I know that there are still theoretical mathematics problems that would take digital computers hundreds of years to solve...sounds mind boggling I know but I read of it in a biography about Paul Erdos. So those are obvious targets...then there is probability and Chaos theory, Anything that has a huge number of variables like weather patterns, predicting El Nino events..patterns of disease spreading. And of course AI.[/quot
I am not worried it will lead to extinction. I have no doubt he wants to make us "better" consumers though.
Those uses for quantum computing are very good suggestions. The possibilities seem so endless to me that it is difficult for me to think in terms of a itemized list of targets. My ideas spin into each other, one idea quickly leading to another, too fast for me to really allow them to be explored. Which is why I started this thread- I thought by participating on dialogue with others I might be able to slow down the excited ideas into a more cohesive exploration of each idea.
Disease and weather patterns: disaster prevention methods could be fined tuned and very effective! That would be quite a positive outcome of quantum computing, and averting disaster/preventing disease before it even takes place would certainly extend life expectancy. Extended life, and improved quality of life, would allow humans to focus longer amounts of attention on solving other key issues. We would have the time and tools to solve problems like energy production, new fuel sources for space travel, and astronauts could live longer, therefore travel further.
A focus on the more positive effects of plausible targets for quantum computing is a favorable conversation. I still worry though of the negative impacts of this technology if in the wrong hands. There is no way to prevent that. Google was asked to create an ethnics committee by the last company they purchased. (Specifically to oversee ray's team and the development of ai) obviously, there is real concern over the direction such a technology could take, and indeed a fear that the direction would take a life of its own that humans would not be prepared for. Deliberately programmed flaws in ai or limitations on humanistic capability is important to me, and I think will be important to others as this tech advances into every aspect of our lives.
Ray's ideas for ai, reverse engineering of the brain, and upload/download into hosts of "self" beg the question: what makes you YOU? Will these hosts be you, or merely a highly advanced biological hybrid that believes it is you?
I would feel much safer if the idea of replacing pieces of the brain as they begin to degrade were explored.