--- Alan Grimes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ;) > > Seriously now, Why do people insist there is a > necessary connection (as > in A implies B) between the singularity and brain > uploading? > > Why is it that anyone who thinks "the singularity > happens and most > people remain humanoid" is automatically branded a > luddite?
I think most people are likely to remain humanoid, at least initially, and I've never been branded a Luddite. A utility function really doesn't describe humans very well- there's no a priori reason why it should. A utility function, if given the chance, will immediately set the universe to whichever state has the highest utility. Humans don't seem to work like that, and probably wouldn't at least in the short term even if they were given the opportunity. The natural behavior for humans is a continuous, human-time-scale progression; eg, you pick up a rock, lug the rock some distance, and set it down, each step being continuous. This is inherent in evolution, because that's what life in the ancestral environment is like. You could model a human mind as a continuous curve, or a probability distribution over curves, in some billion-dimensional space (including the time dimension). So while a human may desire a hundred perfect mates, a luxury house, millions of dollars, and all that, the natural, comfortable state is to have these things slowly accumulate one at a time rather than being dropped from the sky. Ironically, when the world is changing really fast, one of the first responses is to *slow down* so you can figure out what's going on and assess the situation. I do *not* think that most people will want to be suddenly thrust into new and unfamiliar situations, even enticing ones, the minute the FAI goes online. > In such a scenereo, it is quite possible to consider > ultratechnologies, > vast life extension, space exploitation, body > customization, > intelligence enhancement, even amazingly radical > forms of intelligence > enhancement, without spending a minute quibbiling > over pattern identity > theory. If you want to build an FAI, you need to know how to define a sentient creature, or at least know how to let the FAI figure it out, because you have to protect the rights of uploads. > I want to find people who are as entheuseastic as I > am about such a > future, people who are willing to spend hours each > day trying to learn > the skills required to develop a superhuman AI If you want to develop all the skills necessary to build an FAI, go ahead, there's nothing stopping you. Wanting everyone *else* to do it is as patently unrealistic as telling everyone you want them to get a PhD. > instead of wasting all > that mental energy on the question of how many > angels can dance on the > head of a pin. > > looks like I'm going to have to have to resort to my > collection of > reducto ad absurdum arguments to get this list back > on topic... =\ > > -- > Opera: Sing it loud! :o( )>-< Weren't you just complaining about discussing irrelevant topics? :) - Tom > ----- > 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/?&; > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/?link=list&sid=396545433 ----- 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=4007604&user_secret=7d7fb4d8
