5 ms·

"If (and when) the Singularity /does/ happen, humans will be wiped off the planet within a few centuries." a. I disagree. b. Even if I assume that you're righ

by jey 19y ago

"If (and when) the Singularity /does/ happen, humans will be wiped off the planet within a few centuries." a. I disagree. b. Even if I assume that you're right, why do you assume that all possible outcomes in which there are no humans on the planet are negative outcomes? e.g. What if all humans decided to "upload" themselves into computers? (Assuming that such a thing is coherent and feasible and becomes commonplace.)

RichardPrice 19y ago
Jey - if we all had kind-of abstract existences on computers, then we wouldn't be able to wonderful things like dancing, sailing, skiing and all that good stuff! We could just imagine ourselves doing that, and wouldn't that be worse? It would be kind of like dreaming a life, instead of living it, and I'd much prefer to live a life!
- abstractbill 19y ago
  The kind of technology that would allow us to upload our minds to computers would presumably be powerful enough to simulate a body and an environment so convincing that we wouldn't know the difference.
  - anupamkapoor 19y ago
    indeed. greg-egan's "permutation city" dwells on the nature of reality in such an environment.
- jey 19y ago
  I don't know and it isn't relevant. It's just an example to illustrate that it's possible for there to be outcomes which are positive and desirable yet have no humans on Earth. Whether or not uploading is feasible and desirable is certainly still an open question. I don't claim to be an expert on this or to have thought about it much, but I think everything should be totally voluntary. Go upload yourself if you want, or go live off the land if you want. Either is fine; do what makes you happy.
aagha 19y ago
Did I assume it was a negative outcome? I didn't say so--why do you think I'm assuming its negative?
- jey 19y ago
  I agree that you did not explicitly say that it's negative, but the scenario you're referring to obviously has a seriously negative connotation in today's zeitgeist, so you should have been clearer if you wanted to evoke something other than the default connotations. As your comment stands it seems like you're saying "ohnoes humans will be gone!".
  - aagha 19y ago
    I'm not concerned about evoking anything--but it obviously evoked passion in you. That's a good thing to see though, and I'm glad there's people that feel so strongly about humans continuing to exist on the planet for millenia to come! I'm not sure everyone share's your opinion. I'm sure what you mean by "ohnoes"--I looked it up in a dictionary and couldn't find it--what <i>does</i> it mean?
    - jey 19y ago
      Sorry, "ohnoes" is just internet slang: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oh+noes http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oh+noes But yes -- I'm very concerned about AI safety and I think it deserves more research attention.

by jey 19y ago

RichardPrice 19y ago

Jey - if we all had kind-of abstract existences on computers, then we wouldn't be able to wonderful things like dancing, sailing, skiing and all that good stuff! We could just imagine ourselves doing that, and wouldn't that be worse? It would be kind of like dreaming a life, instead of living it, and I'd much prefer to live a life!

abstractbill 19y ago
The kind of technology that would allow us to upload our minds to computers would presumably be powerful enough to simulate a body and an environment so convincing that we wouldn't know the difference.
- anupamkapoor 19y ago
  indeed. greg-egan's "permutation city" dwells on the nature of reality in such an environment.
jey 19y ago
I don't know and it isn't relevant. It's just an example to illustrate that it's possible for there to be outcomes which are positive and desirable yet have no humans on Earth. Whether or not uploading is feasible and desirable is certainly still an open question. I don't claim to be an expert on this or to have thought about it much, but I think everything should be totally voluntary. Go upload yourself if you want, or go live off the land if you want. Either is fine; do what makes you happy.

aagha 19y ago

Did I assume it was a negative outcome? I didn't say so--why do you think I'm assuming its negative?

jey 19y ago
I agree that you did not explicitly say that it's negative, but the scenario you're referring to obviously has a seriously negative connotation in today's zeitgeist, so you should have been clearer if you wanted to evoke something other than the default connotations. As your comment stands it seems like you're saying "ohnoes humans will be gone!".
- aagha 19y ago
  I'm not concerned about evoking anything--but it obviously evoked passion in you. That's a good thing to see though, and I'm glad there's people that feel so strongly about humans continuing to exist on the planet for millenia to come! I'm not sure everyone share's your opinion. I'm sure what you mean by "ohnoes"--I looked it up in a dictionary and couldn't find it--what <i>does</i> it mean?
  - jey 19y ago
    Sorry, "ohnoes" is just internet slang: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oh+noes http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oh+noes But yes -- I'm very concerned about AI safety and I think it deserves more research attention.