27.4.16

Telepathy and Brain Interface Technologies

There is growing interest and investments being made by industry in Telepathy or Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technologies. These emerging technologies currently include a variety of wearable and implantable solutions that are currently being pilot tested.

Telepathy has long been considered an aspect of psychic phenomena or a super power. Telepathy has commonly been defined as a sort of information transmission from one person to another without using any of our known sensory channels or physical interaction.

However, as a growing number of voice-activated technologies have become a reality, the idea of using emerging technologies to begin telling machines to do what we want simply by telepathically thinking about it – a form of synthetics telepathy – has suddenly begun to be plausible.

Such technology is starting to be being developed, tested, and marketed as a new way to control video games, for battlefield communications, interactions with medical prosthetic limbs, and interfaces to many other computerized devices as we move into the future.

The U.S. Army is dedicating millions of research dollars into building and testing helmets to allow soldiers to telepathically communicate with weapon systems, or with one another, on the battlefield. 

Read more at http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/349839#ixzz46l0Pja9e

  • Telepathy involves the purported transmission of information from one person to another without the appearance of using any of our known physical sensory channels.
  • Brain Computer Interface (BCI), mind-machine interface (MMI), or brain–machine interface (BMI), involves the direct communication between an augmented or 'wired' brain and some sort of external computer-driven device.


Selected Articles & Findings

The following are a selection of recently published articles on telepathy or brain computer interface (BCI) technologies that you might find interesting:
  • Scientists Develop Real Telepathy Thanks To EEG Technology - In 2014, a team of neuroscientists and robotics engineers enabled study participants to communicate from 5,000 miles away over the Internet… using only their brains. The study might be the first proven, real example of telepathy. The underlying technology that allowed the computers to pick up on the participants thoughts is called electroencephalogram (EEG). Doctors have already been using EEG technology for a number of years with paralysis patients to help them use their brains to control selective robotic components. More specifically, famous astrophysicist and author Stephen Hawking has been working with tech startup Neurovigil to perfect an EEG headset that could interpret his thoughts - a kind of human to computer form of synthetic telepathy.
  •  Telepathy is now possible using current technology - In 2014, researchers at the University of Washington demonstrated that two people could work together telepathically to play a video game. The researchers of the telepathic video-game study were primarily interested in was non-verbal communication. Verbal communication of knowledge via current technologies is a much more complex feat requiring extensive additional research and development efforts. 
  • DARPA Cortical Modem connects Brain to Computer enabling 'electronic telepathy and telekinesis' - A brain-computer interface has been developed by the US Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that is capable of laying a heads-up display over a user's natural vision. The "cortical modem" also holds the potential to cure sight loss and enable "electronic telepathy and telekinesis" according to noted futurist Peter Rothman of H+ Magazine. Phillip Alvelda, Chief of DARPA's Biological Technologies, has said the device could replace virtual reality glasses, such as the Oculus Rift, by bypassing the visual sensory system entirely. The project builds on work in the field of optogenetics.  
  • First Brain-to-Brain Interface is a step towards 'Digital Telepathy' - Scientists have taken an important step towards achieving ‘digital telepathy’ by sending information directly from one individual’s brain to another without the use of any intermediary interfaces. Subjects in the ground-breaking experiment were located 5,000 miles apart in India and France and fitted with caps monitoring electrical signals in the brain. 
https://www.singularityweblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/technological-telepathy.jpg  
  • Facebook Founder Says Telepathy is in Our Future! - Facebook Founder Says Telepathy is in Our Future! Money.CNN.com reports that Mark Zuckerberg says the future of Facebook is telepathy. “You’ll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you’d like,” Zuckerberg said. “This would be the ultimate communication technology.” It appears he believes this will happen through the use of new technologies already being tested.

Issues
 

Researchers and critics of telepathy or brain computer interface (BCI) technologies have raised several key issues that need to be addressed well before we go to far down the road with this technology. For example:
  • Several individuals have warned that public sale of artificial telepathy technology would inevitably result in the theft of bank account numbers, PIN numbers, passwords, trade secrets, and other sensitive information that could then be used for a variety of nefarious purposes.
  • Much like we're seeing as use of drone technology has proliferated, new legislation and controls need to be developed and put into place well before this emerging technology ever rolls out across the public and private sector.

Conclusions & Recommendations


Some form of digital or synthetic telepathy solution will emerge in the next decade or so and begin to be commercialized. Obviously Mark Zuckerberg hopes his company, Facebook, will lead the way. The pilot testing of alternative technical solutions are already underway. How it will finally be packaged and used when the 1st generation of solutions emerge will be interesting to watch. We do have time to consider the implications and address the key issues of privacy, security, and legislative restrictions on its use – or abuse. But take note, just like drones, teleportation, internet of things (IoT), unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAV), commercialized space exploration, regenerative medicine, the technical singularity… it will become a reality of life later this century.

Share any additional information you might have or any constructive insights about synthetic or digital telepathy with our readers.

23.4.16

Teleportation: It will be achieved incrementally this Century

Several years ago, an ABC News article reported that 39% percent of U.S. adults believe scientists will make teleportation happen in the next 50 years, according to a new Pew Research. It turns out they may be right.

Teleportation involves the transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. Many believe current technology provides no possibility of anything resembling the fictional form of teleportation we have seen portrayed in Star Trek movies.

However, I prefer to listen to experts like physicist Michio Kaku. He has stated in a number of venues over time that he believes "It is physically possible to teleport an entire human being across the room or maybe onto Mars." See http://bigthink.com/videos/the-metaphysics-of-teleportation-2

Quantum teleportation is a process by which quantum information (e.g. the exact state of an atom or photon) can be transmitted from one location to another via classical communication between the sending and receiving location proceeding no faster than the speed of light.

With the advent of 3D printing, we can now essentially 'transport' inanimate things across space by simply sending the digitized information about an object to a 3D printer in another location – even Mars. When the information is received, the object can then be 'printed' out.

Now think about the recent advances in holography and virtual reality (VR) technologies. We will shortly be able to enter the world of virtual reality and 'visit' other parts of the world and our solar system from th comfort of our living rooms. Holography takes that another step forward. See Microsoft 'Holoportation' with Hololens

Physicall teleporting human beings is much more complex and is still many decades away. The solution that springs to mind, similar in concept to teleporting inanimate objects, may require us to do some profound thinking and to refine our definition of what exactly a human being is.

For example, is the 'heart & soul' of human beings the collected information and knowledge we have acquired since our birth that is stored in our brains. In other words, is a human some form of complex 'information being'.

If this is the case, can we be housed not only in our existing physical bodies, but could we also have the essence of our 'information being' digitized and teleported into a new synthetic 'body' of some sort (e.g. android, cyborg) at some remote location – anywhere in the world or across our solar system.

This may be possible in several decades as a wide range of technologies continue to advance and converge towards a moment of singularity where biotechnology solutions emerge and make possible the scenario above.

According to an article in a 2014 issue of 'The Futurist', we are not far from breaking the barriers to exchanging medical information, drugs, medical equipment, or life itself through biological teleportation and the advances of 3-D printing.


As civilization on Earth makes the transition from a Stage 0 to a more advanced Stage 1 civilization, the need to be able to teleport inanimate objects and 'human beings' around our solar system will become necessary.  See my related blog on "Redefining Our Purpose as Civilization Keeps Evolving".

The bottom line - teleportation is in fact possible right now and will progress incrementally over time, starting with inanimate objects in the immediate future and ultimately moving towards the teleportation of human beings.

One final note, by further embracing the use of open access, open source, and open communities, that will only help speed the process of developing more sophisticated forms of teleportation over the coming decades that will be needed by the end of this century.


The following are several links to key teleportation research, organizations, studies, etc.
ExtremeTech Teleportation News
AAAS Teleportation Scientific Research & News
Wired News Search: Teleportation
Michio Kaku on Teleportation – YouTube Video  
Get physical: Quantum Teleportation into the orbit is a Reality 
     

21.4.16

37th Annual Striped Bass Festival in Clarendon County

In its 37th year, the Clarendon County Striped Bass Festival held annually in Manning, SC, is a celebration of spring, a tribute to the beauty of the county, and a special salute to the Striped Bass which put the Santee Cooper Lakes on the map, i.e. Lakes Marion and Moultrie.
Each April in Clarendon County, South Carolina, 'Mother Nature' puts on a show that's hard to beat. Azalea, wisteria, iris, tulips, geranium, roses, gladiola and more are in full bloom, making Clarendon County a visual treasure.
 

The Striped Bass Festival complements the natural beauty of our area with a fishing tournament, dances, a parade, boating events and a host of other activities. The festival weekend kicks off on Friday, April 22, 2016, with a Street Dance.
 

The festival's "Super Saturday" will begin with a "Home Town" parade at 10:00 a.m. The parade will travel down Brooks Street and Boyce Street. After the parade, enjoy the craft and food provided by vendors and civic organizations from around the county.
 

The Santee Cooper Open Team 'Fishing Tournament' on Saturday, April 23, 2016 will start at 6:30 am at the John C. Land Landing and the weigh-in starts at 4:00 pm.
 

Finally, the City of Manning Fire Department will have their doors open for everyone to view the artwork submitted into the Striped Bass Festival Student Art Show. The masterpieces on display are from children in all schools in Clarendon County.

For more detail check out the Striped Bass Festival Facebook Page and the Chamber of Commerce web site.

http://www.santeecoopercountry.org/


18.4.16

What Will Life Be Like In 2050

What will life be like for our children and grandchildren by 2050, as we continue our transition from a Type 0 into a Type 1 Civilization?
 
A Type 0 Civilization extracts its energy, information, raw-materials from crude organic-based sources (e.g. wood/fossil fuel); information is communicated by books, newspapers, oral tradition; natural and man-made disasters coupled with societal conflicts create extreme risk of extinction; it's capable of orbital spaceflight; limited medical and technological advancement; failure to improve social and environmental conditions often lead to their own extinction.

A Type I Civilization extracts its energy and raw-materials from fusion power, hydrogen, solar, and other renewable resources; able to utilize and store energy available from its neighboring star, i.e. the sun; capable of inter-planetary spaceflight, colonization, and communication within its solar system; mega-scale global engineering and trade; regional and world governments; digital access to all known information and knowledge; achieves medical and technological singularity; still vulnerable to possible extinction.


My grandparents grew up during the final transition from the 'Agriculture Age' into the 'Industrial Age' back in the early 1900's. They were there at the start-up of the automobile industry, the beginning of aviation, the introduction of home appliances like the washing machine and refrigerators. Long distance travel was largely by steam ships or locomotives. They were there when electricity and telephones were first introduced. My parents got to see these innovative new products and industries mature. They got to travel by jet airplanes and were there when black & white televisions were invented, when color TV sets came into being, and even saw the emergence of computer technology. They were there at the start of the 'Space Age' and when the first man walked on the moon.

I grew up in the 1960's and lived and worked during the transition from the 'Industrial Age' into the 'Information Age' of the 21st Century. I was there to see the startup and rapid growth of the information technology (IT) industry, the transition from analog to digital communication networks, the birth of the Internet and world wide web (WWW), the emergence of regional and global governing entities, the start of inter-planetary flight, the commercialization of space travel, the emergence of mobile, wearable and implantable IT systems, the mapping of the human genome and the birth of regenerative medicine, in addition to the development and use of artificial intelligence, drone technology, laser beams, 3D printing, virtual reality, and so many other advancements rapidly leading up to the achievement of medical and technological singularity.

So try and imagine what advancements and massive changes our children and grandchildren will see and experience by 2050 and beyond. For example, will they witness:
  • Rapid growth in predictive and regenerative medicine, coupled with advances in stem cell research genetic engineering, leading ultimately to the end of disease and death as we know it;
  • Achievement of medical and technological singularity, leading to the transition of humans from our existing life forms into cyborg or android bodies;
  • Development of transnational high-speed hyperloop rail and hypersonic air transportation systems on Earth;
  • Development, deployment, and use of next generation inter-planetary transportation systems;
  • Establishment of initial colonies on nearby planets within our solar system, i.e. Mars;
  • Development and widespread use of 3D manufacturing, augmented eality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and teleportation technologies;
  • Reduction in Earth's population to more manageable levels, e.g. 5-6 billion people.
  • Development and deployment of brain interface technology and telepathic methods of communications between people and machines;
  • Free and 'open access' to all the world's knowledge by human beings as needed; 
  • Development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) interfaced to the Internet of Everything. 
  • Exponential growth of innovative technologies and solutions to facilitate continued advancement of our civilization in order to transition from a Type I into a Type II Civilization in the 22nd Century.

Some of the many characteristics of a Type II Civilization will include: the ability to harness and control the power of a star; mastery of faster-than-light travel; the capability of inter-stellar travel; the colonization of other solar systems in our galaxy; starships powered by the collision of matter and antimatter; the ability to communicate all knowledge in a short, massive burst; initial contact established with other civilizations in the universe; the extinction of our inter-stellar civilization will be highly unlikely.

What do you think our children and grandchildren will see and experience in their lifetimes? Share your thoughts with us.

 

10.4.16

Legislative Update from State Sen. Kevin Johnson - March 31, 2016

A message from Senator Kevin L. Johnson District 36- Clarendon, Darlington, Florence, and Sumter Counties.

Columbia, South Carolina: March 31, 2016 

This year’s session began on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. This is the second year of the 121st session, so everything that was unfinished on the agenda when we left in July 2015 was here waiting for us when we returned.
   
Last month was a short month for the SC Senate due to the fact that we were in recess on the Thursday before Easter and also for the entire week after Easter. The election filing deadline is over and all of us know who our opposition is, if any. I mention that because the sentiment was that more would get done after filing. I hope that is correct as I remain disappointed that the Senate did not pass a meaningful roads bill. 


When the House reconvenes next week their plans are to debate the Senate roads bill (also known merely as the patch act). While my hope is that they will drastically improve the bill that the Senate sent over, I am not optimistic because again it appears that many members of the General Assembly are putting partisan politics over what's best for the people we serve.   

The Senate will now spend time on the Ethics bill, another bill that should be a priority. Hopefully we can pass a strong ethics bill and then next on the agenda will be the state budget which is always an important bill. It is my hope that we will revisit the roads bill and provide a distinct and dedicated source of revenue to adequately fix our roads and bridges, pass a strong ethics bill and pass a good budget that represents and reflects the priorities and the core functions of state government.  

 
Please remember to visit www.scsenate.gov to see the bills that I have sponsored and co-sponsored as well as to receive more information about the aforementioned bills. As always, please feel free to contact me at any time that I may be of service. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.  


Contact Information: 

Senate Office of Kevin L. Johnson, PO Box 142, Columbia, SC 29202. Email: kevinjohnson@scsenate.gov  
Ashley Stewart -Administrative Assistant---Office Telephone: (803) 212- 6048