What I'm Reading

Matrioshka Brains

http://www.aeiveos.com:8080/~bradbury/MatrioshkaBrains/MatrioshkaBrainsPaper.html

"Predictable improvements in lithographic methods foretell continued increases in computer processing power. Economic growth and engineering evolution continue to increase the size of objects which can be manufactured and power that can be controlled by humans. Neuroscience is gradually dissecting the components and functions of the structures in the brain. Advances in computer science and programming methodologies are increasingly able to emulate aspects of human intelligence. Continued progress in these areas leads to a convergence which results in megascale superintelligent thought machines. These machines, referred to as Matrioshka Brains¹, consume the entire power output of stars (~10²⁶ W), consume all of the useful construction material of a solar system (~10²⁶ kg), have thought capacities limited by the physics of the universe and are essentially immortal."

Matrioshka Brains, by Robert J. Bradbury

posted by quebeck @ 5:29 PM