Description of LABMP 590 course Technology and Future of Medicine for Pathology Residents September 4, 2012.

1. Kim Solez, MD

2. Singularity
Course

4. Course conceptualized in
March 2011, tested with
focus groups in
May for its suitability as a
course for both
undergraduate and graduate
students.

7.  The technological singularity occurs as artificial
intelligences surpass human beings as the
smartest and most capable life forms on the
Earth. Technological development is taken over
by the machines, who can think, act and
communicate so quickly that normal humans
cannot even comprehend what is going on. The
machines enter into a "runaway reaction" of self-
improvement cycles, with each new generation
of A.I.s appearing faster and faster. From this
point onwards, technological advancement is
explosive, under the control of the machines,
and thus cannot be accurately predicted (hence
the term "Singularity"). – Ray Kurzweil
Singularity
Course

8. 1) The technological Singularity.
2) Existential risks, AI, genomics, and nanotech.
3) Ways to optimize a positive outcome for
humanity in the co-evolution of humans and
machines.
4) The influence of these considerations on
medicine of the future.
Singularity
Course

9.  The challenge of friendly AI becomes just a small part of
a much larger challenge of creating a friendly world in
which humans still have lives of significance, human
history is retained and extended.
 A positive outcome is possible, let’s make it likely.
 We all need to be engaged in ensuring a positive
outcome for humanity. The future is ours to shape. We
need to get busy doing that!
 Part of the imagined future could be one where all
disease was eliminated but life was intolerable. Another
where the only diseases are from bioterrorism.
Singularity
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10.  All natural disease may be eliminated, leaving only man-
made diseases. But that may leave as much for
laboratory physicians to do as there is today!
 Challenging responses to bioterrorism and stem cell
technologies.
 Focus of medicine no longer disease but enhancement,
which will extend beyond the physical to the moral.
 Social responsibility an important aspect of medicine
and one of the focuses of the course. Physician
responsible to individual patient and to society.
Singularity
Course

11.  “It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even
the most horrible situations by habitation. Physicians are
the natural attorneys of the poor, and the social
problems should largely be solved by them.” -Rudolf
Virchow
Singularity
Course

13.  Ten minute introduction
 Fifty minute lecture
 Twenty minute discussion

14. Heather Graves, from
Department of English and Film
Studies, in Faculty of Arts.

15. First teaching session 2011 Recent teaching session 2012

16. 1)How I came to create this course
2)How it relates to Future of Pathology

17. 1)In1994 created websites for CAP, ISN, and RPS and NEPHROL Email
discussion group
2)In 1997 created NKF CyberNephrology and ISN Informatics Commission
3)In
1999 new Lab Medicine Pathology chair Victor Tron suggested I
broaden focus to CyberMedicine, and encouraged medical humanitarian
ventures

18. 1) In 2007 joined medical advisory board of new medical school in Nepal
devoted to rural health, Patan Academy of Health Sciences (“PAHS”).
2) Now direct this project at UofA, sixteen UofA faculty are now involved
in the PAHS project in Nepal.

19. 1)Tech musings from the Hinterland. Virtual microscopy one topic.
2)The first video was from Nepal.

20. Singularity
Course

21.  It became apparent that the best way to make this
happen is to create a novel course of new design
myself. Thus this course.
 There are no similar courses out there at the
moment.
 Eventually it is our hope that hundreds of similar
courses will begin appearing at Universities all
over the world.
Singularity
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22.  Some already know what the technological
Singularity is, others don’t, and are finding out
now.
 However, if the people and ideas I present are
genuinely new and interesting I should be able to
satisfy both groups.
 The most interesting aspects have to do with the
impact on young people today.
Singularity
Course

23. 

24. 

25. 
Elenchus - Open Facebook Group
"Elenchus" is a form of inquiry and
debate between individuals with opposing
viewpoints based on utilizing Socratic
dialogue in asking and answering questions
to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas.
The only rule: Maintain Decorum :)

26.  How Inside Outside and Singularity impact young
people, important concepts discussed in course.
 Big Bang Theory (the TV show; 16 million viewers)
 Singularity Summit (9,000 views per video)
 Kim Solez – Technology and Future of Medicine Course
LABMP 590 (900 views per video)
Singularity
Course

27.  .
However, Marcus Hutter suggests that there is an element of
human insignificance that makes the whole scenario much
more challenging. Also, Hutter has created a model general AI
which makes the problem seem more immediate!
Singularity
Course

28.  .
However Marcus Hutter suggests that there is an element of
human insignificance that makes the whole scenario much more
challenging. Also Hutter has created a sort of general AI which
makes the problem seem more immediate!
Singularity
Course

29.  While these are “just” recreational games, they do
contain many prototypical elements of the real
world, such as food, enemies, friends, space,
obstacles, objects, and weapons
 Next could be a test in modern virtual worlds...
that require intelligent agents, and finally some
selected real-world problems
The same single [AIXI approximation “MC-AIXI-CTW”] has
learned to play TicTacToe, Kuhn Poker, and most impressively,
Pacman (Veness et al. 2011) from scratch
Singularity
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31.  Outside the Singularity looking in it will be white
noise
 Inside the Singularity if everything speeds up at
the same rate we may not notice anything; it may
seem like normal life to us
 Even if initially our biological brains count for
something in our mental processes, very soon the
processing power of the machine implant will
vastly outstrip our biological brains. Our biological
brains become insignificant regardless of the
friendliness or lack thereof of the AI
Singularity
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32.  Extreme risk taking because we can back
ourselves up from backups if something bad
happens
 Insignificance, lack of identity. Why wait to create
backups when we have the processing power to
run several lives at once. Can replicate ourselves
endlessly in seconds! No more waiting 9 months!
 The world has little incentive to keep identities
straight when biological brains contribute so little
to mental processes. Bigger not better
 Aimlessness, lack of sense of purpose
Singularity
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33.  The challenge of producing a friendly AI becomes just a
small part of the much larger challenge of creating a
friendly world in which humans still have lives of
significance, human history is retained and extended
 A positive outcome is possible; let’s make it likely
 We all need to be engaged in ensuring a positive
outcome for humanity. The future is ours to shape. We
need to get busy doing that!
 A simple approach is needed to engage the general
public on these matters!
Singularity
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34. Singularity
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35. Singularity
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36. Singularity
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37. Singularity
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38.  Regulatory oversight that is completely focused
on compliance. Discourages risk-taking and
innovation.
 Health care doesn't have the same financial
reward system. Facebook isn't about to pay $1
billion for the latest hot-ticket item in imaging
and informatics.
 Security always trumps information sharing, and
so better, faster linkages are constrained
because of security concerns, most of which are
bogus.
Singularity
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39. HealthAppsNotUsed
Singularity
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