YKY,
Which is a bigger motivator -- charity/altruism, or $$? For me it's $$, and charity is of lower priority. And let's not forget that self-interested individuals in a free market can bring about progress, at least according to Adam Smith.
A suggestion, if you really are motivated by $$ and getting rich, why not focus on other much easier problems that will still potentially make you bucket-loads money? Contra to you, I wanted to spend time on AGI, but wasn't motivated by money. However, the easiest path I can foresee, where I'm able to work on AGI, is to make money through one of several business ideas, or just earn large amounts of cash for a global consultancy firm. Once I have enough to either: spend several years working voluntarily on an AGI project, or have enough to assist in funding one (possibly Novamente, since I spent some time playing with it for a grad project and generally agree with the direction Ben's been taking it); then I'll change on to the track I really want to be on. Joel ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=231415&user_secret=e9e40a7e