# Anyone working to change the world?



## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

Lately, I've been thinking about my future and what I will contribute to society. I love to learn new things, but at the same time, the feeling of learning just for the sake of learning seems like a waste; even if it's fun. It is why I have decided to get better at programming and become a developer. I hope to be eventually be able to gain enough skills to be able to contribute to AI and machine learning. I don't have hopes of being super good at AI/machine learning due to it's heavy inheritance from mathematics, which I'm not great at. On the other hand, it would be nice to actively contribute to something that is going to change the world though. Any of you guys have thoughts like these or actively pursuing things that can impact the world?


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## Laze (Feb 19, 2015)

Are you not afraid of a potential Terminator/The Matrix situation happening?


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## Marshy (Apr 10, 2016)

Laze said:


> Are you not afraid of a potential Terminator/The Matrix situation happening?


There are reasons for the word "fantasy" :exterminate:


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## Catwalk (Aug 12, 2015)

Yes - but not 'change' the ''world''. Just human agency (re: improvement(s) / reductions).

The basic fundamentals*::*



> Are humans capable of change .. (?)


Yes.

_________


"The first Matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect, it was a work of art, flawless, sublime. A triumph equaled only by its monumental failure. The inevitability of its doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being. Thus, I redesigned it based on your history to more accurately reflect the varying grotesqueries of your nature." - *The Architect, The Matrix Reloaded *


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

Laze said:


> Are you not afraid of a potential Terminator/The Matrix situation happening?


I am, but in some ways, it makes me feel like I am more in control of my own fate even if it ends badly.


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## SouDesuNyan (Sep 8, 2015)

Solrac026 said:


> Lately, I've been thinking about my future and what I will contribute to society. I love to learn new things, but at the same time, the feeling of learning just for the sake of learning seems like a waste; even if it's fun. It is why I have decided to get better at programming and become a developer. I hope to be eventually be able to gain enough skills to be able to contribute to AI and machine learning. I don't have hopes of being super good at AI/machine learning due to it's heavy inheritance from mathematics, which I'm not great at. On the other hand, it would be nice to actively contribute to something that is going to change the world though. Any of you guys have thoughts like these or actively pursuing things that can impact the world?


Technology is high impact, but is neither positive nor negative. It's better to have low positive impact than high negative impact. With AI, or any other tech with insanely high impact, you can potentially save the world or destroy the world. The way AI is being used extensively now, which is mostly greed driven, e.g. in ad placement and stock market, it'll probably destroy the world.


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## Laze (Feb 19, 2015)

Solrac026 said:


> I am, but in some ways, it makes me feel like I am more in control of my own fate even if it ends badly.


What's your opinion on this video: 






Would you be cool with an end like that?


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## GotLostAgain (May 1, 2016)

*Sorry too busy trying to destroy it with a zombie virus, if you start seeing newscasts of the zombie apocalypse just know I succeeded. *


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

Laze said:


> What's your opinion on this video:
> 
> 
> Would you be cool with an end like that?


I didn't follow the entire video, most of it is just too "story like". I was expecting a thought experiment with some facts to back up the possibilities.


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## Judgment_Knight (Feb 1, 2015)

Solrac026 said:


> I didn't follow the entire video, most of it is just too "story like". I was expecting a thought experiment with some facts to back up the possibilities.


Screw facts! Facts are just rules/patterns/coincidences put into context! Facts only apply to the now since the future only has the past as context, never the future, so finding facts is pretty pointless and is like icing on the cake. Sounds all professional and whatever but it doesn't mean anything.


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Not my intent with some of my ideas, but if it happens, cool.


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## Monroe (May 13, 2016)

I actually do have an idea or two to improve the lifestyle of some with disabilities, but I don't know if it would be world-changing. (ISTP here). I do want to write something that exposes some flaws in technology however, and anything that would open that discussion...would be something.


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## The Proof (Aug 5, 2009)

I am changing the world, I bought some carpets today that now decorate my staircase.

The world was one way... then it had carpets!

Change made!


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

Monroe said:


> I actually do have an idea or two to improve the lifestyle of some with disabilities, but I don't know if it would be world-changing. (ISTP here). I do want to write something that exposes some flaws in technology however, and anything that would open that discussion...would be something.


Do you mind sharing what those ideas are? 

When I think of helping the disabled, I think of neural interfaces, which allows people to control other things with just their thoughts. The tech is kinda already there, but it's not cheap enough to mass produce. Eventually, I think neural interfaces will be expanded to include non-disabled people.

New neural implant reads a person’s intentions to control robotic arm | Ars Technica


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## Asmodaeus (Feb 15, 2015)

Not exactly, I was an idealist when I was younger but experience and knowledge have made me wiser. Now I know better, having become an ultimate pragmatist who acknowledges that what’s desirable is not necessarily possible and vice versa. There are things that can’t be easily changed, since they’re determined by impersonal forces beyond anyone’s control.

Plus, good intentions do not equal productive outcomes (i.e. one needs to keep in mind that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”).

Innovation is important because it helps improve things/processes/methodologies/technology, but change must be gradual for the sake of stability. Besides, it can be argued that there’s nothing essentially really new under the sun, since human nature is inherently flawed and immutable. 

Furthermore, change shouldn’t automatically be regarded as progress. History reveals a seemingly endless cycle of evolution followed by involution.


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## starscream430 (Jan 14, 2014)

I admire people who want to change the world, but...yeah...I really don't care to do so. I mean...I'm admittedly a bit self-centered in this stage of my life since I don't have anything in terms of a job or reputation.


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## txstats (Mar 20, 2016)

Bless your heart.

I, for one, couldn't care less, because, realistically speaking, it takes a lot more to "change" the world. Yes, change starts from within, and yes, if the whole world thinks the way I do, it probably will be doomed (but it already is coming to an end. So, why bother?)

There's always "better" if we keep looking. There's always room for improvement. Where does it end? Where do we draw the line? How much is too much? 

That said, I do constantly try to improve myself in every possible way.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AusarLacrimosa (Jul 18, 2016)

I have aspirations of someday making an effect on the screwed-as-all-heck education system. I believe that if someday, I were to make a good case (charts or graphs) that shows daily, psychological needs (similar to how the food pyramid is personalized for every individual, based upon their body composition), then schools would be more effective, jobs and workplaces would be more effective, and humanity as a whole, would hopefully be more effective. I'm interested in cybersecurity and space exploration as well, but I know that any step to positively changing the world will begin with changing how we think and interact with the world.

Here's one of my favorite clips from XCOM:




Preach, Vahlen!
:laughing: Of course, I'm not trying to discover Psionics here, but that'd be cool too, I guess.


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

txstats said:


> Bless your heart.
> 
> I, for one, couldn't care less, because, realistically speaking, it takes a lot more to "change" the world. Yes, change starts from within, and yes, if the whole world thinks the way I do, it probably will be doomed (but it already is coming to an end. So, why bother?)
> 
> ...


Same here txstats, I try to improve myself enough to where I can improve the world. It will may be next to impossible, but what else to do if not improve.


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## Solrac026 (Mar 6, 2012)

AusarLacrimosa said:


> I have aspirations of someday making an effect on the screwed-as-all-heck education system. I believe that if someday, I were to make a good case (charts or graphs) that shows daily, psychological needs (similar to how the food pyramid is personalized for every individual, based upon their body composition), then schools would be more effective, jobs and workplaces would be more effective, and humanity as a whole, would hopefully be more effective. I'm interested in cybersecurity and space exploration as well, but I know that any step to positively changing the world will begin with changing how we think and interact with the world.
> 
> Here's one of my favorite clips from XCOM:
> 
> ...


Noice! That looks like a fun game. I'm glad someone else here is optimistic about this. With tech advancing what you speak of certainly becomes possible. Just look at Khan Academy, he may not have changed the education system government-wise, but Khan Academy has definitely made an impact on education.


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