i, Totbot

There's long been a strong impulse in the AI community to emulate human development. Some researchers go so far as to begin at the primordial soup of life's proto-existence. Evolution has also been seen mirrored in the spread and adaptation of new technology, with a boom in diversity and complexity at the nascence of telecommunications and later, the internet. The more connected we are--the more we work as a cohesive unit--the greater our ability to grow, adapt, and flourish. 

Enter the nascence of Opensource technology. Here, today, on this very screen, with a click of this link <http://cbcl.mit.edu/jmutch/cns/>, exists a cortical network simulator. It's a brain. A basic brain, but a brain nonetheless. Whatever a person's robo-visions, be they i, Robot nightmarescapes or questionablecontent singularity-loving dreamlands, the first step to their realization is here. And free. 

This man builds babies, who learn and develop of their own accord: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmoXByLkK14>. This man builds robots that must learn what they are and how to move, and life-soup, stocked with proto-machines that evolve and replicate of their own accord <http://www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots.html>.

Michio Kaku is an ever-present, clear and sonorous voice amidst the din of excitement and fear that circulates these issues. Here, he speaks to some rational concepts at the heart of the robotics era: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPVOPzYiCeg>. 

So, where does the scientific community go from here? 3D printers are here. Arduino is here. The CNS is here. The HPB (human brain project, stay tuned for an article to come) is well under way. The technology is accessible. Maker communities exist as the nodes for connection among bright minds and talented hands. Is American cultured prepared for the singularity? If not, what can today's students do to ensure success and wellbeing in the post-singularity world?