LONGECITY

Movie entitled "The Singularity is Near: A True Story About the Future" which is based on the most recent book by Ray Kurzweil: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049412/

Plot Outline:

The brilliant inventor Ray Kurzweil creates a computer avatar named Ramona (Pauley Perrette). He raises her like a modern-day Pinocchio, and she gradually acquires consciousness. Ramona detects a secret attempt by microscopic robots to destroy the world, but her warnings are ignored by everyone because she is not recognized as a person. Her computerized nature lets her stop the robot attack but lands her in trouble with the law.  Written by Martine Rothblatt

Due out in March of 2008 it appears.


Edited by Live Forever, 03 August 2007 - 10:22 PM.

OMG!!! Wow ... thats so cool! I can't wait until it comes out!

Great!

Relevant topic:
http://www.imminst.o...=ST&f=1&t=16120

Interesting... I hope it turns out well.

Nice.

What I find most fascinating, is how science-'fiction' has evolved into science-'non-fiction' with a fictional storyline. Exciting anyway you look at it.

The brilliant inventor Ray Kurzweil creates a computer avatar named Ramona (Pauley Perrette). He raises her like a modern-day Pinocchio, and she gradually acquires consciousness. Ramona detects a secret attempt by microscopic robots to destroy the world, but her warnings are ignored by everyone because she is not recognized as a person. Her computerized nature lets her stop the robot attack but lands her in trouble with the law.  Written by Martine Rothblatt

Ugh!!! If that's the best plot they could come up with, then I do not hold out much hope for this movie. And please please please do not have a love interest subplot between brilliant inventor Kurzweil and the Ramona avatar. Oh god, my stomach hurts just thinking about it.

It sounds kind of like an interesting plot to me, depending on what direction they take it in. I suppose they had to make it a fiction movie as opposed to a documentary to appeal to more people. Interesting that Kurzweil is playing himself. (although who else would they cast to play him really?)

It sounds kind of like an interesting plot to me, depending on what direction they take it in. I suppose they had to make it a fiction movie as opposed to a documentary to appeal to more people. Interesting that Kurzweil is playing himself. (although who else would they cast to play him really?)

Anyway, we shall see when its released. I hold out far more hope for the upcoming James Cameron film mentioned in the other thread.

“In this film the human technology in the future is capable of injecting a human's intelligence into a remotely located body, a biological body.

It's not an avatar in the sense of just existing as ones and zeroes in cyberspace. It's actually a physical body. The lead character, Jake has his human existence and his avatar existence.” - James Cameron

I think Cameron has a very good grasp of transhumanist possibilities.

STORY:
Set 200 years into the future Avatar follows the story of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) an injured war veteran who reluctantly ends up on Pandora, a moon orbiting a giant gas planet. 

Pandora has a lush, tropical rain forest, is rich in biodiversity and is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with their own unique language and culture.

Trouble arises when human colonists try and exploit the indigenous tribe, supervised by Selfridge a ruthless man who will stop at nothing to gain a foothold into the new world. A rift between races ensues with Jake eventually crossing over to the indigenous side, falling in love with Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) in the process and leading the Na’vi in an epic battle for survival.

Oh yeah, that one will probably be more widely released and have more eyeballs on it, too. "The Singularity is Near" was just such a great book, though, that it would take a lot to muff up a movie. (that isn't saying that it can't be done, of course ))

Tony Robbins!

Tony Robbins!

[?] [huh] [?]

Tony Robbins!

I don't know why, but that's hilarious!

The Ramona on Kurzweil's site which you can talk to is actually pretty lame :(

The Ramona on Kurzweil's site which you can talk to is actually pretty lame :(

Is it like a bot or something?

The Ramona on Kurzweil's site which you can talk to is actually pretty lame :(

Is it like a bot or something?

All I see is the disembodied head of woman who is less responsive than that annoying MS paper clip thing. And it generates heaps of errors.

Here's a screen cap:

I had that problem too, tried after few days and it just worked..
The bottom menu gives you a chat line where you can talk to her.
She respones same lines in voice and text.

And you can easily feel it's a fake @@..
Very not impressive.

I don't know what the motivation of this movie is, but I don't think it's a very good idea. It kinda looks ... lame.

It seems more of a cautionary tale. Like "this is what could happen if we don't give AIs full personhood rights". Of course, like any movie, the implementation is what will make or break it, but the concept seems sound to me.

Being written by Martine Rothblatt, the tone of the script (or at least the tone of the outline of the script) doesn't surprise me at all, as she is a big proponent of getting full rights for artificial intelligences.

Is there something specific which some of you guys are finding with it that you do not like, or is it just the concept of having a movie exploring the rights of AIs that you guys object to?

Nothing against the movie.. just that the AI on their site isn't impressive :(

I think a movie exploring the idea of AI rights is a neat idea, entirely. In fact, I'd say that BSG is doing something like that already.

Who or what is BSG?

(If you mean Battlestar Galactica, then there are a bunch of tv shows and movies throughout the years that have explored AI, but 1) never as a central theme, and 2) almost never very realistically)

Yeah, Battlestar Galactica.
I've only seen the first two seasons, but there was certainly an idea of "how human does something need to appear, to be treated as a human?"

It will be hard to produce a movie on this topic that will be a "hit' with the general public without a top-notch script writer and/or slick special effects. I would be quite interested in seeing the movie because I am a techie/immortalist/transhumaist type of geek. However, most of the public will probably think it is lame (unless it is produced as stated above).

I have to agree with you there, Mind. Most of what sells to the masses in terms of movies are not things I am interested in, and vice versa. (I like lots of indie movies and documentaries and stuff that don't have wide appeal)

Perhaps it is selfish of me to think this way, but as long as the movie appeals to me, I don't really care if the masses like it or not.

Holy shit awesome! Though, about damn time.

I, Robot was a fairly successful.

Worldwide
$347,234,916

Have an actor that people tend to want to watch, and you have a successful movie. I'm not suggesting Will Smith is an elite actor, but people tend to enjoy his work.

As long as no one like Tom Cruise or John Travolta is in it (ironic, because I liked Minority Report, however, with a different actor, I'd likely have enjoyed it that much more), I'll check it out.

Perhaps it is selfish of me to think this way, but as long as the movie appeals to me, I don't really care if the masses like it or not.

QFT, this is how people should live their lives. I really do not care if other people don't like a movie, as long as I like it, I could care less, and I don't invest any attachment to if other people dislike the movies I like and vice-versa.

Make something that I want to watch, and I will watch it, and I don't care who else watches it as long as I can watch it and enjoy it. Besides, it's not like you can enjoy a movie through the quantity of people who view it, pretty lame way of 'liking' a movie to me.

I am both extremely excited and yet also nervous about Ray Kurzweil's upcoming film about the Singularity. I hope it is equal to the subject material and that it makes it into enough theaters (with sufficient advertising & marketing mojo behind them) to have its presence strongly felt. The odds are good it will stir up much thoughtful (and also sometimes thoughtless...) public debate.

This could be the huge memetic leap forward we have been dreaming about for so long!

Thank you, Ray Kurzweil!

John Grigg : )

http://www.wired.com.../11/kurzweil_qa

Wow i hadn't heard of that until now. Very nice. Hopefully it attracts some considerable media and public attention.