From: Brian Atkins (brian@posthuman.com)
Date: Wed Mar 22 2000 - 09:11:29 MST
Rather long winded, but what your argument comes down to is that the US
government is going to be able to protect its citizens from all future
attacks (because if even one of these attacks succeeds it could probably
kill every single person). Not to mention that the other countries will
have practically no defenses. You also don't even address the worries
about bio and AI attacks. Let me point out that not all terrorists are
"lone wolves" acting on their own. Take for example the Aum Shinri Kyo
cult of Japan that had many scientists, and was able to develop chemical
and biological weapons in the 90s. I think your argument that in the
future these types of groups will not be able to afford or have the
expertise to create advanced technologies is wrong. I also think your
belief that the US government (not the mention the other countries of
the planet) is going to be able to protect its citizens from every
possible bio, AI, and nano attack is seriously flawed. This is the
same government that barely understands the Internet! Technology in
many areas is outpacing them.
I think we are going to have take responsibility for protecting our
individual selves rather than relying on the government if we want to
have any chance of surviving. The only question is what area to focus
our efforts on- bio, AI, or nano?
Jeff Davis wrote:
>
> Do you ever get the feeling that just plain ol' luck is behind much of what
> happens in life? Are the Bill Joys, Alfred Noyces, Bill Gateses, etc,
> really supreme geniuses, or did they just win some kind of global lottery.
> No question, that when opportunity knocks, you have to get up and answer
> the door. But you also have to live in the right neighborhood, and be at
> home at the time. You could add to that, your parents answering their
> respective doors before you, and their parents before them. An amazing
> string of sevens at the cosmic crap table leads to the founding of a Sun
> Microsystems, an Intel, or a Microsoft.
>
> I have no doubt that Bill Joy is a very talented software architect. But
> it would surprise me a whole heck of a lot if most of the folks on this
> list couldn't have done all that Bill Joy did, had they been in his shoes
> when opportunity--the silicon revolution--came knocking. Read the bio part
> of his wired article. Between the lines I got the impression that when he
> was at Berkeley, buried beneath his work, the OTHER Sun Microsystems
> founders came and found him. Dragged him off. Now he thinks he's hot shit.
>
> "Mommy, mommy, the future scares me!"
>
> Go back to Aspen, Bill. Write some more code. The future doesn't need YOU.
>
> I listened to the NPR program. I have a coupla of comments.
>
> Bill says we should pause, and think about the wisdom of proceeding with
> these scary technologies.
>
> The future is coming, Bill. Like a juggernaut. There'll be no slowing it
> down. A billion people in India (substantial numbers of programmers riding
> the wave of the silicon revolution) and more than a billion people in China
> want a decent standard of living and they're counting on future
> technologies to deliver it for them. To slow down the future, you would
> have to nuke them. Are you going to nuke them, Bill? I didn't think so.
> Then listen to them laugh at you, Bill, as you sit on your deck, and sip
> your latte, in your palatial mansion in trendy Aspen, Colorado. And listen
> to the future roaring in on you, on us all, unstoppable.
>
> Bill says the scary terrorist may get us all.
>
> Done a lot of sitting in your luxuriously appointed office, with the
> breathtaking view of the Colorado Rockies, listening to your yes men with
> their bobbing heads, saying, "Yes, Bill. Yes, Bill." ? Or perhaps, you've
> just spent too many years--your whole life?--staying up late writing code?
> Not a lot of experience with,...what do they call it?,...ah, yes, REALITY.
>
> Try this, Bill. The terrorist thing,...it's mostly a fabrication. You
> see, people like scary stories. So the media puts out a whole lot of them.
> Makes them lots of money. The name Steven King mean anything to you?
> Then there's the politicians. They love the boogeyman. The Kraut, the
> Jap, the Commie, the fag, the jew, the arab, the narco-trafficker, the
> terrorist. The politician says, "The comm,...er,..terrorists are coming.
> Vote for me. I'll save you." Then, of course lately, what with peace
> having broken out since the demise of the evil empire, the entire national
> security beauracracy has been frantic to hustle up a new boogeyman. Got
> mortgages to pay, kids to feed. International terrorism, that's the
> ticket. But perhaps all the terrorist hype has overwhelmed you, and you
> can't see past it. Try this instead.
>
> The nanobots and biobots that frighten you so?, well you know, they have
> huge military potential. So before your demented evil genius terrorist
> fiend, goes down to his corner "Bot-R-Us" store, with global mayhem--even
> unto the extinction of the human race, including Bill and his kids--in
> mind,... Before that happens, governments will have spent hundreds of
> billions of dollars and millions of man hours conjuring up every kind of
> offensive use, defensive counter-measure, plan, strategy, scenario, weapons
> system, policy issue, cost-benefit analysis, yadda yadda yadda--enough to
> make every taxpayer get down on his knees and pray for human extinction.
> What chance really, does your lone terrorist have against all those
> resources marshalled against his tender little psychosis? Really Bill, you
> need to get out more.
>
> So, bottom line, this Wired article thing? A major publishing coup for
> Wired News. That's their business, and they done real good. A super scary
> story about really scary high technology, even now emerging--as heralded,
> ta, taaa!, by Wired News-- from the semi-irrelevance of science fiction to
> the mind-shattering preeminence of science non-fiction, and brought to you
> by the much envied because he's very rich and very prestigious because he's
> very rich, wunderkind of the silicon digerati, trendy Aspen Branch, no
> joy, Killjoy, Bill Joy. Yippeee!
>
> Enjoy this momentary return to the spotlight, Bill, cause it looks like
> puffery to me, and not likely to last.
>
> Best, Jeff Davis
>
> "Everything's hard till you know how to do it."
> Ray Charles
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