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This is a common argument that technology-focused people make: - it was possible to do this before; - and we didn't do anything about it then; - th

by neilk 3y ago

This is a common argument that technology-focused people make: - it was possible to do this before; - and we didn't do anything about it then; - the only difference now is that it's easier; - therefore, we have no justification to do anything about it now. The thing is, laws, regulations, and norms are not immediately willed into existence to precisely match harms. It costs a lot to formulate and enforce them. So, if there is one really weird guy who goes to great lengths to build a home nuclear reactor, we probably don't need new laws or practices against it. If suddenly home nuclear reactors are available for $20, we definitely do.

Am4TIfIsER0ppos 3y ago
If nuclear reactor were suddenly available for 20 bucks then you should be jumping for joy!
- pjc50 3y ago
  https://interestingengineering.com/culture/david-hahn-the-nuclear-boy-scout https://interestingengineering.com/culture/david-hahn-the-nu... A world of backyard reactors is a world of spiralling cancer rates, until someone develops enough backyard plutonium to build the backyard bomb.
- neilk 3y ago
  Oh, definitely, but we'd also need some regulation. It's likely that we _can_ make home nuclear reactors that are pretty safe! We already pipe combustible gases into our homes in enough quantities to take out a city block. We cause multiple explosions per second in devices hurtling down the highway at 100mph. We have self-regulating hot water heaters, pressure cookers, and laptop batteries, all of which are bombs if mishandled. But with home nuclear reactors, the consequences for stupidity aren't just "and then their home burned down". It's more like "and then the neighborhood was uninhabitable for the next century". And when these devices are everywhere, we will start to encounter real outliers in humanity.
version_five 3y ago
I think the flip side of that is we also have to acknowledge when "the cat is out of the bag", "you can't unring a bell", pick your metaphor. Like with music, there was a historically brief period where distribution companies had a monopoly because the nature of the technology allowed artificial scarcity. That ended with the internet and digital music. We could (and did) try doubling down on enforcement efforts to support some unnatural state, or embrace it. And we ended up with streaming music that provides value by convenience instead of artificial scarcity. I don't have a vision for how the fake porn industry will shake out, but I know it's a waste of time to try and build walls to stop anything that's inevitable. That probably means tools that let people do what they want in their own homes, and norms about public sharing that will be enforced in most places but can be circumvented by those who are dedicated. That's not a moral judgement of that being an ideal state, its just realistic, and given resource scarcity, there are more important things for law enforcement to deal with.

by neilk 3y ago

Am4TIfIsER0ppos 3y ago

If nuclear reactor were suddenly available for 20 bucks then you should be jumping for joy!

pjc50 3y ago
https://interestingengineering.com/culture/david-hahn-the-nuclear-boy-scout https://interestingengineering.com/culture/david-hahn-the-nu... A world of backyard reactors is a world of spiralling cancer rates, until someone develops enough backyard plutonium to build the backyard bomb.
neilk 3y ago
Oh, definitely, but we'd also need some regulation. It's likely that we _can_ make home nuclear reactors that are pretty safe! We already pipe combustible gases into our homes in enough quantities to take out a city block. We cause multiple explosions per second in devices hurtling down the highway at 100mph. We have self-regulating hot water heaters, pressure cookers, and laptop batteries, all of which are bombs if mishandled. But with home nuclear reactors, the consequences for stupidity aren't just "and then their home burned down". It's more like "and then the neighborhood was uninhabitable for the next century". And when these devices are everywhere, we will start to encounter real outliers in humanity.

version_five 3y ago

I think the flip side of that is we also have to acknowledge when "the cat is out of the bag", "you can't unring a bell", pick your metaphor. Like with music, there was a historically brief period where distribution companies had a monopoly because the nature of the technology allowed artificial scarcity. That ended with the internet and digital music. We could (and did) try doubling down on enforcement efforts to support some unnatural state, or embrace it. And we ended up with streaming music that provides value by convenience instead of artificial scarcity. I don't have a vision for how the fake porn industry will shake out, but I know it's a waste of time to try and build walls to stop anything that's inevitable. That probably means tools that let people do what they want in their own homes, and norms about public sharing that will be enforced in most places but can be circumvented by those who are dedicated. That's not a moral judgement of that being an ideal state, its just realistic, and given resource scarcity, there are more important things for law enforcement to deal with.