hi all,

i published a little piece about Ray Kurzweil and mind uploading into robots on the site Religion Dispatches and it made it's way to The Week! :) the essay is called (they wrote the title, which is different from what i'd intended): The Cult of Kurzweil: Will Robots Save Our Souls?

the essay is related to the stuff in my book, Apocalyptic AI.

links, if you care:

http://theweek.com/article/index/214101/robotics-the-new-religion

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/4456/the_cult_of_kurzweil%3A_will_robots_save_our_souls/

it's been ages since i've posted here but i'm still lurking!

in case it interests anyone, i've recently published a book about hans moravec, ray kurzweil, and the rest of the community of folks who believe we'll soon be uploading our minds into robots/virtual reality and becoming immortal.

the book, _apocalypti ai: visions of heaven in robotics, artificial intelligence, & virtual reality_ is available here: http://www.amazon.com/Apocalyptic-AI-Robotics-Artificial-Intelligence/dp/0195393023/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

the book includes fieldwork from my time as a visiting researcher at carnegie mellon university's robotics institute and from my time interview transhumanists in the virtual world second life.

As part of my book, I'm interested in the extent to which pop science books in robotics and AI are read by and influence hobby roboticists.

I'd be extremely grateful if you would consider taking this very quick (fewer than 5 minutes long) survey.

thanks so much!

http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=759862

This morning, I finished the rough draft of the fourth chapter of my forthcoming book, _Laboratory Apocalypse: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality_. This chapter is about how apocalyptic visions from pop science books (Moravec, Kurzweil, et al) have influenced online gaming culture.

With the completion, I now have nearly rough drafts of all substantive chapters, with only a short introduction and a conclusion to go! The project is wearing me down but I look forward to having a complete draft soon (probably not before I have to resume teaching on the 27th, though). It feels good to make progress!

i tried to e-mail jim (swirling brain) but his address and webpage don't work anymore.

here's the message i sent:

hi jim,

as a jew living in nyc (well, just outside right now, actually), i'm disappointed to hear of your treatment on your recent visit. most likely, you were treated badly because they thought you were a non-orthodox jew. some of the local orthodox communities think badly of those of us who are not orthodox and are, well, less than welcoming to us. i think that had they known you were a gentile you would have received better treatment. that's usually the case, anyway: you're friend who indicated the orthodox welcome for outsiders is correct.

alas, it's a shame either way.

regards,

robert