Techies ponder computers smarter than us.....

According to futurists gathered at a recent weekend conference, information technology is hurtling toward a point where machines will become smarter than their makers. If that happens, it will alter what it means to be human in ways almost impossible to conceive. There techies and scientists to imagine a future of self-programming computers and brain implants that would allow humans to think at speeds nearing today's microprocessors. Artificial intelligence researchers at the summit warned that now is the time to develop ethical guidelines for ensuring these advances help rather than harm. Some critics have mocked singularists for their obsession with "techno-salvation" and "techno-holocaust" — or what some have called the coming "nerdocalypse." Their predictions are grounded as much in science fiction as science, the detractors claim, and may never come to pass. But advocates argue it would be irresponsible to ignore the possibility.