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Connecting the Dots

Hello!

I've finished reading Yuval Noah Harari's book Homo Deus. I was very impressed. While much of the book focuses on history, it builds up to a final few chapters that offer his prediction of what might be to come.

Of particular interest is a techno-religion called Dataism, which according to Harari, “declares that the universe consists of data flows, and the value of any phenomenon or entity is determined by its contribution to data processing.”

That's the topic of my new article. Check it out:

God is in the Algorithm

There has been a great variety of religions over the years, most of which worship some form or forms of deity. A new religion called Dataism may be emerging that does away with the traditional notion of God, replacing him with an algorithm...

Other Interesting Findings

1. Working memory seems to rely on networks of neurons humming together. When we start to struggle, the neurons fall out of sync.

2. The world's most powerful supercomputer is now Summit, which bests the previous machine by 60%, and is capable of 200 petaflops (million billion calculations per second). It's also the first supercomputer designed specifically with AI applications in mind.

3. Chimpanzees might process bottoms in a similar way to how humans process faces.

4. How would you feel if a robotic snake with a claw appeared from your toilet and stole your shower curtain? Yeah, apparently that happened.

5. Is it scientifically accurate to equate yourself to your brain? To quote Friedrich Nietzsche:

“Behind your thoughts and feelings, my brother, there is a mighty lord, an unknown sage—it is called self; it dwells in your body, it is your body.”

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