(Josh)
I am an independent scientist and author. My most recent book is Beyond AI: Creating the Conscience of the Machine, published by Prometheus Books.
It is about the (possibly) imminent
development of strong AI, and the desirability, if and when that happens, that such
AIs be equipped with a moral sense and conscience. This is an outgrowth of my essay
Ethics for Machines.
See the author's pages.
My previous book is Nanofuture, also published by Prometheus.
It is about real nanotechnology, i.e. molecular machines (as opposed to films and powders re-branded "nanotech" as a buzzword.)
The word autogeny means, literally, "born of itself." I use it in Nanofuture to refer to systems, such as proposed nanomanufacturing systems, that are capable of building all the parts they consist of, and can thus be bootstrapped from small kernels if properly designed. I find that the term fits very well with my concept of how a human mind develops, and that this is a very fruitful way of thinking about what goes on in the mind. (Compare this with Maturana's term "autopoiesis," which has a similar meaning in the philosophy of biology.)
I was the founding Chief Scientist of Nanorex, Inc, which is developing a CAD system for nanomechanical engineering. I remain a member of Nanorex' Scientific Advisory Board, and well as a Research Fellow of the Institute
for Molecular Manufacturing.
My research interests include molecular nanotechnology and the design of useful macroscopic machines using the capabilities
of molecular manufacturing. My background is in computer science,
particularly parallel processor architectures, artificial intelligence,
particularly agoric and genetic algorithms as used
in design, and reversible computing.
I was the founder and moderator of the sci.nanotech
newsgroup for a decade.
I'm known as the originator of the Utility Fog
concept.
I'm a proponent of replacing roads and internal combustion vehicles
with flying cars. They are some of the
milder innovations that nanotechnology could make not only possible, but
economical (not to mention safe) as well. Another is space travel.
Technological
forecasting and criticism.
I'm basically an optimist as a futurist, but progress seems to consist
of taking 100 steps forward and 93 steps back...
My CV and scientific accomplishments.
Some personal info, enthusiasms, and hobbies.
You should be able to guess an email address from my nickname and the URL of this site...