Note: I'm gonna write this article as if this blog is my personal diary. So excuse some random disorganization in the structure.
People ask children what they wanna be when they grow up. Some say they wanna be a pilot, some say they wanna be an actor. When I was a child, I never understood why they think so. I think there were too many uncertain variables to be able to answer that question. Or, I think I didn't have a goal. Rather, I didn't understand what a goal is. Most of the people go with the flow doing high school, college, engg or medical and get a job.
About 2 years ago, I understood what it means to have a goal in life. I know its quite late, but, better late than never. A goal is something which if not achieved makes you frustrated and hence inspires you to work towards achieving it. I felt it first when I was thinking about the universe and existence.
I categorize my goals in life as:
I) The Ultimate Goal
II) Practical Goals that will define my career
I) The Ultimate Goal
This is infact, the ultimate goal of mankind, of each and every person knowingly or unknowingly.
I am an introverted person and a thinker by nature. Everytime I think about existence, the universe, the planets, the oceans, humans compared to animals, mosquitoes, modern science, meditation, psychology, I get frustrated knowing that we are apparently so insignificant in this universe about which we know almost nothing.
Why do we exist? This is the basic question that baffles every person but people nowadays seem to ignore it. However, I believe, finding out the purpose of our existence (and all related questions about the universe and existentialism) is the ultimate goal of every conscious being. The question cannot be answered by a systematic project. Each and everyone in this world contributes towards answering this question by their actions, unconsciously or consciously.
So that is the Ultimate Goal of mankind. And I stress it as My Ultimate Goal too because my practical goals in life are based on it.
II) My Practical Goals
Although I call them "practical goals", they are still far-fetched. There is no fixed way to achieve them. These goals are what would decide my career. Some of these are just fascinating ideas which later became one of my goals.
1) To build a Free Energy Device
Since my high school, I was trying to think of a PMM (Perpetual Motion Machine). During my college, I learnt that there exists a word for such a machine which is called PMM. I always feel that there must be some way by to build a device which can provide energy without any expenditure. And to support my feeling is the fact that the 1st law thermodynamics aka the conservation of energy is just based on human observation. Its not a mathematically derived law. Anyway, I now call it by the proper name - "Free Energy Device". I wish I could play an important role in inventing a FED which will propel India towards being a superpower.
2) To come up with a technology which will enable direct transfer of thoughts and knowledge from one mind to another or to an electronic system which can store it.
My inspiration for coming up with such an 'absurd' idea is simple - during my schooling I noticed the teacher cannot convey absolutely what s/he has to teach. Even if s/he does, the students interpret it differently. Plus, we spend about 20 yrs in just learning. So what if, one could copy the teacher's knowledge directly? I know that is ridiculous, flawed and might probably even inhibit learning but that was just the inspiring thought. Lets develop it some and see the implications.
As of now, there already exist commercial toys which can read concentration levels and manipulate a prime mover. There also exists technology using which you can indicate directions to drive a car (say in a video game) just by thinking which way to go.
Suppose we are able to come up with technology which can copy a person's thoughts as it is i.e. without any data loss we could accumulate the thoughts and understandings of each and every person on the earth into a powerful supercomputer. This computer will be like the Akashic Records - a library of all human knowledge and experience. Then the computer can be programmed to process on the thoughts and knowledge of every person to reconcile discrepancies between every person's understanding of the universe and various phenomena. This will drastically accelerate our understanding about the universe, history of mankind, mythology and will catapult mankind towards The Ultimate Goal.
Alternatively, if we are able to transfer our thoughts and knowledge directly to another person instead of to a computer, then a global network for mind information transfer can be setup. Then, instead a single computer reconciling discrepancies, it will happen in every person's mind which will bring the understanding of every person to the same level. In essence it means every person will be able to understand other perfectly. This is when complete and worldwide Peace will be established. This idea of mine was reinforced when I heard it in Naruto Shippuuden. I think Naruto says something like "Only when people can truly understand each other will peace be established".
3) To make a self-learning machine
Various sources have inspired me to consider this dream as one of my goals. One of them is a funny quote: "I'd rather write code that writes code than write code." :D. Another is the array of sci-fi movies and literature that feature AI such as The Terminator, Matrix, I Robot etc.
Most importantly, though, I believe that for the innovation of a self-learning algorithm, one needs to think philosophically. For instance, always think how a new born baby would learn what is good for it and what is harmful. Or how a baby learns to filter out unmeaningful background noise from language and within than, how it makes out words - something based on pattern recognition. I have a philosophical mind and I love thinking philosophically on quite anything.
Implications of a self-learning machine are of tremendous gravity. For one, if the AI goes out of control, the story of I Robot or Terminator could happen followed by Matrix :P Sometimes I think jokingly that how ironic it is that one of my goals (no. 2) may lead to world peace while another (this one) may lead to the destruction of humanity and that due to the limits posed by my educational qualification, I cannot pursue the Peace goal and am pursuing the Destruction goal :P.
However, suppose we are able to create a self-learning machine that is kept in control preventing Terminator, then we will in essence have an immortal human being which is able to learn and improve itself at an exponential rate! Hence, it will drive humanity towards The Ultimate Goal with exponentially increasing rate!
And ofcourse apart from helping mankind in achieving The Ultimate Goal, an intelligent, human-like-thinking robot will drastically advance each and every field. Its no feat to imagine its wide range of applications.
---
Now about how these goals would affect my career:
I have done my Bachelors of Engineering in Mechanical. Hence, its impossible to pursue my 2nd goal. It is very much fitting to pursue my 1st goal. And lastly, I can also pursue my 3rd goal by getting into the field of robotics - humanoids, intelligent machines, AI and so on. I chose the 3rd one.
All three of my practical goals are also highly far-fetched but I have a gut feeling that they are possible although I admit, the 2nd one is the most unrealistic of all.
Regarding the 1st one, work in FED is already taking place all over the world.
As for the 3rd one, just think of it as bio-mimicry. Humans themselves are self-learning machines. If humans can exist, so can man-made self-learning machines.
I know that probably during my entire life till death, I might not achieve the goal but atleast, I would contribute as much as possible in achieving it. Maybe sometime in between, I might gain immortality by becoming a cyborg :P
People ask children what they wanna be when they grow up. Some say they wanna be a pilot, some say they wanna be an actor. When I was a child, I never understood why they think so. I think there were too many uncertain variables to be able to answer that question. Or, I think I didn't have a goal. Rather, I didn't understand what a goal is. Most of the people go with the flow doing high school, college, engg or medical and get a job.
About 2 years ago, I understood what it means to have a goal in life. I know its quite late, but, better late than never. A goal is something which if not achieved makes you frustrated and hence inspires you to work towards achieving it. I felt it first when I was thinking about the universe and existence.
I categorize my goals in life as:
I) The Ultimate Goal
II) Practical Goals that will define my career
I) The Ultimate Goal
This is infact, the ultimate goal of mankind, of each and every person knowingly or unknowingly.
I am an introverted person and a thinker by nature. Everytime I think about existence, the universe, the planets, the oceans, humans compared to animals, mosquitoes, modern science, meditation, psychology, I get frustrated knowing that we are apparently so insignificant in this universe about which we know almost nothing.
Why do we exist? This is the basic question that baffles every person but people nowadays seem to ignore it. However, I believe, finding out the purpose of our existence (and all related questions about the universe and existentialism) is the ultimate goal of every conscious being. The question cannot be answered by a systematic project. Each and everyone in this world contributes towards answering this question by their actions, unconsciously or consciously.
So that is the Ultimate Goal of mankind. And I stress it as My Ultimate Goal too because my practical goals in life are based on it.
II) My Practical Goals
Although I call them "practical goals", they are still far-fetched. There is no fixed way to achieve them. These goals are what would decide my career. Some of these are just fascinating ideas which later became one of my goals.
1) To build a Free Energy Device
Since my high school, I was trying to think of a PMM (Perpetual Motion Machine). During my college, I learnt that there exists a word for such a machine which is called PMM. I always feel that there must be some way by to build a device which can provide energy without any expenditure. And to support my feeling is the fact that the 1st law thermodynamics aka the conservation of energy is just based on human observation. Its not a mathematically derived law. Anyway, I now call it by the proper name - "Free Energy Device". I wish I could play an important role in inventing a FED which will propel India towards being a superpower.
2) To come up with a technology which will enable direct transfer of thoughts and knowledge from one mind to another or to an electronic system which can store it.
My inspiration for coming up with such an 'absurd' idea is simple - during my schooling I noticed the teacher cannot convey absolutely what s/he has to teach. Even if s/he does, the students interpret it differently. Plus, we spend about 20 yrs in just learning. So what if, one could copy the teacher's knowledge directly? I know that is ridiculous, flawed and might probably even inhibit learning but that was just the inspiring thought. Lets develop it some and see the implications.
As of now, there already exist commercial toys which can read concentration levels and manipulate a prime mover. There also exists technology using which you can indicate directions to drive a car (say in a video game) just by thinking which way to go.
Suppose we are able to come up with technology which can copy a person's thoughts as it is i.e. without any data loss we could accumulate the thoughts and understandings of each and every person on the earth into a powerful supercomputer. This computer will be like the Akashic Records - a library of all human knowledge and experience. Then the computer can be programmed to process on the thoughts and knowledge of every person to reconcile discrepancies between every person's understanding of the universe and various phenomena. This will drastically accelerate our understanding about the universe, history of mankind, mythology and will catapult mankind towards The Ultimate Goal.
Alternatively, if we are able to transfer our thoughts and knowledge directly to another person instead of to a computer, then a global network for mind information transfer can be setup. Then, instead a single computer reconciling discrepancies, it will happen in every person's mind which will bring the understanding of every person to the same level. In essence it means every person will be able to understand other perfectly. This is when complete and worldwide Peace will be established. This idea of mine was reinforced when I heard it in Naruto Shippuuden. I think Naruto says something like "Only when people can truly understand each other will peace be established".
3) To make a self-learning machine
Various sources have inspired me to consider this dream as one of my goals. One of them is a funny quote: "I'd rather write code that writes code than write code." :D. Another is the array of sci-fi movies and literature that feature AI such as The Terminator, Matrix, I Robot etc.
Most importantly, though, I believe that for the innovation of a self-learning algorithm, one needs to think philosophically. For instance, always think how a new born baby would learn what is good for it and what is harmful. Or how a baby learns to filter out unmeaningful background noise from language and within than, how it makes out words - something based on pattern recognition. I have a philosophical mind and I love thinking philosophically on quite anything.
Implications of a self-learning machine are of tremendous gravity. For one, if the AI goes out of control, the story of I Robot or Terminator could happen followed by Matrix :P Sometimes I think jokingly that how ironic it is that one of my goals (no. 2) may lead to world peace while another (this one) may lead to the destruction of humanity and that due to the limits posed by my educational qualification, I cannot pursue the Peace goal and am pursuing the Destruction goal :P.
However, suppose we are able to create a self-learning machine that is kept in control preventing Terminator, then we will in essence have an immortal human being which is able to learn and improve itself at an exponential rate! Hence, it will drive humanity towards The Ultimate Goal with exponentially increasing rate!
And ofcourse apart from helping mankind in achieving The Ultimate Goal, an intelligent, human-like-thinking robot will drastically advance each and every field. Its no feat to imagine its wide range of applications.
---
Now about how these goals would affect my career:
I have done my Bachelors of Engineering in Mechanical. Hence, its impossible to pursue my 2nd goal. It is very much fitting to pursue my 1st goal. And lastly, I can also pursue my 3rd goal by getting into the field of robotics - humanoids, intelligent machines, AI and so on. I chose the 3rd one.
All three of my practical goals are also highly far-fetched but I have a gut feeling that they are possible although I admit, the 2nd one is the most unrealistic of all.
Regarding the 1st one, work in FED is already taking place all over the world.
As for the 3rd one, just think of it as bio-mimicry. Humans themselves are self-learning machines. If humans can exist, so can man-made self-learning machines.
I know that probably during my entire life till death, I might not achieve the goal but atleast, I would contribute as much as possible in achieving it. Maybe sometime in between, I might gain immortality by becoming a cyborg :P
---
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