Let’s examine a couple of tidbits from the world of science this morning.

First up:  The Radical Plan To Eliminate Earth’s Predatory Species.  No, it’s not what you think; this dipshit actually wants to micromanage the ecosystem of an entire planet – this one, by the way – so as to stop predators from killing and eating other animals.  Money quote:  “I look forward to a future where all sentient beings enjoy life animated by gradients of bliss.”

I look forward to a future where all sentient humans stop wasting valuable time dreaming up laughable horseshit.

Next, and possibly excluding the nutbar mentioned above and most members of Congress, scientists appear to be closing in on what consciousness actually is.  Excerpt:

Recently, researchers discovered a brain area that acts as a kind of on-off switch for the brain. When they electrically stimulated this region, called the claustrum, the patient became unconscious instantly. In fact, Koch and Francis Crick, the molecular biologist who famously helped discover the double-helix structure of DNA, had previously hypothesized that this region might integrate information across different parts of the brain, like the conductor of a symphony.

Or, in the case of Paris Hilton (or Joe Biden, if you prefer) like a five-year old playing “Chopsticks” on a toy piano.

But I digress.

Is it a tremendous leap to intuit that, once we fully understand consciousness, we might be able to duplicate it?  Could this be the first step towards a sentient, self-aware Artificial Intelligence (AI?)

Rampant speculation, I grant you.  But interesting all the same.