From: Spike Jones (spike66@attglobal.net)
Date: Sat Apr 07 2001 - 14:03:03 MDT
> Spike Jones wrote:
> >
> > I am led to a conclusion similar to what I believe is
> > Eliezer's: that we must have a strong and friendly AI
> > in place before nanotech, otherwise...
Brian Atkins wrote:
> So you think Foresight's effort to come up with some nanotech guidelines
> is futile?
No, never futile. Being very much of the never-give-up school
of thought, and being a Foresight Institute senior associate, I feel that
all effort to bring about a "safe" version of nanotech is worthwhile.
Such effort as trying to relinquish technology *is* futile,
and very dangerous, for it opens the field to those
who really are antagonistic to humanity and post-humanity.
There are nanotech researchers who will have no interest in
Foresight's guidelines. Note that the name Drexler is seldom
mentioned in the increasingly mainstream study of nanotech.
> Do you think SIAI spending time to promote FAI to other AI
> designers would also be a waste of time, and that we should stay almost
> 100% focused on working on our own code (assuming a very harsh limit on
> our available resources) ?
I commend all efforts to bring about the inevitable coming
spike in a way most conducive to the salvation of post-humanity,
however I do not claim to have the foggiest idea what that future
will be, or exactly what is meant by "safe" implementation of
AI/nanotech. Perhaps this is an inappropriate admission for this
group, dedicated to post-singularity discussions, but it is an
honest one, for which I have received some mild off-list
scolding: I havent a clue what kind of future is waiting for
us post-AI, post singularity, and post nanotech. Hell, I cannot
even define exactly what I mean by the term "us".
But there are certain futures I do know I do wish to avoid, such as
malicious agents seizing on nanotech to destroy life, to return
mankind to his natural state (whatever that means), military
nanotech, etc.
I am not advocating the AI vs nanotech scenario, for I feel
these technologies will bootstrap each other, I hope to the
benefit (or perhaps "salvation" if you don't mind the religious
sounding term) of post humanity.
Brian, keep on coding, and keep thinking. spike
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