From: Lawrence Foard (entropy@farviolet.com)
Date: Sun Jan 04 2004 - 12:25:05 MST
On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Metaqualia wrote:
> What creates negative qualia in sentient beings is evil.
> What creates positive qualia in sentient beings is good.
>
> Let alone whether we should convert the whole universe into orgasmium (which
> may sound repulsive to some... that's _before_ trying it of course) - if one
> agrees to the above it seems fair and conservative to tell an AI to minimize
> evil defined as negative qualia.
To play the devils advocate, how do you know what negative and positive
qualia in another sentient being is from the outside, or for that matter
even from the inside? I'd generally say a creatures tendency to actively
resist something, I honestly can't tell you if tickling is a positive or
negative qualia. If I'm being tickled seriously I struggle to get away,
then once I'm away I go back for more :)
People climb Mt. Everest experiencing levels of suffering far greater
than a good tickling (toes falling off and stuff). Yet they go and seek
out that experience. Depending on the time scale, your toe freezing off
on Mt Everest is either negative or positive qualia :)
Maybe the universe is already orgasmium if looked at from the right
perspective? Maybe the way to paradise is to teach all sentient beings
to see from that perspective? If so the Buddhists have already been
working on this for ~2K years.
-- Laughter-Confusion, Pleasure-Pain, Happyness-Sadness, Excitement-Fear, Love-Hate, etc. The true primary emotions, a modifier makes each into two. This modifier is acceptance/unacceptance. Let go, surrender, accept... Be a counter terrorist perpetrate random senseless acts of kindness
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