From: Brian Atkins (brian@posthuman.com)
Date: Sat Aug 17 2002 - 21:15:51 MDT
Greg Burch wrote:
>
> Now -- How would an extropian spy-chief and covert-ops commander go
> about addressing this task? She'd pour resources into systems to make
> both artificial language analysis and human language learning more
> effective. She'd spur advances in micro-tech surveillance technology.
> For better or worse, she'd probably give some long, hard thought to
> employing intelligent "profiling" systems -- both human and artificial
> -- in as many places as possible. And, sad to say, when these
> intelligence efforts began to pay off, the targets that had been
> revealed would have to begin to simply cease functioning -- as quietly
> and quickly as possible.
>
> If anyone can think of another, more effective way to actually *fight*
> terrorists, please let me know.
>
Hey Greg make sure you take a few spare minutes and read "The Spiders"
over at http://e-sheep.com/
It appears to me that there are really only a few ways to completely
solve the problem: totalitarian state strictly enforcing technology
so that only a few people can access it (even then it is risky), 100%
transparent society (and I DO mean 100%... it has to be perfect, and
it has to be backed up with the ability to take near-instant action in
crises), superintelligence. I mean, 10 years from now when technology
puts designer pathogens into the reach of terrorists, the options become
quite limited. It gets to the point where you absolutely 100% have to
stop an attack before it starts UNLESS you have some magic way of
creating perfect defense (for instance a cure to a disease) after you
are already under attack. Despite what Anders and Kurzweil want to
think, this is not equivalent to a computer virus where you have a
backup of your data somewhere to fall back on.
People here thinking about these issues need to take it further in their
minds than simple suitcase nukes. We need a strategy that holds together
and continues working even as technology accelerates.
-- Brian Atkins Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence http://www.singinst.org/
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