I know all of you are tired of the COVID-19 pandemic and just want to fast forward 2020! Although it seems like the world has come to a standstill due to the pandemic, if you forget about it for few minutes and just think about all the scientific advancements we have made over the last few decades, no doubt we are possibly nearing a scientific/technological tipping point! It’s not just an individual opinion. Many scientists, tech enthusiasts, futurists, and philosophers think that we are inching closer to a revolutionary change in the world and humanity as we know it!
''Ah! That doesn’t make any sense. Sounds hyped up just like one of those ‘evidence for alien life found in one of the habitable zone planets’ articles in a tabloid'' you may say. But, wait! There is enough evidence piling up supporting these claims!
So what are these inventions we are talking about with so much potential? What exactly do we mean when we say there’s going to be a radical change?
Read on:
1. Artificial intelligence (AI):
AI isn’t an entirely new invention. Most of the devices we use - be it calculators, computers, your smartphones already use AI. So what exactly is new you may ask. The AI we have now is called Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI). However, our AI algorithms have been getting increasingly more efficient and ‘smart’ over the last few years. Although narrow and task-specific, the machines or the algorithms are now capable of ‘learning’ themselves. This is paving a way towards what is described as ‘Artificial General Intelligence’ (AGI). AGI is basically a machine capable of learning itself and functioning on its own just like a human brain. We are nowhere near achieving a true AGI but we seem to be getting there. It is said that AGI would be the last invention human beings (as we know) will ever make! There are multiple predictions but there are multiple obstacles too - The most important being we still don’t understand our brain and the meaning of consciousness fully. However with AI complimenting neuroscience and vice-versa, we edging towards solving some of the biggest questions in neuroscience (We will talk more about this later)
AI is a huge topic and needs a bit of reading to understand the true nature and potential of it. The best write up I have ever found on the internet on AI which will give you a complete overview of the possibilities and the present state of AI in simple language in a systematic manner which also completely changes your perspective of the world and what it means to be a human is this article on WaitButWhy by Tim Urban (A long article in 2 parts but it's beautifully written. A must-read for every science lover)
1. The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial-intelligence-revolution-1.html (Part 1)
2. The AI Revolution: Our Immortality or Extinction: https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial-intelligence-revolution-2.html (Part 2)
(Caution: Extreme existential crisis guaranteed)
If you want to understand the research and advancements that are going on in the field of AI, I recommend you watch 2 documentaries that are super interesting:
- AlphaGo: AlphaGo is an AI algorithm developed by DeepMind which got better at playing Go (a board game) and beat the best Go player in the world.
- The Age of AI on YouTube:
An 8 episode season:
Also, have a look at the DeepMind website and look for 'research' and 'impact' sections for some more interesting developments in the AI arena: https://deepmind.com/
I will stop my AI chat here but AI is going to be a recurring theme throughout the article!
2. Brain-Machine Interface:
With the advancement of AI, what if we humans become obsolete? What if we are unable to understand the superintelligent AI? This is an important question that is being asked by many. The analogy of how an ant can't understand what the internet is if you try to explain it to the ant is frequently used to describe this situation. If a superintelligent AI takes your place, you will just be like an ant for the AI and any attempt to explain things to you will only go in vain!
But some of the scientists have done a thought experiment and may potentially have a solution for this - A brain-machine interface so that we become a part of the super-intelligent machine or the vice-versa! This may all sound like a sci-fi movie scene but things are advancing more rapidly than you think. There are also thoughts of 'uploading your brain' and becoming immortal when this becomes a reality!
Sounds unreal. Isn't it? OK!
Before going any further, to understand this concept, you should definitely read another article on WaitButWhy on Elon Musk's Neuralink.
- Neuralink and Brain's Magical Future: https://waitbutwhy.com/2017/04/neuralink.html (Again, serious existential crisis guaranteed)
Recently Elon Musk did a press conference with a live demo of pigs with implanted brain chips. You can watch the summary here: (Many claims were thought to be hyped up as per many experts in the field of neuroscience but the potential of this technology is definitely undeniable):
See some of the criticisms for the latest presentation on pig experiment:
3. Human Connectome Project:
Like we discussed earlier the human brain is one of the most mysterious things in the universe and the consciousness itself is not entirely understood (Yet!).
''The Human Connectome Project, one of the most ambitious programs in all of neuroscience, has just yielded a “network map” that is shedding light on the intricate connectivity in the brain. In this video, scientists explain how they created this wiring diagram that maps both the functional and structural connections within the human brain.'' - World Science Festival
''If we could fully map the inner workings of our brain, we could understand disease, consciousness, and what it is that makes us human. Only catch? There are more connections in the human brain than there are stars in the Milky Way. So, how close are we to fully mapping the brain?'' Watch this video by Seeker:
For sci-fi lovers, there's again an AI connection that neuroscience has as we try to solve this complex machine called the brain. We are opening doors to immortality, brain uploading, virtual existence and this may change the very definition of being human. Watch this documentary called 'Brain Factory':
4. CRISPR/Genetic engineering:
DO NOT ask me to expand CRISPR. I can't ever seem to remember it! Look it up! Well, you might have been hearing about this off late a lot because the 2020 Nobel prize in chemistry was won by inventors of this revolutionary technique! Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna shared the award for developing the precise genome-editing technology. Read about the news here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02765-9
But what is CRISPR you may be wondering? Watch this video by Kruzgesagt and get your mind blown!
''Designer babies, the end of diseases, genetically modified humans that never age. Outrageous things that used to be science fiction are suddenly becoming reality. The only thing we know for sure is that things will change irreversibly.''
5. Quantum computing:
(Beware of the word 'quantum' word used by quacks and pseudoscience industry - This isn't Deepak Chopra's quantum)
Quantum physics is confusing (at least for people like me who don't understand advanced physics) and fascinating at the same time as it often challenges the nature of reality. (Anything that induces existential crisis is fascinating - Learnt after watching many Kurzgesagt videos). But what is Quantum computing? Why is it a big deal?
''Where are the limits of human technology? And can we somehow avoid them? This is where quantum computers become very interesting''. - Kurzgesagt
6. DNA computing:
The world is full of information. Your DNA has software (genetic code) that runs YOU! Classical computers store all the information in binaries. Your computer just knows zeros and ones. But what if we could store info in your DNA using the code A-G-T-C? To understand this interesting technology first let's understand how DNA makes you:
''Our bodies are made up of organ systems, which are collections of organs. Our organs are made of tissues, and our tissues are made of cells, and those cells are made up of nonliving things like water, lipids, and proteins. And each of our cells make proteins that do different jobs in our body.
The pigment that makes your eye color is a protein. The keratin that builds your hair is a protein. But you also need to build proteins for a normal physiology, so you have instructions for proteins like antibodies and enzymes in your genes as well.
And we have approximately 25,000 genes in our bodies. Each of your genes holds the genetic instructions that tell a cell how to make a specific protein for a specific purpose, and in this episode of Human we find out exactly how that process works.
DNA is the genetic instructions that tell your body where to put each finger and how to orient the heart, but how does this process work on a cellular level? In this episode, Patrick breaks down each step of the process and explains how you end up as you are. '' - Seeker
''Nature's code for life is stored in DNA, but what if we could code anything we wanted into DNA? Scientists are figuring out how.''
Although all these developments may look very different they are all complementary to each other and are developing exponentially. They would possibly solve the greatest questions humankind has ever faced and have the potential to radically change everything we know!
We are heading towards an interesting future and as Tim Urban describes in this cartoon, we are at this critical junction:
“For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness.”
― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
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Have you come across any other interesting advancements in science and technology that has the potential to change the world we know? Discuss in the comments section below!
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