Supercomputers

Abstract

Supercomputers solve very large-scale complex problems efficiently and expediently – simulating societies, modeling the weather, or mapping genes, etc. Perhaps the most complex task of all is simulating our brains. The physical mapping of organic components to an artificial architecture is daunting, but more so is identifying the mental content referred to as “consciousness.” Creating a human mind is not impossible; what appeared out of reach yesterday is near reality now – a mind embodied in a machine. More profoundly, we may become our own gods, religion merging with science, a “supercomputer brain” encapsulating consciousness, reason, rationality, intelligence, etc. Can we overcome human bias in looking at ourselves, humans creating their own minds, our living as simulations in a virtual world, and computers actually solving social problems? If ultimately these developments amount to creating ourselves as a god, humanity looking at itself through itself, we may not like what we see.