have to enact to manage the resource harvesting of the solar system? This could also be said for other dangerous resource gathering industries. Robotic fishing trawlers could revolutionize fishing, but what will the impact be on both the fish and on the people displaced out of those industries.

5. How much power over our lives do we give over to machines? Yes, I know this is the Terminator; Colossus and every other AI boogyman question, but I think we have to think about it. What lines do we draw and say that these new creations cannot do this, we must do it as human beings. For an example of how this can be realistic, look at the redistricting that was just completed because of the 2000 census. The parties in power in each of the states had at hand more detailed and accurate information on how to craft and model the districts to ensure that their party will remain in power in ways that have never been possible before.

6. Since robots and ai's will no doubt increase our leisure time as have other "labour saving devices", what will mankind do with this freed up time? We have only to look to the Internet to see how our lives have changed with all the new ways of communication and information gathering/sharing. As we have faster and faster technology, we expect faster and faster results.

The Election through other eyes

Some times I find it interesting to look at our election through the eyes of people that are divorced from our process.

Here is an interesting editorial from the Times of London. They point out that this election is not that much different from other US elections. A nice quick read.

Here is one from Al-Jazeera. While I have issues with this news service for their other coverage, the analyst here does a very nice summation of some of the issues in the election and shows a good grasp on some of the factors influencing the candidates.

An article from the Palestine Chronicle actually suggests that supporting Bush would be better for a Palestinian state.

Asia Channel News printed an article reflecting on how each candidate will interact with India and the concerns of their citizens. I include this because when we elect a President, we do impact the world.

There are more, but I just wanted to put some recent ones out there for people to think about.

Wetware takes another step

This is an interesting development. I can both the good and the bad, but overall I think that it will have great potential. I can see implating the chip in myself given my severe allergies to aspirin and nuts.

The next step will be to see what else you can implant in these chips and could it have impact on marketing; security and other fields.

Evil enters the World

Well, today is my birthday. So today's topic is about me. :)

I think I have a pretty good life. I have work that I mostly enjoy. I am in a relationship that gets better and better. I have fantastic friends, who mean the world to me and have become my family.

It is funny as I get older, things that used to send me round the bend dont anymore. I am keeping with my promise to try to view things in a new light. Other things become more and more important.

So I will end this with a some thank you's

- Mom and Dad - While you wont read this, I still want you to know how much you mean to me. We have our differences, but I know that we love each other and I am lucky to have parents like you.
- Chris - I love you more every year. I look forward to all our future moments and cherish the ones that we have had.
- My Friends - You all are my family. I love each and everyone of you. Hearing your voices, seeing your IMs picks me up every time. Friends always have their ups and downs, but never doubt how much I care for each of you. You are a blessing unto me.
- My Co-Workers - Even with any craziness, I enjoy working with you. I like coming to work because I can see the awesome stuff you create and do. We have a special family all its own. Sure it has its ups and downs, but I love working with you all.
- God - Finally, I give thanks to my God. He shows me what LOVE is and is my greatest teacher. May I always strive to leave the world a better place than I found it and leave people happier for my having passed through their lives. May I always seek to help people and teach AGAPE to all that I encounter. Credo.

Chris Weakley
Born: October 13, 1967

A tale to frighten anyone...

That anyone can compare the Dred Scott decision to Roe versus Wade is beyond me, but then much of the our current political mess is beyond me. I put this here for your edification and enlightenment.

Off to Bermuda

Well,

I am off to Bermuda. See everyone in a week.