The Hype Cycle

Remember the bursting of the internet bubble at the turn of the century? It was the perfect moment for technophobes. All the promise held by technology seemed to go up in smoke:

Suddenly, the talking heads had always known it: E-commerce was a farce, the only way to make money online was with porn, and e-mail was the only real application the net had to offer.

Sounds ludicrous now, but in fact it seems that these moments of disillusionment are normal. A lot like the last spasm of the luddites.

When a new technology emerges, we tend to get so intoxicated by the far horizons it opens up, that we overlook important technical details and overstate its possibilities in the short term. When our expectations are not met, we inevitably get disillusioned with our new toy.

But then the real applications of the new technology start getting hold and becoming economically viable. Before you know it, we can’t imagine how we survived without it.

This is a description of the Hype Cycle, a concept launched by the consultancy Gartner, inc., to describe the adoption by society of technological innovations. An important concept to remember, both when the enthusiasts predict the coming technological rapture and when the pessimists condemn humanity to life as usual.

The Cyborg

P.S. From Gartners' updated chart for 2009 its seems that twitters bubble is about to burst.

Touching Consciousness

The more religious inclined will surely disagree, but let’s postulate a scientific axiom: If it cannot be observed, it cannot be.

For centuries this was the trouble with one of the most puzzling of phenomena: consciousness. We could not define it, we could not determine its manifestations, and yet, if we were to deny its existence our sense of self would come crashing down.

To put it another way: without consciousness we couldn’t consciously deny consciousness.

Notice the past tense in the second paragraph? It’s there because neuroscientist Giulio Tononi of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has done something remarkable: he has advanced a working theory of consciousness. Falsifiable and observable.

Tononi calls it the Integrated Information Theory (ITT) and it basically states that consciousness in any system is a function of two properties:

- The amount of differentiated information in that system.
- The level of integration of this information through causal connections.

If his theory holds (far from sure at this point) it means that consciousness can emerge in any system complex and interconnected enough. So be careful how you treat your robot vaccuum cleaner!

You can read a more in depth article here.

The Cyborg

One step closer to the Holodeck

For those of you who aren’t trekkies, the Holodeck is a full immersion, virtual reality platform that allowed the crew of the starship Enterprise to live out every little fantasy that popped into their g-rated, fictional minds.

Think this is the mental delirium of some nerdy screenwriters? Think again.

Check out this mind-bending video demonstration of a touchable hologram:



Take a bow for sensei Hiroyuki Shinoda and his team of researchers at the University of Tokyo.

The Cyborg

The Singularity is Near - Book Review

The very first cyborg book review is out. In The Singularity is Near Ray Kurzweil envisions a radically different future for mankind. The man who predicted the rise of the internet, now claims machines will surpass us intelectually in the coming generation. Let's hope they don't have Austrian accents and keep asking for Sarah Connor. Read the full book review.

Comments on the book review can be left here.

Gadget Suggestions

Post your suggestions here as comments. One rule, the gadgets must promise to change our lives is some way or another. I’ll let you be the judge of what that means. The best suggestions will earn a spot on the main site. One hint, the newest Rolex will not get you anywhere (unless it allows you to teletransport)