Thanks, all, for your answers. Samantha: I was not claiming those points myself. I do not believe most of them. I was raising them to jog the imagination of people who have reduced their activism, to get some understanding of why they may have done that.
Joshua 2007/8/20, Samantha Atkins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > On Aug 19, 2007, at 12:26 PM, Matt Mahoney wrote: > > > I was never really a Singularity activist, but > > > > 1. I realized the singularity is coming and nothing can stop it. > > Not so. Humanity could so harm its technological base as to postpone > Singularity on this planet for quite some time. We could still bomb > ourselves back into the Stone Age. We could do a Nehemiah Scudder > thing in the US and slow ourselves down for at least another century > and perhaps toss around some nukes to boot. The race toward > stupidity may overtake our best efforts. The push to control and > monitor everything may get a huge shot in the arm by the next real or > contrived terrorist attack and we may lose the freedom necessary to > the work as a result. I haven't even touched on natural disasters. > > > 2. The more I study the friendly AI problem, the more I realize it is > > intractable. > > Largely agreed. > > > 3. Studying the singularity raises issues (e.g. does consciousness > > exist?) > > that conflict with hardcoded beliefs that are essential for survival. > > Huh? Are you conscious? > > > 4. The vast majority of people do not understand the issues anyway. > > So? Isn't that the way it always is with great advances? > > See my answers below. > > > > > > > --- Joshua Fox <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >> This is the wrong place to ask this question, but I can't think of > >> anywhere > >> better: > >> > >> There are people who used to be active in blogging, writing to the > >> email > >> lists, donating money, public speaking, or holding organizational > >> positions > >> in Singularitarian and related fields -- and are no longer > >> anywhere near as > >> active. I'd very much like to know why. > >> > >> Possible answers might include: > >> > >> 1. I still believe in the truthfulness and moral value of the > >> Singularitarian position, but... > >> a. ... eventually we all grow up and need to focus on career > >> rather than > >> activism. > > I never considered it something that required a strong appeal to the > public at large. I also do think that expecting the Singularity to > solve all our problems to the point of focusing only on it is a very > illogical tact for all but a few researchers working on it. It is > the latest pie in the sky it will all be utter perfection by and > by. There is something that feels more than a bit juvenile in much > of the attitude of many of us. > > >> b. ... I just plain ran out of energy and interest. > >> c. ... public outreach is of no value or even dangerous; what > >> counts is the > >> research work of a few small teams. > > Mainly I agree with this. > > >> d. ... why write on this when I'll just be repeating what's been > >> said so > >> often. > > Too much time is wasted with repetition of the same old questions and > ideas. I am on way too many email lists and have too many interests > for my own good. > > >> e. ... my donations are meaningless compared to what a dot-com > >> millionaire > >> can give. > >> 2. I came to realize the deep logical (or: moral) flaws in the > >> Singularitarian position. [Please tell us they are.] > > A position that says we should be in a great hurry to get to a state > of affairs that we cannot remotely understand or control and where we > will be nearly totally at the mercy of an incomprehensible and > utterly alien intelligence at least deserves serious questioning now > and again. > > >> 3. I came to understand that Singularitarianism has some logical > >> and moral > >> validity, but no more than many other important causes to which I > >> give my > >> time and money. > >> > > I am 53 years old and have too little net worth. I have much to do > to get my own house in order. I give to a few causes like life > extension. Most of the AGI groups that I believe have most traction > are not that easy to donate to. I don't believe at this point that > the Singularity Institute is likely to produce a working AGI. Many > things it does do are interesting and I would consider donating to it > for those reasons. But I think FAI is a vast distraction from much > needed AGI. > > - samantha > > ----- > 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/?&; > ----- 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&id_secret=33540931-2737e4
