astronomy

Hugo de Garis

Hugo de Garis is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hugo de Garis rather than just read about it. In short: Hugo de Garis (born 1947) is an Australian retired researcher in the sub-field of artificial intelligence (AI) known as evolvable hardware. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he performed research on the use of genetic algorithms to evolve artificial neural networks using three-dimensional cellular automata inside field programmable gate arrays.

Key takeaways

Hugo de Garis belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Hugo de Garis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Hugo de Garis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Hugo de Garis (born 1947) is an Australian retired researcher in the sub-field of artificial intelligence (AI) known as evolvable hardware. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he performed research on the use of genetic algorithms to evolve artificial neural networks using three-dimensional cellular automata inside field programmable gate arrays. He has written about his belief in an coming war between the supporters and opponents of intelligent machines, with the potential for the elimination of humanity by artificial superintelligences.

Career De Garis originally studied theoretical physics, but he abandoned this field in favour of artificial intelligence. In 1992 he received his PhD from Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. From 1993 to 2000 de Garis was a researcher at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kansai Science City, Japan. At ATR's Human Information Processing Research Laboratories (ATR-HIP), he aimed to create a billion-neuron artificial brain he called a "cellular automata machine brain" (CAM-brain) by the year 2001. He predicted CAM-brains could scale indefinitely and could be used to create asteroid-sized brain-like computers. De Garis moved to Starlab in Brussels in 2000, and the HIP laboratory was closed in February 2001. Starlab went bankrupt in 2001. De Garis published his last "CAM-Brain" research paper in 2002. He was associate professor of computer science at Utah State University from 2001 to 2006. Starting in June 2006 he was part of the advisory board of Novamente, a commercial company which aimed to create artificial general intelligence. After 2006 he was a professor at Xiamen University and Wuhan University where he taught theoretical physics and computer science. In 2008 he received a 3 million Chinese yuan grant (around $436,000) to build an artificial brain for China as part of the Brain Builder Group at Wuhan University. He served on the editorial board of Engineering Letters. De Garis retired in late 2010.

Beliefs During his work on CAM-Brain, De Garis began publicly expressing concerns about existential risk from artificial intelligence. In 2005, he published the book The Artilect War: Cosmists vs. Terrans: A Bitter Controversy Concerning Whether Humanity Should Build Godlike Massively Intelligent Machines. In his book, De Garis predicts that by the end of the 21st century artificial superintelligences, which he calls "artificial intellects" or "artilects", will threaten to attain hegemony over the Earth. He foresees a major war between supporters of artilects and their opponents, resulting in billions of deaths. The supporters he calls "Cosmists", who will support artilects that they expect to colonise the universe, leaving Earth and humans behind to a sooner-or-later extinction. The opponents, "Terrans", will focus on the fate of Earth and its inhabitants, and the existential risk posed by artilects. Differences between the two groups will be irreconcilable, leading to war. He also predicts a third group, "Cyborgs", who aim to become artilects themselves by altering their own human brains, rather than falling into obsolescence. Although de Garis makes arguments in favor of each side throughout the book, he concludes that he is a Cosmist. Religious studies professor Robert M. Geraci describes The Artilect War as a religious apocalyptic scenario.

Writings de Garis, Hugo (28 February 2005). The Artilect War: Cosmists vs. Terrans: A Bitter Controversy Concerning Whether Humanity Should Build Godlike Massively Intelligent Machines. ETC Publications. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-88280-153-7. de Garis, Hugo (18 March 2010). Multis and Monos : What the Multicultured Can Teach the Monocultured: Towards the Creation of a Global State. ETC Publications. p. 514. ISBN 978-0-88280-162-9. de Garis, Hugo (November 2010). Artificial Brains: An Evolved Neural Net Module Approach. World Scientific. p. 400. ISBN 978-981-4304-28-3.

References

External links Hugo de Garis at IMDb Notes from de Garis' presentation to the artificial general intelligence research institute Man vs. Machine – article from Utah local newspaper Building Gods – rough cut of a documentary which details, amongst other things, the personal beliefs of Hugo de Garis and Kevin Warwick on the possibilities of artificial life Human v 2.0 – programme from the BBC Horizon series featuring discussion between Ray Kurzweil and Hugo de Garis Cosmism and brainbuilding. Archived 17 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine – Article by de Garis. Interview Interview with H+ Magazine

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hugo de Garis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hugo de Garis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hugo de Garis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hugo de Garis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hugo de Garis

In research: Hugo de Garis appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Hugo de Garis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Hugo de Garis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1947 births, Artificial intelligence researchers, Australian transhumanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Hugo de Garis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Hugo de Garis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Hugo de Garis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Hugo de Garis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hugo de Garis in simple terms?

Why does Hugo de Garis matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hugo de Garis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hugo de Garis.