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Lone wolf terrorists wouldn't result in annihilating ~every city on Earth, but state actors might. One nuclear bombing is bad. 1,000 nuclear bombings is worse.
by schiffern 4y ago
Lone wolf terrorists wouldn't result in annihilating ~every city on Earth, but state actors might.
One nuclear bombing is bad. 1,000 nuclear bombings is worse. Risk = probability × outcome.
It's not a choice between only state actors having access vs only lone wolf terrorists. The issue of nuclear disarmament is choosing between states + terrorists (the status quo) vs only terrorists.
- hackerlight 4y agoCorrect when it comes to present day nukes, maybe not if we're talking engineered viruses or some as yet undiscovered weapon. Anyway, I think the point stands that there's significant novel risks posed if individuals of the future are capable of destroying cities if they feel like it, and there will unfortunately need to be a paradigm shift around privacy and government involvement if that day comes.
- schiffern 4y agoPerhaps the Great Filter is, "are you smart enough, as a species, to put the (various) genies back in the (various) bottles?" Different genies call for different bottles, naturally.