From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Fri Sep 26 1997 - 09:34:47 MDT
Mitchell Porter <mitch@thehub.com.au> writes:
> Something that may be a likely development is
> a "genie machine" or "wish-granting machine".
> Every machine that does what you want it to
> is already a machine for granting a (narrow)
> range of wishes; what I mean is a sort of
> general-purpose wish-granting machine.
> Imagine a machine with superintelligence
> and maximal abilities to construct physical
> systems (whether that be nanotech or something
> more advanced, such as the creation of designer
> universes), but no volition to speak of.
> What should one ask of such a machine?
"Would you please implement the Omega Point?"
> What *shouldn't* one ask for?
What Klaupatius asked Trurl's wish machine for in
Lem's _The Cyberiad_: "Make Nothing".
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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