Are We Alone - Do Computers Byte?
The march of computer technology continues. But as silicon chips and search engines become faster and more productive – can the same be said for us?
The creator of Wolfram Alpha describes how his new “computational knowledge engine” is changing – and improving – how we process information. Meanwhile, suffering from data and distraction burnout? Find out what extremes some folks take to stop their search engines.
Also, the Singularity sensation of humans merging with machines… and, why for the ancient Greeks all of this is “been, there, done that.” A deep sea dive turns up a 2,000 year old computer!
Guests:
- Jo Marchant – Freelance science journalist and author of Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer—and the Century-Long Search to Discover Its Secrets
- Stephen Wolfram – Mathematican, computer programmer, and founder of Wolfram Research and Wolfram Alpha
- Fred Stutzman – PhD student at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science
- Peggy Orenstein – author and contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine, which is where we found her article “Stop Your Search Engines”
- Ray Kurzweil – Inventor, futurist and author, most recently, of The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.
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