Elon Musk And Neuralink Forecast Cyborg Potential

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   GA Andersonposted 8 months ago

   As a Baby Boomer, the science fiction of our youth is now becoming the reality of our future. We get an amazement younger generations will never experience. They just take it for granted. Poor things.
   
   For the political junkies, if you're a Baby Boomer, this is a great way to start a morning: a 39-minute Elon Musk & Neuralink update video.
   
   The first 25 minutes explain the progress their first patient has made — their Prime Study. The progress is amazing, especially since only 15% of the 'Threads' are still working—the patient can play Speed Chess with just his thoughts.
   
   The last 14 minutes will stun you. It boils down to controlling an Optimus Prime robot as a physical avatar with just your thoughts.
   
   Also in that 14 minutes:
   A near-future (years, not decades) spinal cortex bypass to restore physical limb control to paralysis victims, robotic limb replacement controlled by your brain as if it were a biological limb, sight for the blind, and superpower-type enhancements.
   
   That sounds nuts until you follow the path of Neuralink's efforts shown in the video. This stuff has jumped from sci-fi to medical science.
   
   Us Boomers get to see the achievement of going from a corded kitchen phone on the wall to replacing that corded phone with a thought.
   
   Spend the time folks. Those last 14 minutes are presented so logically, and rationally, that it's hard to not be amazed.
   
   Here's Neuralink's videos of the patient using the implant.
   
   GA

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Intriguing!!
      
      On and off last night I thought about how to respond to your OP since you asked  no questions or prompted any thoughts toward discussion. It was as I do at times only a Public Service Announcement (PSA) type of OP, yet with a tad of emotion and amazement. I can appreciate that!
      
      I understand Neuralink both conceptually and the different sciences and technologies behind it pretty much. But, I am having a hard time wrapping my brain on its uses both practical and experimental. In other words, as it is now I see no advantage to using my smartphone without using my hands. It seems it is only a matter of slight inconvenience. I don't have a problem using my mouse today in fact sometimes enjoy clicking it as an anxiety coping tool. I don't mean that as to be critical, only looking at what was presented without letting my imagination run wild.
      
      However, I am totally amazed at its potential to serve mankind in various ways such as 'bridging' spinal injuries and the paraplegic becoming able to be functional again. Amazing!!
      
      Interesting enough I imagined a fighter jet pilot utilizing it. I would say the technology of the jet aircraft would have to be designed around an end product of Neuralink rather than adapting it to the electronics of the jet aircraft. 
      
      I had quite a bit of fun last night letting my imagination run wild conjuring this and that for what Neuralink could be utilized or adapted for. Potential I think is actually a limited adjective to describe it.
      
      I also had fun reminiscing about your statement, "Us Boomers get to see the achievement of going from a corded kitchen phone on the wall to replacing that corded phone with a thought."
      
      I pondered our conversation where you enjoyed sharing that your four year old grandson was being taught the basics of the smart phone, supervised of course. I thought what was the technology I was exposed to at that age in the year 1958. What? Black and white TV the size of a small sofa and dad changing the tubes in it now and then hoping he will fix it when it was on the fritz. It may have been difficult for me to turn the channel changing knob, so I may have been technologically limited.

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         Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Are you ready to glimpse our future?
         
         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UolX8swBJHc
         
         A more serious reply...
         
         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV7_abwM2ug

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            tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Thanks, Ken!!
            
            Enjoyed the second video while making the observation nothing was said about emotions. hmmm . . .

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         GA Andersonposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         The stuff of your last paragraph is the starting point of my amazement. I remember those things too.
         
         There were several Holy cow! moments in the video. One was the implant procedure: an operation so precise it required a robot to do the surgery because it was beyond physical human capabilities.
         
         And then the achieved results with only 15% of the 'threads' (inserted electrodes) remaining in place and working. Imagine what they will do when that problem is solved (they think they have a solution).
         
         When they spoke about the reality of attaching Optimus robot limbs, the I Robot movie came to mind — Will Smith, the hero, had a robotic arm that appeared and worked like a biological arm — more Hollywood magic come to life.
         
         Relative to your first thoughts about smartphone use, remember this advancement is for paralyzed folks.
         
         GA

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            tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            "Relative to your first thoughts about smartphone use, remember this advancement is for paralyzed folks."
            
            Yeah, I know and other uses too. I was just rambling. They spent a good portion of the time on being able to move the cursor to explain its intricacies I got side tracked.
            
            I know from prior exploring that the human brain/mind as far as we know today can do four thoughts at the same time. I imagine the Neuralink is using one from what I grasped. That is why I brought up the fighter pilot scenario. Using thoughts to navigate and manipulate the plane, arm and fire multiple weapons, and who knows what else 'simultaneously' not consecutively. Four thoughts at the same time kind of thing.
            
            As far as being a boomer I turned wrenches as a technician in the auto repair industry beginning in '73. That is when disc brakes were an 'option'. Now four wheel anti-lock disc brakes is becoming standard.
            
            In the early 80's is when they introduced Electronic Control Modules on cars for the ignition system. Modules, not computers like today. And, today's on board computer handles ignition, fuel, suspension, brakes, the heater/A/C system, and auto transmissions too. I saw and worked on the Lincoln logs all the way to lunar modules.

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   Ken Burgessposted 8 months ago

   Just remember GA, Musk is a bad guy, opening up Twitter to racists, hate speech and lies.  He is almost as bad as Trump himself.

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      GA Andersonposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Nope. No politics in this one Ken. This stuff is so damn amazing (to me, as a Boomer) that it earns an uncontaminated thread.
      
      GA ;-)

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         Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Oh poo...
         
         Well at least when we are all plugged in and become Borg like, we won't be killing one another over politics and religion.
         
         Resistance is futile...

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            wildernessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Should have known you were a trekkie at heart!

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               Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

               You know... that IS probably the closest thing to represent the majority of my beliefs and outlooks, hmmm, never considered it in that light before.
               
               That might not be a bad political party to start.

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   Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

   Must be forgiven for laziness, but didn't watch any of those highly eye-opening videos. However, being a Baby Boomer myself, also a passionate explorer of human unused potential -- for decades I've been using a different route to self-advancement, no matter how modest by results.
   Namely, I've been using the principles of the studies in neuroplasticity, epigenetics, psycho-neuro-immunology -- with a bunch of techniques to make it all work.
   I have never been satisfied with the brainwashing and limiting effects of the cultural paradigm that I observed in people. Always been intrigued by that "genetic junk" composed of 98.5% unknown genes in our genome.
   It has been said that the nature in its ultimate wisdom would have evolved away something that it had no intention to use -- so I see it as a dormant genetic treasure waiting to be activated.
   As for rewards from my studious passion, I'd like to mention my not having seen any doctors in the last 20 years (being 79); able to trigger blissfulness at will, and generally "living consciously", not just replaying the programs from an autopilot.
   Well, with English being only my second language, I don't have your eloquence, so -- what I am doing and experiencing is beyond my ability to verbalize it.
   As at least a few of you must have noticed, politics is only my fun-target of satirizing, and that is a part of my pretty refined stress management and my general mental discipline -- since I don't get affected by things over which I have no control.
   But, let's leave it at what I first said up here -- and I am glad that there are geniuses of Musk's caliber, to disturb the paradigm which has not produced anything better but more sophisticated versions of historical arrogant stupidity.

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   Ken Burgessposted 8 months ago

   Apologies in advance... but these are Elon Musk tweets I am dropping and this is the latest Elon Musk related thread... so
   
   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1811349732809113823
   
   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1811805084981834164
   
   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1811783320839008381
   
   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1811360296218341403
   
   https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1811329608995746101
   
   One of the best tools you can use to judge a person today, without them knowing it, is asking them what they think about Musk.
   
   It will explain a lot about where they get their information from and how aware they are of what is going on in tech and politics today.

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      "One of the best tools you can use to judge a person today, without them knowing it, is asking them what they think about Musk."
      
      Really?
      
      [Edit] Curiosity piqued and went on a hunt for giggles. I discovered several articles. One post was by Statista for Musk popularity for 2022. Quoting the post;
      
      "According to a survey conducted in the United States in the third quarter of 2022, Elon Musk found most popularity amongst Millennials. Overall, 44 percent of U.S. Millennials had a positive view of the SpaceX CEO, and 90 percent knew of him. Although his popularity dipped with elder generations, Musk's fame increased, and despite 98 percent of Baby Boomers having heard of him, only 37 percent held a positive opinion."
      
      Worth a peak if interested.
      
      Popularity of Elon Musk amongst adults in the United States as of 3rd quarter 2022, by generation
      https://www.statista.com/statistics/135 … eneration/

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         Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Prior to Musk becoming a magnet for Progressive/Left's hatred he was a celebrated darling on the Left far more than the Right.
         
         When he bought Twitter and exposed the censorship and misinformation and collusion with the FBI he became public enemy #2 behind Trump.
         
         The MSM began doing hit piece after hit piece on him after that.... prior to buying Twitter the only negative press he was getting was inspired by the Big 3 and Big Oil companies that were looking out for their own interests.
         
         https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/27/tech/elo … index.html
         
         For years, what differentiated Twitter from other social platforms was that it served as a central hub for real-time news. It was a place for ordinary people to read and even engage in conversation with celebrities, business leaders and other newsmakers. - from the linked article.
         
         Remember Trump used Twitter to communicate regularly, but by 2020 there was such censorship of 'wrong think' and so many bots pushing 'progressive' perspectives that eventually even Trump was banned from the platform, while he was still the sitting President.
         
         Musk did away with 'wrong think' censorship and one of the first things he did was shut down the pedophilia rings that were using Twitter to communicate and traffic children.
         
         After Musk’s takeover, big shifts in how Republican and Democratic Twitter users view the platform
         
         Two years ago, a majority of Republican Twitter users in the United States said the site had a bad impact on American democracy. But today, following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, their views have become much more positive, while those of their Democratic counterparts have grown more negative.
         
         https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads … -platform/

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            tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Yup, you're probably are onto something.
            
            What I found interesting is the Statista poll/survey was for the 3rd quarter of 2022. Musk concluded his acquisition of Twitter in Oct of 2022, which would be the fourth quarter. I wonder what the results are after that for the questions Statista asked. hmmm . . .
            
            So, my curiosity piqued again discovering a YouGov poll for Musk. I did not discover a date for it while speculate it is an ongoing continuous poll. It has Musk at
            
            Fame 96%
            Popularity 43%
            Dislike 23%
            Neutral 21%
            
            He is ranked 4th for business figures.
            
            https://today.yougov.com/topics/economy … /Elon_Musk
            
            Another question asked is "How influential is Elon Musk in the Tech Industry?
            
            Very influential 40%
            Somewhat influential 34%
            
            https://today.yougov.com/topics/economy … 15/e1704/3
            
            [Note: This was written before the prior post was expanded.]

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               Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

               I like that last link, breaks it down by sex, politics, race... very interesting.
               
               "[Note: This was written before the prior post was expanded.]"
               
               Yeah, many of these posts are very quick thoughts I shoot out, and then touch up to better relay the message.
               
               Elon Musk
               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK6MyKmIew8
               
               Eric Weinstein
               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaoGl-soL1g
               
               They can take you down some rabbit holes with their theories.

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                  GA Andersonposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                  The Musk video was great. It affirms my impression of him. Your second link was a rabbit hole I abandoned partway through—when the Epstein "construct" and a secret intelligence agency stuff entered.
                  
                  GA

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                     Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                     What is so fascinating about Weinstein and his Epstein story is how it weaves into MIT, other brilliant scientists and so on.
                     
                     And the more videos you find where he discusses it, and you put together more of the pieces... it makes a great WTF moment...
                     
                     And then you realize, this is one of the top 100 minds in the WORLD... a frikin genius that can see the world and calculate it in ways you cannot imagine... and HE says its a WTF to HIM... he can't put it together.
                     
                     And it makes your head pop... because Epstein is everywhere... Clinton, Gates, Fauci.... WTF!

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                        GA Andersonposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                        Hmm . . .  then there is the question of where is the Little Black book of client names?
                        
                        GA

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                     Ken Burgessposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                     OK, you don't want to touch that topic...
                     
                     You must know someone important or something...
                     
                     So back to Musk's break through...
                     
                     We are not ready for where we are today as a species...
                     
                     We are hard-wired in ways we can't over-rule with our conscious efforts.
                     
                     Some of us can... but on the whole ... as a species... we can't handle it.
                     
                     That is why we are seeing such unrest, such polarization... in addition to being led astray by a dementia patient and his equity based flock...
                     
                     Maybe the only way we can save ourselves and our species is finding a way of merging ourselves to technology fast enough... that we find our way past destroying ourselves with technology or programming the technology through AI to destroy us.
                     
                     Musk knows we are in a race against time, that if the wrong people develop a sufficiently capable AI programmed with 'Wrong Think', then humanity is done for.
                     
                     While we must worry about idiots like Biden today, bringing about our destruction almost due to his lack of comprehending today's technology.

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            GA Andersonposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Well, that explains it. I was surprised by Tsmog's info that said old folks didn't have as favorable impressions of Musk. Because of the reasons for my favorable impression, I thought most older folks would too.
            
            I understood why the Left turned on him when he bought Twitter. Now I'm thinking it might have been the auto and oil industries' criticisms that planted the negative impression in us older folks.
            
            Consider: I think it's fair to say that in this 'Musk time frame', us older folks viewed those industries more favorably than the younger folks, and,  we had a less favorable view of Social Media.
            
            Yep,  your quotes make sense.
            
            GA

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