From: Chris Cooper (coop666@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Apr 06 2001 - 13:58:04 MDT
>Arona Ndiaye wrote:
>I believe that anyone interested should read ALL the material on Low Beyond
>+ archives + do some digging on their own to start with.
>People need to do their homework, they do...
I think that you miss my point. I agree that it is vitally important to read
all the background materials to be involved in the discussions on this list.
I'm working through the material right now myself. My comments refer more to
those members of the general public who have yet to be exposed to any of these
ideas. They may be willing to do the work as they gain more of an awareness of
the issues and ideas involved, but an easy-to-digest statement of the goals and
intentions behind all this would go a long ways towards helping to promote
understanding of the Singularity, and perhaps even help to bring it about much
sooner.
>A 'Singularity for Dummies' sounds like a joke to me. Do not get me wrong,
>but with all due respect: why should dummies need
>to understand the Singularity ? More importantly with threats such as
>Military-grade Nanotech etc... why should Eliezer (and the SingInst)
>spend time on ANYTHING but what they're already busy with now ?
This attitude is EXACTLY why it is important to explain these ideas to
laypeople as we approach the Singularity. The kind of arrogant attitude that
says, "Why should we be obligated to explain our important work to others, when
they won't understand it in the first place?", is elitist, and goes against the
very concept of Friendliness that is VITALLY IMPORTANT to the successful
completion of this little endeavor. Making the general public aware of the very
scary things that are possible as technology advances so quickly, (such as the
consequences of out-of-control nanotech) will only help us to reach the
Singularity, ultimately.
I agree that Eliezer shouldn't be expected to spend his time appearing on talk
shows or anything, but it is important for someone to provide a bridge between
the general public, and these very important ideas and goals. The Singularity
is supposed to help EVERYONE, not just those who got in line first. Elitist
attitudes help no one in this instance, and ultimately may harm everyone.
COOP
Arona Ndiaye wrote:
> Chris Cooper wrote:
>
> > I was a little too polite to bring this up in quite this way, but James
> does have
> > a point here. All of my previous misgivings come down to the simple fact
> that
> > mistakes do happen.
> >It's just that the more recent arrivals don't have the benefit of
> >participating in the years of previous discussions on these topics.
>
> Greetings to each and everyone,
>
> I've only posted to this list once or twice (I never read any archives up
> till a few months ago), however:
> It did not take me much to realize that Eliezer HAS GOT SOMETHING which
> others (software engineers, AI coders etc...) do not have.
> The details of which are explained (at least that was enough for me) in
> "Coding a Transhuman AI 1/2" and "Algernon's law".
>
> >Eliezer has already covered some of these topics at various points in his
> >writing, but it might be a good idea to condense this stuff into one place,
> as an
> >introduction to the subject, perhaps. (the Singularity for Dummies?)
>
> I believe that anyone interested should read ALL the material on Low Beyond
> + archives + do some digging on their own to start with.
> People need to do their homework, they do...
> A 'Singularity for Dummies' sounds like a joke to me. Do not get me wrong,
> but with all due respect: why should dummies need
> to understand the Singularity ? More importantly with threats such as
> Military-grade Nanotech etc... why should Eliezer (and the SingInst)
> spend time on ANYTHING but what they're already busy with now ?
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Arona,
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