From: Technotranscendence (neptune@mars.superlink.net)
Date: Sat Jun 15 2002 - 11:41:56 MDT
On Saturday, June 15, 2002 11:30 AM Martin Moore lethe07@yahoo.com
wrote:
> Kasparov is demonstrating integration problems. Some
> of Kuzweil's or Damien's writing would help the guy
> out. Not so much in understanding the Singularity, but
> what outlook he needs to accept and welcome Change.
I agree, though I've yet to actually read any of Damien's books.
(Forgive me Damien. I'm adopting the typical transhumanist solution
here and waiting for the Singularity to catch up on my reading.:)
> Like any small group at the extreme forefront of a
> movement that stands to radically impact society and
> culture, you guys often forget that the average person
> has absolutely no tools to deal with the potential
> impact of your technology. Your immersion in this
> stuff and all the resulting important discussions I
> have read here about FAI, ethics, morals, reality,
> life, existence, even fear and hope, have allowed you
> to develop a new view of the world. A world which is
> on a collision course with a massive spike. And a new
> perspective as radical as your technology.
I wonder if the opposite isn't true. A lot of people who pioneer an
area don't tend to dominate it. I worked (I'm one of the ) for dot-com
that was the technology leader in its industry that was overtaken by
another company in its space with a worse product but lots more funding
and marketing savvy.
I think another problem with the anti-techno-progress crowd or the
anti-Singularity (or antitranshumanist) types among them is that short
of a global disaster or a new dark ages, technochange will continue.
The only choice on a personal level is whether to ignore it, go against
it, or embrace it. On a socio-political level, the choice is mostly
whether to support it (the welfare for nanotech/AI/etc. that some want),
leave it alone (the laissez faire approach I advocate), or, the worst of
the bunch, drive it underground (the neoluddite or semiluddite (since
the Bill Joy crowd does not seem to want to smash all tech) approach).
The last approach will not avert any of these changes. It might delay
them, but it will also insure, if it takes hold in the West, that this
stuff gets done underground and probably in the worst possible way. The
vast mass of humanity will be caught unawares and unprepared, IMHO.
Cheers!
Dan
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/MyWorksBySubject.html
Here's a photo of me from behind:
http://uweb.superlink.net/neptune/pic004.jpg
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