[singularity] Historical Simulations

[PETER JENKINS]

I have recently completed a paper entitled "Historical Simulations - Motivational, Ethical and Legal Issues" that appears in the August, 2006 issue of the Journal of Futures Studies. It is available on SSRN at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=929327   The paper builds on the work of Nick Bostrom by using a Kurzweilian focus in terms of time and place, i.e. the necessary technology to create totally realistic simulations populated by AI will be available by about 2050, and also we should assume that we are the first civilization in the universe until proven otherwise. This temporal-spatial focus enables a detailed analysis of the motivational, ethical and legal issues, which Bostrom understandably didn't provide in his paper on ancestor simulations due to his notion that we could be located anywhere in the universe that is compatible with life (his "bland indifference" principle) and also his assumption that the necessary technology may be available in the near future or 1000's of years in the future.   Any comments would be welcome.   Peter S. Jenkins 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/[EMAIL PROTECTED]