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Technological Singularity and the music biz. (long, detailed opinion content)


3shiftgtr

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I gots a crackpot theory. And Imma sayit right here, you lucky folks. I lurk here at SSS often and post here rarely, but you guys seem to be the only guys on HC that would actually read the post, much less give it consideration. So here goes:

Look for a second at Technological Singularity.

From WIKI-

Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means, very probably resulting in explosive superintelligence.[1] Since the capabilities of such intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as an intellectual event horizon, beyond which events can not be predicted or understood. Proponents of the singularity typically state an "intelligence explosion"[2][3] is a key factor of the Singularity where superintelligences design successive generations of increasingly powerful minds.

In summary, there will be a time when technology and humanity will aid each other in increasing human intelligence capacity.

I bring this up here because I think music biz is pointing to and is a harbinger for Technological Singularity: 2 reasons:

1) One precept of certain concepts of T.S. is the ability for ALL INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE AND ATTAINABLE AT ALL TIMES TO ALL PEOPLE FOR ANY REASON. Isn't what we are currently experiencing in the music biz feel like the start of that? When digitized, music becomes content (information) and it is available all the time to whoever wants it. And mostly it's free.

2) All music is directly related to the technology of its time; from instruments to delivery, it as much a reflection as a creation thereof. Musicology research bears this out. The reflection of T.S. in current music business models follow a musicological/sociological evolutionary path that is a logical extension thereof.

The advent of mass media in the last century (really going back to the advent of the printing press) helped create the past and current models of the music biz. Music delivery was as much about people using the media as it was about the media using the artist. In today

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It's too late for a lengthy response, but there's always tomorrow. Suffice it to say, I'm glad you posted this. Much food for thought, some of it spicy smile.gif

I would also fold in there how technology allows us to create music that goes beyond what humans can do, like perfect beats, pitch correction, quantization, etc. But, that also brings up that you need a partnership of this superintelligence - applying quantization or correction all the time sucks. Machines are like really, really smart dogs. They can fetch the paper and open it up, but they can't analyze the news stories.

To bring this back to your premise, the partership with respect to "all music available, all the time thanks to technology" is human filtering to sort it into something useful and comprehensible to each person who wants to partake of this universe of music.

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Quote Originally Posted by 3shiftgtr View Post
. . . . In summary, there will be a time when technology and humanity will aid each other in increasing human intelligence capacity.
Oh, sort of like the opposite of television? wink.gif There's often a gap between availability of information and intelligence. Some people are stimulated, others aren't. Absorbing information doesn't necessarily make one more intelligent, it's your capacity for using that information that makes you intelligent.

One precept of certain concepts of T.S. is the ability for ALL INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE AND ATTAINABLE AT ALL TIMES TO ALL PEOPLE FOR ANY REASON. Isn't what we are currently experiencing in the music biz feel like the start of that? When digitized, music becomes content (information) and it is available all the time to whoever wants it. And mostly it's free.
Is this a good thing, or just a fact? Not all "information" is "intelligence." Much of it, particularly IMHO when it comes to music for free, is noise, not information.

All music is directly related to the technology of its time; from instruments to delivery, it as much a reflection as a creation thereof. Musicology research bears this out. The reflection of T.S. in current music business models follow a musicological/sociological evolutionary path that is a logical extension thereof.

I suppose this is true on a theoretical basis. I'm sure that people sang before they figured out that they could make more interesting or more valuable music by inventing musical instruments. Music became a means of communication, and communication is a strong contributor toward intelligence.

The advent of mass media in the last century (really going back to the advent of the printing press) helped create the past and current models of the music biz. Music delivery was as much about people using the media as it was about the media using the artist. In today
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One thing bugs me about the theory.
TS speaks of "information".
I think of this in terms of info you need to make decisions or to learn new things.
Music is mainly entertainment content.
Its very different than the info I think i beng referred to in the TS definition.
Im not sure theTS dynamic is really relevant to music

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Quote Originally Posted by MikeRivers View Post
Here we go again. Why is this a good thing? And who's it good for?
Some sort of intelligence could help us sort it out.
The opinion doesn't include whether I think it is good or bad; just that our business is pointing the way; "modeling" if you will, an element of how it is going to happen.

And don't confuse individual intelligence with collective intelligence. One of the precepts of T.S. as a theory is the idea that there are information adaptation technologies available to all people and that it can increase the overall intelligence of mankind. It won't make individuals equally as smart as each other.
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Just my opinion, I have no data to back this up...

I think as long as music is a stream to make $$$, someone will eventually figure out a way to make people pay. Someone will eventually create a code that will self-write itself on the spot, making it impenetrable.

Music/information/digital data will all possess this code so you have no other option but to purchase a key to unlock that code. Once that code is tied to your digital device, it will write itself a new one making it impossible to "share" that music/info/digital data.

If I had the passion for that sort of thing, I would start writing that kind of self writing software.... someone else will have to reap the billions of $$$

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Quote Originally Posted by Kendrix View Post
One thing bugs me about the theory.
TS speaks of "information".
I think of this in terms of info you need to make decisions or to learn new things.
Music is mainly entertainment content.
Its very different than the info I think i beng referred to in the TS definition.
Im not sure theTS dynamic is really relevant to music
Good point.

One of the things T.S. does in order to achieve it's end, is assimilate "things" and turn them into "information". It is a place where content, information, ideas, artifacts all be come the same thing.

If it can exist in or on technology, it will be a part of T.S.
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Quote Originally Posted by 3shiftgtr View Post
I bring this up here because I think music biz is pointing to and is a harbinger for Technological Singularity: 2 reasons:

1) One precept of certain concepts of T.S. is the ability for ALL INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE AND ATTAINABLE AT ALL TIMES TO ALL PEOPLE FOR ANY REASON. Isn't what we are currently experiencing in the music biz feel like the start of that? When digitized, music becomes content (information) and it is available all the time to whoever wants it. And mostly it's free.

2) All music is directly related to the technology of its time; from instruments to delivery, it as much a reflection as a creation thereof. Musicology research bears this out. The reflection of T.S. in current music business models follow a musicological/sociological evolutionary path that is a logical extension thereof.

The advent of mass media in the last century (really going back to the advent of the printing press) helped create the past and current models of the music biz. Music delivery was as much about people using the media as it was about the media using the artist. In today
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Quote Originally Posted by UstadKhanAli View Post
Y

No, information does not only NOT equal intelligence, it doesn't even equal knowledge.

Intelligence is the engine that filters, considers, discards, hypothesizes, assimilates, and uses information to create greater knowledge.


I think the problem is in the delineation of individual vs. collective intelligence in this context.

Also, don't forget that we have the technology to alter DNA strands that control individual intelligence. We also have imbedding technology available where computer chips can be put into the body and interact with the mind. We just currently don't use these technologies.

We have, for the longest time, had unfathomable information available to us. It's been increasing exponentially. But all of us have had access to tons of information before the internet. Simply going to a library gives you overwhelming amounts of information. So does owning a dictionary or a set of encyclopedias. The internet has amped the ante, of course.

But has this ever resulted in greater intelligence, as Technological Singularity hypothesizes? Take a look at at comments on YouTube and then get back to me. biggrin.gif
Remember, this is the START of the process leading UP to T.S. Having a bunch of info is not T.S. It just SEEMS....and I repeat SEEMS....to be pointing that way.

"Hey, I don't need a Chilton's to replace the brake pads on my 96 Aerostar! It's all on my PHONE!!!" is most definitely NOT T.S.

T.S. is an event horizon.
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Quote Originally Posted by 3shiftgtr View Post
I think the problem is in the delineation of individual vs. collective intelligence in this context.
Right. T.S. hopes that it is collective, obviously.

Also, don't forget that we have the technology to alter DNA strands that control individual intelligence. We also have imbedding technology available where computer chips can be put into the body and interact with the mind. We just currently don't use these technologies.
I've heard of these things, yes.



Remember, this is the START of the process leading UP to T.S. Having a bunch of info is not T.S. It just SEEMS....and I repeat SEEMS....to be pointing that way.

"Hey, I don't need a Chilton's to replace the brake pads on my 96 Aerostar! It's all on my PHONE!!!" is most definitely NOT T.S.

T.S. is an event horizon.
Yes. I just don't happen to agree that increased dissemination of information and free MP3s points that way.

I feel that A.I., altering of DNA, nanotechnology, biotechnology, etc., exponential growth of processing/computational speed, etc. are considerably greater harbingers of T.S.
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Quote Originally Posted by UstadKhanAli View Post

I feel that A.I., altering of DNA, nanotechnology, biotechnology, etc., exponential growth of processing/computational speed, etc. are considerably greater harbingers of T.S.
Agreed. Absolutely.

I just feel that our little corner of the world is part of that movement. Moreso than say, the world of oil painting or automotive mechanics.
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Think of an analogy between a crutch and technology.

If you have a GPS to tell you where to go, you have no need to memorize the streets.

If you have a smart phone to hold your errands and shopping list and friends list; etc., you have no need to remember your personal trivia.

If you have a Wikipedia or other reference works at your fingertips, the common base of knowledge (such as the atomic weight of silicon) in your memory is no longer needed.

If you use a crutch under your right shoulder all the time, your right leg weakens, loses bone mass and (when you get older) fractures easily.

IMHO, technological singularity is not liberating, rather it creates co-dependence and ultimately weakens those to rely on it too much.

So, the question is How much is 'too much'?

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Quote Originally Posted by philbo View Post
Think of an analogy between a crutch and technology.

If you have a GPS to tell you where to go, you have no need to memorize the streets.

If you have a smart phone to hold your errands and shopping list and friends list; etc., you have no need to remember your personal trivia.

If you have a Wikipedia or other reference works at your fingertips, the common base of knowledge (such as the atomic weight of silicon) in your memory is no longer needed.

If you use a crutch under your right shoulder all the time, your right leg weakens, loses bone mass and (when you get older) fractures easily.

IMHO, technological singularity is not liberating, rather it creates co-dependence and ultimately weakens those to rely on it too much.

So, the question is How much is 'too much'?
When was it too much?

Some people had a thesaurus and a dictionary and a set of encyclopedias before. Was that too much?

Is there such a thing as too much? The person is the filter and chooses what to access.
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Quote Originally Posted by UstadKhanAli View Post
When was it too much?

Some people had a thesaurus and a dictionary and a set of encyclopedias before. Was that too much?

Is there such a thing as too much? The person is the filter and chooses what to access.
True. But if you look at the probability of mass trends, you see how most people react - - They can't count change. They can't do simple arithmetic without a calculator. One could go on and on.

However, the individual makes his/her own choices, which makes each person unique. It takes a bit of eclepticism - - you pick and choose your life out of the options. That is the good part: You're doing the driving.
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The man/machine interface is key, and that's what's (mostly) missing so far. The human brain is great at conceptualizing and abstract thought, but sucks at arithmetic and memory. Machines are the perfect complement to the human brain. But fingers (iPhone, computer, guitar, etc) should not be in the middle of that, there needs to be a direct connection.

It's coming, I'm very sure.

Terry D.

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Quote Originally Posted by MrKnobs View Post
The man/machine interface is key, and that's what's (mostly) missing so far. The human brain is great at conceptualizing and abstract thought, but sucks at arithmetic and memory. Machines are the perfect complement to the human brain. But fingers (iPhone, computer, guitar, etc) should not be in the middle of that, there needs to be a direct connection.
Yes, this is what I was trying to steer the discussion toward when I mentioned nanotechnology, biotechnology, faster processing, etc.

It's the melding of man and machine that T.S. largely proposes...with some theorists feeling that it might not involve the human component after a while.
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Quote Originally Posted by philbo View Post
True. But if you look at the probability of mass trends, you see how most people react - - They can't count change. They can't do simple arithmetic without a calculator. One could go on and on.
You really think this is true? People can't count change or figure out change without a calculator? I go to stores in this country, and have been to 19 others, and I've yet to see someone not be able to give change without a calculator, even in small villages.

I know that there's been quite a shift in the population in developed countries in how they access information, and therefore how they think. But I've yet to see people not be able to give change or anything like what you're describing.

But hey, maybe you're right. Do me a favor and let me know about all the locations of where people can't do this, and I should be able to fatten up my wallet a bit. biggrin.gif
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Quote Originally Posted by UstadKhanAli View Post
You really think this is true? People can't count change or figure out change without a calculator? I go to stores in this country, and have been to 19 others, and I've yet to see someone not be able to give change without a calculator, even in small villages.
Come visit the wilds of Falls Gulch, where, if my purchase is $14.93 and I hand the cashier $15.03, more often than not the cashier has to fumble and hands me a nickel and two pennies before I remind him that my change should be a dime. Then he gives me three more pennies.

It's why more often than not I'll use a credit card, even for purchases under a dollar.
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It's more like the machines are incorporated into our own mental processes. The information search happens instantly within our minds and taps into the wealth of data in the cloud and beyond. The calculators are wired into our brains.

Welp.... I was going to post a clip from waking life about the telescoping evolutionary paradigm but copyright infringement got in the way... smile.gif

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Quote Originally Posted by UstadKhanAli View Post
When was it too much?

Some people had a thesaurus and a dictionary and a set of encyclopedias before. Was that too much?

Is there such a thing as too much? The person is the filter and chooses what to access.
It's not too much when you're in control of it and it's reliable. The utility score for any device is determined by the product of its importance and it's reliability. If you can't find your dictionary you can still communicate. If wikipedia is down, you can still argue on the internet (after all, your adversaries can't check your assertions then either). Conversely, if your insulin pump goes haywire you're screwed.

Terry D.
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Quote Originally Posted by UstadKhanAli View Post
You really think this is true? People can't count change or figure out change without a calculator? I go to stores in this country, and have been to 19 others, and I've yet to see someone not be able to give change without a calculator, even in small villages...
biggrin.gif
Yes its true. Just visit any McDonald's in the United States. Well, you might not notice because the register tells them what change to make. Before that it was getting pretty bad... was in all the papers.
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