The BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action approaches evolution in an innovative way, bringing together biologists, computer scientists, and engineers to study evolution as it happens and apply this knowledge to solve real-world problems. BEACON is an NSF Science and Technology Center, headquartered at Michigan State University with partners at North Carolina A&T State University, University of Idaho, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Washington.Slides from my opening remarks.
The next workshop in this series is January 15, and will include speakers such as:
Giulio Tononi (Wisconsin), Daniel Wagenaar (Caltech), Ken Stanley (Central Florida), Richard Lewis (Michigan), Jeff Hawkins (Numenta), Michael Hawrylycz (Allen Institute)The videos from these presentation should also appear online.
The singularity is not near you say Steve, yet you state “MSU must participate”. How is this area a good fit for Cow College? Are there specific areas where you feel the schools traditional programs give an edge that could be exploited?
ReplyDeleteGiven Kurzweil’s new roll at MS does it seem wise to make him be the poster boy of nut jobs?
Singularity <> machine learning and related areas. These are core subjects in computer science and modern statistics.
ReplyDeleteIf you think the Singularity is near (i.e., will happen by 2020), then I lump you in with Kurzweil.
No I do not anticipate the Singularity in the lifetime of anyone living today, I think you got that part right. I just was unclear given your view on the singularity that you felt a need for MSU to be in the space. It looks like you are just suggesting more conservative areas such as the CS and statistics you mention.
ReplyDeleteI think Kurzweil’s most recent estimates were more in the 2045 than 2020 timeframe.
Rather than laugh I prefer to hope that perhaps guys like Kurzweil & De Grey are more fully awake than I am, even if I suspect they are irrational optimist. Even if we only get a little of the way to what they predict the world changes for the better.
In the interview about his new book that I heard I thought he stuck to his 2020 prediction, but I might be mistaken. The interview is actually not bad: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2012/nov/20/revealing-secret-human-thought/
ReplyDeleteIn the interview about his new book that I heard I thought he stuck to his 2020 prediction, but I might be mistaken. The interview is actually not bad: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2012/nov/20/revealing-secret-human-thought/
ReplyDeleteWhatever the project its arrival time depends on the resources dedicated to its accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteThe so-called war on cancer has cost what small fraction of the totally unnecessary wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example?
Tononi gave a very interesting talk in my graduate program a couple years ago. I think he's a bit overoptimistic about the rate of progress in the field, though.
ReplyDelete