by Ray Kurzweil
Knowledge principle A principle that emphasizes the important role played by knowledge in many forms of intelligent activity. It states that a system exhibits intelligence in part due to the specific knowledge relevant to the task that it contains. Knowledge representation A system for organizing human knowledge in a domain into a data structure flexible enough to allow the expression of facts, rules, and relationships.
Law of Accelerating Returns As order exponentially increases, time exponentially speeds up (i.e., the time interval between salient events grows shorter as time passes).
Law of Increasing Chaos As chaos exponentially increases, time exponentially slows down (i.e., the time interval between salient events grows longer as time passes).
Law of Time and Chaos In a process, the time interval between salient events (i.e., events that change the nature of the process, or significantly affect the future of the process) expands or contracts along with the amount of chaos.
Laws of thermodynamics The laws of thermodynamics govern how and why energy is transferred.
The first law of thermodynamics (postulated by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1847), also called the Law of Conservation of Energy, states that the total amount of energy in the Universe is constant. A process may modify the form of energy, but a closed system does not lose energy. We can use this knowledge to determine the amount of energy in a system, the amount lost as waste heat, and the efficiency of the system.
The second law of thermodynamics (articulated by Rudolf Clausias in 1850), also known as the Law of Increasing Entropy, states that the entropy (disorder of particles) in the Universe never decreases. As the disorder in the Universe increases, the energy is transformed into less usable forms. Thus, the efficiency of any process will always be less than 100 percent.
The third law of thermodynamics (described by Walter Hermann Nemst in 1906, based on the idea of a temperature of absolute zero first articulated by Baron Kelvin in 1848), also known as the Law of Absolute Zero, tells us that all molecular movement stops at a temperature called absolute zero, or 0 Kelvin (—273°C). Since temperature is a measure of molecular movement, the temperature of absolute zero can be approached, but it can never be reached.
Life The ability of entities (usually organisms) to reproduce into future generations. Patterns of matter and energy that can perpetuate themselves and survive.
LISP (list processing) An interpretive computer language developed in the late 1950s at MIT by John McCarthy used to manipulate symbolic strings of instructions and data. The principal data structure is the list, a finite ordered sequence of symbols. Because a program written in LISP is itself expressed as a list of lists, LISP lends itself to sophisticated recursion, symbol manipulation, and self-modifying code. It has been widely used for AI programming, although it is less popular today than it was in the 1970s and 1980s.
Logical positivism A twentieth-century philosophical school of thought that was inspired by Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. According to logical positivism, all meaningful statements may be confirmed by observation and experiment or are “analytic” (deducible from observations).
Luddite One of a group of early-nineteenth-century English workmen who destroyed labor-saving machinery in protest. The Luddites were the first organized movement to oppose the mechanized technology of the Industrial Revolution. Today, the Luddites are a symbol of opposition to technology.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) A noninvasive diagnostic technique that produces computerized images of body tissues and is based on nuclear magnetic resonance of atoms within the body produced by the application of radio waves. A person is placed in a magnetic field thirty thousand times stronger than the normal magnetic field on Earth. The person’s body is stimulated with radio waves, and the body responds with its own electromagnetic transmissions. These are detected and processed by computer to generate a three-dimensional map of high-resolution internal features such as blood vessels.
Massively parallel neural nets A neural net built from many parallel processing units. Generally, a separate, specialized computer implements each neuron model.
Microprocessor An integrated circuit built on a single chip containing the entire central processing unit (CPU) of a computer.
Millions of Instructions per Second A method of measuring the speed of a computer in terms of the number of millions of instructions performed by the computer in one second. An instruction is a single step in a computer program as represented in the computer’s machine language.
Mind-body problem The philosophical question: How does the nonphysical entity of the mind emerge from the physical entity of the brain? How do feelings and other subjective experiences result from the processing of the physical brain? By extension, will machines emulating the processes of the human brain have subjective experiences? Also, how does the nonphysical entity of the mind exert control over the physical reality of the body?
Mind trigger A stimulation of an area of the brain that evokes a feeling usually (i.e., otherwise) gained from actual physical or mental experience.
Minimax procedure or theorem A basic technique used in game-playing programs. An expanding tree of possible moves and countermoves (moves from the opponent) is constructed. An evaluation of the final “leaves” of the tree that minimizes the opponent’s ability to win and maximizes the program’s ability to win is then passed back down the branches of the tree.
MIPS See Millions of Instructions per Second.
Mission critical system A software program that controls a process on which people are heavily dependent. Examples of mission critical software include life-support systems in hospitals, automated surgical equipment, autopilot flying and landing systems, and other software-based systems that affect the well-being of a person or organization.
Molecular computer A computer based on logic gates that is constructed on principles of molecular mechanics (as opposed to principles of electronics) by appropriate arrangements of molecules. Since the size of each logic gate (device that can perform a logical operation) is only one or a few molecules, the resultant computer can be microscopic in size. Limitations on molecular computers arise only from the physics of atoms. Molecular computers can be massively parallel by having parallel computations performed by trillions of molecules simultaneously. Molecular computers have been demonstrated using the DNA molecule.
Moore’s Law First postulated by former Intel CEO Gordon Moore in the mid-1960s, Moore’s Law is the prediction that the size of each transistor on an integrated circuit chip will be reduced by 50 percent every twenty-four months. The result is the exponentially growing power of integrated circuit-based computation over time. Moore’s Law doubles the number of components on a chip as well as the speed of each component. Both of these aspects double the power of computing, for an effective quadrupling of the power of computation every twenty-four months.
MOSH In 2099, an acronym for Mostly Original Substrate Humans. In the last half of the twenty-first century, a human being still using native carbon-based neurons and unenhanced by neural implants is referred to as a MOSH. In 2099, Molly refers to the author as being a MOSH.
MOSH art In 2099, art (that is usually created by enhanced humans) that a MOSH is theoretically capable of appreciating, although MOSH art is not always shared with a MOSH.
MOSH music In 2099, MOSH art in the form of music.
Moshism In 2099, an archaic term that is rooted in the MOSH way of life, before the advent of enhanced humans through neural implants and the porting of human brains to new computational substrates. An example of a Moshism: the word papers to refer to knowledge structures representing a body of intellectual work.
MRI See Magnetic resonance imaging.
MYCIN A successful expert system, developed at Stanford University in the mid- 1970s, designed to aid medical practitioners in prescribing an appropriate antibiotic by determining the exact identity of a blood infection.
Nanobot A nanorobot (robot built using nan
otechnology). A self-replicating nanobot requires mobility, intelligence, and the ability to manipulate its environment. It also needs to know when to stop its own replication. In 2029, nanobots will circulate through the bloodstream of the human body to diagnose illnesses.
Nanobot swarm In the last half of the twenty-first century, a swarm comprised of trillions of nanobots. The nanobot swarms can rapidly take on any form. A nanobot swarm can project the visual images, sounds, and pressure contours of any set of objects, including people. The swarms of nanobots can also combine their computational abilities to emulate the intelligence of people and other intelligent entities and processes. A nanobot swarm effectively brings the ability to create virtual environments into the real environment.
Nanoengineering The design and manufacturing of products and other objects based on the manipulation of atoms and molecules; building machines atom by atom. “Nano” refers to a billionth of a meter, which is the width of five carbon atoms. See Picoengineering; Femtoengineering.
Nanopathogen A self-replicating nanobot that replicates excessively, possibly without limit, causing destruction to both organic and inorganic matter.
Nanopatrol In 2029, a nanobot in the bloodstream that checks the body for biological pathogens and other disease processes.
Nanotechnology A body of technology in which products and other objects are created through the manipulation of atoms and molecules. “Nano” refers to a billionth of a meter, which is the width of five carbon atoms.
Nanotubes Elongated carbon molecules that resemble long tubes and are formed of the same pentagonal patterns of carbon atoms as buckyballs. Nanotubes can perform the electronic functions of silicon-based components. Nanotubes are extremely small, thereby providing very high densities of computation. Nanotubes are a likely technology to continue to provide the exponential growth of computing when Moore’s Law on integrated circuits dies by the year 2020. Nanotubes are also extremely strong and heat resistant, thereby permitting the creation of three-dimensional circuits.
Natural language Language as ordinarily spoken or written by humans using a human language such as English (as contrasted with the rigid syntax of a computer language). Natural language is governed by rules and conventions sufficiently complex and subtle for there to be frequent ambiguity in syntax and meaning.
Neanderthal See Homo sapiens neanderthal (neanderthalensis).
Neural computer A computer with hardware optimized for using the neural network paradigm. A neural computer is designed to simulate a massive number of models of human neurons.
Neural connection calculation In a neural network, a term that refers to the primary calculation of multiplying the “strength” of a neural connection by the input to that connection (which is either the output of another neuron or an initial input to the system) and then adding this product to the accumulated sum of such products from other connections to this neuron. This operation is highly repetitive, so neural computers are optimized for performing it.
Neural implant A brain implant that enhances one’s sensory ability, memory, or intelligence. Neural implants will become ubiquitous in the twenty-first century.
Neural network A computer simulation of human neurons. A system (implemented in software or hardware) that is intended to emulate the computing structure of neurons in the human brain.
Neuron Information-processing cell of the central nervous system. There are an estimated 100 billion neurons in the human brain.
Noise A random sequence of data. Because the sequence is random and without meaning, noise carries no information. Contrasted with information.
Objective experience The experience of an entity as observed by another entity, or measurement apparatus.
OCR See Optical character recognition.
Operating system A software program that manages and provides a variety of services to application programs, including user interface facilities and management of input-output and memory devices.
Optical character recognition (OCR) A process in which a machine scans, recognizes, and encodes printed (and possibly handwritten) characters into digital form.
Optical computer A computer that processes information encoded in patterns of light beams; different from today’s conventional computers, in which information is represented in electronic circuitry or encoded on magnetic surfaces. Each stream of photons can represent an independent sequence of data, thereby providing extremely massive parallel computation.
Optical imaging A brain-imaging technique similar to MRI but potentially providing higher resolution imaging. Optical imaging is based on the interaction between electrical activity in the neurons and blood circulation in the capillaries feeding the neurons.
Order Information that fits a purpose. The measure of order is the measure of how well the information fits the purpose. In the evolution of life-forms, the purpose is to survive. In an evolutionary algorithm (a computer program that simulates evolution to solve a problem), the purpose is to solve the problem. Having more information, or more complexity, does not necessarily result in a better fit. A superior solution for a purpose—greater order—may require either more or less information, and either more or less complexity. Evolution has shown, however, that the general trend toward greater order does generally result in greater complexity.
Paradigm A pattern, model, or general approach to solving a problem.
Parallel processing Refers to computers that use multiple processors operating simultaneously as opposed to a single processing unit. (Compare with Serial computer.)
Pattern recognition Recognition of patterns with the goal of identifying, classifying, or categorizing complex inputs. Examples of inputs include images such as printed characters and faces, and sounds such as spoken language.
Perceptron In the late 1960s and 1970s, a machine constructed from mathematical models of human neurons. Early Perceptrons were modestly successful in such pattern-recognition tasks as identifying printed letters and speech sounds. The Perceptron was a forerunner of contemporary neural nets.
Personal computer A generic term for a single-user computer using a microprocessor, and including the computing hardware and software needed for an individual to work autonomously.
PGP See Pretty Good Privacy.
Picoengineering Technology on the picometer (one trillionth of a meter) scale. Picoengineering will involve engineering at the level of subatomic particles.
Picture portal In 2009, a visual display for viewing people and other real-time images. In later years, the portals project three-dimensional, real-time scenes. Molly’s son, Jeremy, uses a picture portal to view the Stanford University campus.
Pixel An abbreviation for picture element. The smallest element on a computer screen that holds information to represent a picture. Pixels contain data giving brightness and possibly color at particular points in the picture.
Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) A system of encryption (designed by Phil Zimmerman) distributed on the Internet and widely used. PGP uses a public key that can be freely disseminated and used by anyone to encode a message and a private key that is kept only by the intended recipient of the encoded messages. The private key is used by the recipient to decode messages encrypted using the public key Converting the public key into a private key requires factoring large numbers. If the number of bits in the public key is large enough, then the factors cannot be computed in a reasonable amount of time using conventional computation (and thus the encoded information remains secure). Quantum computing (with a sufficient number of qu-bits) would destroy this type of encryption.
Price-performance A measure of the performance of a product per unit cost.
Program A set of computer instructions that enables a computer to perform a specific task. Programs are usually written in a high-level language such as “C” or “FORTRAN” that can be understood by human programmers and then translated into machine language using a special program called a compiler. Machine language is a special set of codes that dir
ectly controls a computer.
Punch card A rectangular card that typically records up to eighty characters of data in a binary coded format as a pattern of holes punched in it.
Quantum computing A revolutionary method of computing, based on quantum physics, that uses the ability of particles such as electrons to exist in more than one state at the same time. See Qu-bit.
Quantum decoherence A process in which the ambiguous quantum state of a particle (such as the nuclear spin of an electron representing a qu-bit in a quantum computer) is resolved into an unambiguous state as the result of direct or indirect observation by a conscious observer.
Quantum encryption A possible form of encryption using streams of quantum entangled particles such as photons. See Quantum entanglement.
Quantum entanglement A relationship between two physically separated particles under special circumstances. Two photons may be “quantum entangled” if produced by the same particle interaction and emerging in opposite directions. The two photons remain quantum entangled with each other even when separated by very large distances (even when light-years apart). In such a circumstance, the two quantum entangled photons, if each forced to make a decision to choose among two equally probable pathways, will make the identical decision and will do so at the same instant in time. Since there is no possible communication link between two quantum entangled photons, classical physics would predict that their decisions would be independent. But two quantum entangled photons make the same decision and do so at the same instant in time. Experiments have demonstrated that even if there were an unknown communication path between them, there is not enough time for a message to travel from one photon to the other at the speed of light.
Quantum mechanics A theory that describes the interactions of subatomic particles, combining several basic discoveries. These include Max Planck’s 1900 observation that energy is absorbed or radiated in discrete quantities, called quanta. Also Werner
Heisenberg’s 1927 uncertainty principle stating that we cannot know both the exact position and momentum of an electron or other particle at the same time. Interpretations of quantum theory imply that photons simultaneously take all possible paths (e.g., when bouncing off a mirror). Some paths cancel each other out. Remaining ambiguity in the path actually taken is resolved based on the conscious observation of an observer.
