From: M. E. Smith (mesmith@rocketmail.com)
Date: Mon Mar 13 2000 - 10:05:06 MST
In case the list is already discussing this, let me
point out that I'm not "on" the list, because I find
it preferable to just skim the archives at
www.lucifer.com/exi-lists/extropians/date00.html for
the useful and interesting posts. The archives are
usually posted something like 12 - 24 hours after the
fact, so for all I know, somebody has already written
about this.
That said, I'm surprised that I can't find any
reaction to Bill Joy's feature article in the latest
Wired magazine. I can't find it on-line yet, but the
paper version has hit the racks. It's the cover story,
"Why the Future Doesn't Need Us.
>From the cover, I expected it to be just another vapid
shallow happytalk Wired article, but, to my surprise,
it's not. It's very thoughtful, informed, cautionary
and foreboding. And, utimately, quite anti-extropian.
The article is about the ways that the future of
humanity is threatened by what Joy calls the "NGR"
technologies (nanotechnology, genetics, and robotics).
He compares and contrasts the NGR dangers with the
dangers that the "NBC" technologies (nuclear,
biological and chemical warfare) have confronted us
with for decades, and points out that the NGR techs
are more dangerous because it could ultimately become
easier for small groups and individuals to make use of
them.
Joy discusses the "Engines of Destruction" chapter of
Drexler's EoC, the "gray goo" problem. He also brings
up Frank Herberts novel "The White Plague", in which a
lone scientist tailors a plague to specifically kill
people of a particular genetic makeup.
Much of what Joy says parallels what Drexler said
about "engines of destruction". However, many on this
list will disagree with much of the article, because
Joy's attitude towards the end of humanity is that it
is something that can and should be prevented. He says
we need to start applying common sense and foresite to
what technologies we unleash. He goes far; after
outlining the central role he has played in the
information revolution (for one thing, he invented the
Unix editor vi), he says that if he at some time
concludes that a certain direction of research
endangered the future of humanity, he would feel
morally obligated to stop helping it. He draws
parallels to the Manhatten Project.
Joy's attitude towards the end of humanity is one
that, I believe, will be shared by an overwhelming
majority of humanity when the issues become more
widely-known. A powerful majority.
I recommend you read the article.
=====
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M. E. Smith
mesmith@rocketmail.com
http://members.home.net/mesmith/
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