From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Mon Apr 05 1999 - 14:08:41 MDT
The list "sing@onelist.com" has been created. (It would have been
"singularitarian@onelist.com", but onelist includes the list name in
each subject line, so...) The list will officially be launched April
11th, 1999 - please don't post until that time.
Please read the following before registering to subscribe:
http://pobox.com/~sentience/singularitarian/list.html
You may register to subscribe at:
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/sing
The list is restricted, meaning that each subscription needs to be
approved. Please subscribe now, so that I can "process" everyone by the
time the list is launched. After registering, please send me email with
the subject line "SING: Your Name". If I don't already know who you
are, please include either (1) your intended first post, (2) a reason
why I should be begging you to join or (3) some assorted other
information, as described below and on the page. Please don't be
insulted if you get turned down; it's a specialized list.
If you're a friend of someone who isn't on Extropians but would be a
highly valuable reader of the list, please forward this message to them.
But please read the page first, so you know which readers are in demand.
==
I will be posting the following. (Others may have their own posts, of course.)
* Some data on how the average Internet user reacts to the Singularity.
* Commercial potential and project requirements of Elisson and other AI.
* A few business ideas I've been thinking of.
==
>From http://pobox.com/~sentience/singularitarian/list.html
(HTML stripped, so reading the page would be better.)
Summary:
The Singularitarians are interested in bringing about the Singularity, as
fast as possible, through the creation of various "ultratechnologies".
Because of our common interest in the success of each other's efforts,
this list was created to share advice and resources. This highly
pragmatic list is intended only for the discussion of specific efforts and
immediate choices. It is not for futuristic debate, argument, or
discussion of the Singularity proper. The list is restricted, which
enables both discussion of semi-private issues and the maintenance of
intelligent and practical posting.
* Summary.
* Table of Contents.
* Charter.
* Concept.
* Membership.
* Posting.
* Topic list.
* Don'ts.
* Joining.
Charter:
The "Singularitarian" mailing list was launched as sing@onelist.com on
Sunday, March 11th, 1999, to assist in the common goal of reaching the
Singularity. It will do so by pooling the resources of time, brains,
influence, and money available to Singularitarians; by enabling us to draw
on the advice and experience of the whole; by bringing together
individuals with compatible ideas and complementary resources; and by
binding the Singularitarians into a community. The list will provide a
common forum for requesting advice, help and investment; for proposing
projects, businesses, and group policies; for announcing updates, status
reports, outcomes, Internet resources, and Web sites; for reporting the
products of research and investigation; and for sharing news of
interest.
Version: 1.0.
Published 4/4/99.
©1999 by Eliezer S. Yudkowsky. All rights reserved.
Please bookmark this page as
http://pobox.com/~sentience/singularitarian/list.html.
Concept:
The Extropians list (as much as anything, the original parent of this
list) maintains a continuous sheen of futurism, the quality Ed Regis
called "hubris". Favored topics of discussion: A really spectacular
piece of technology, an impressive piece of rational reasoning, futuristic
science and psychology, intricate and anarchocapitalistic ethics, and
(sometimes heated) debates about policy in the remote future. At its
height, the Extropians list is a group of extremely intelligent people
throwing off sparkles of concentrated future shock.
There were, however, three repeated complaints: First, that there wasn't
enough discussion of practical matters, what to do now. Second, that none
of the people talking had the resources to actually do anything. Third,
that there were too many low-quality posts. The Singularitarian list came
into existence in response to these problems.
The first priority of the list is to provide an environment capable of
attracting Internet tycoons or science-fiction authors or AI researchers,
not just enthusiastic but poor Singularitarians with a lot of spare
time.
It should not require extreme dedication to the Singularity to put up with
the list environment, simply a slight interest. For those
Singularitarians who have not yet contributed to the Singularity and have
no resources strongly in demand, the strictest standards of intelligence,
netiquette, topic discipline, pragmatism, and general cluefulness will be
enforced.
The list's first moments will be most critical, setting the
tone and determining the success or failure of the list. A
core of high-quality readers and posters will attract more
readers and posters, but it is to be expected that only a few
of them will arrive initially. To prevent the "nightmare
scenario" - in which a bunch of enthusiastic idiots misspell
insanely impractical proposals and argue with every post on
ideological grounds, after which all the real Singularitarians
pack up and leave - I will scrutinize all candidate members
very closely, request a summary of the proposed initial post,
actually enforce the topic rules, and otherwise watch the
initial moments of the list very carefully.
I expect that members of the group will fall into a few broad categories;
each of which, in accordance with the Charter, have something to
contribute to each other and to the whole. By bringing together the
aspiring-but-poor Singularity enthusiast and the vaguely altruistic
Internet tycoon together into one community, it is hoped that the
enthusiast will absorb some of the pragmatism and knowledge of the tycoon,
even as the tycoon will absorb some of the dedication and futuristic
vision of the enthusiast. By bringing together the researcher and the
popularizer (whether a Webmaster or science-fiction author), it is hoped
that both will learn more about presenting accurate information to the
public. The Singularitarian list is intended, not only to create
individual collaborations, but to create a community.
Membership:
List membership is restricted; that is, all new members must be
approved.
First and foremost, this allows us to maintain quality of discussion. It
also allows us to maintain semi-confidentiality for people who want to
discuss bright ideas without giving them away entirely, or who are willing
to discuss sensitive information such as income levels or physical
location. Of course, for truly proprietary information, you should
arrange to use PGP or some other form of strong encryption.
List membership is extended to people with time, brains, influence, or
money, and constrained by pragmatism, readability, discretion, and
dedication to the Singularity. The standards are neither independent nor
"fair", but sensitive to supply and demand. The pool of Singularitarians
would seem rather oversupplied with brains relative to money, so it is to
be expected that standards on qualities such as "dedication to the
Singularity" will be relaxed to the extent of letting in any random
millionaire who thinks s/he "might" be interested.
The list is not moderated. If onelist offered that option, I would allow
non-members to post. If you believe you know something of which the list
should be aware, forward it to me, or some other Singularitarian you know,
and we will forward it to the list. (This is, of course, one of the best
ways to demonstrate you'd make a good member.)
Posters who publicize list messages not marked as public; cannot spell
properly, reason properly, or remain on-topic; otherwise harm the list -
will be summarily removed, to maintain the quality of discussion for
all.
In no way is this list intended to serve the function of introducing a
person to either netiquette or ultratechnology; while such people may
eventually become valued members of the Singularitarian community,
violation of list discipline will result in removal and gentle referral to
the Extropian mailing list.
Posting:
Most posts should be announcements. A few posts may be questions, to
which answers are appropriate. Extended discussion is appropriate only to
actual project and business proposals.
While I will be overjoyed if there are so many collaborations and
announcements that the list develops heavy traffic, there should not be
traffic for the sake of maintaining it. I do not intend to maintain any
particular level of traffic - only of quality.
Please do not feel obligated to respond to messages, and especially do not
feel obligated to argue points. Above all, put in the few minutes of
wordsmithing that saves everyone else from having to make an effort to
read your post.
Posting policies are not meant to be absolute. I, as a Singularitarian,
have no authority over other Singularitarians. I have provided a place
for us to meet. I have one vision of what that place will be like; others
may have their own. To acknowledged Singularitarians, my concept of the
list is only one opinion. Likewise, my control of the list membership
does not imply that I have the authority to decide who is a
Singularitarian - only the job of guessing.
The topic list below, then, is neither exhaustive nor exclusive. To
proven posters, it is only a suggestion. It is, however, expected that
one will demonstrate the capability to follow the topic list before going
outside it. My concept of the list is only one opinion, but it's the one
presently on the list charter, so please be sure you know what you're
doing before exercising that independence.
For borderline posts, or when in doubt, remember the Golden Rule: A post
can be boring, or trivial, but never both.
Topic list:
* MEME: Popularizing the Singularity.
* Concrete data about reactions to the Singularity
* Questions about what to put in an interview, Web page, or
article.
* The results of an interview; lessons learned.
* Where to publish a futuristic paper.
* Sub-topics: BOOK and SITE announcements.
* BUSI: For discussion of business.
* Is anyone interested in starting company A? Specify what stage
company A is at, and what employees are being sought or seed
funding required.
* What kind of resources would business B require?
* I don't have time to do it myself, but here's business idea
C.
* I'm a Singularitarian with business D, and I would like
help.
* RES<> For requests for mundane resources, or announcements that
such resources are available.
* Does anyone have hosting space for a complex poll?
* I don't know how to create a complex poll; is there anyone who
knows CGI and is willing to donate some time?
* Where should I look on the Web to find out about starting a
business?
* Does anyone know where I can get an fMRI scan?
* I have 100MB of Web space - anyone need it?
* (RES> indicates availability, RES< indicates request.)
* PROJ: Singularitarian projects that have not incorporated as a
business.
* Hi, I've started a "Singularity.org" website.
* Hi, I've started an open-source NanoCad project.
* TECH/BUSI: Discussion of technology in business.
* What are the immediate business potentials of ultratechnology
proposal A?
* Anyone want to comment on AI project B in my business proposal?
* These are my comments on Intelligenesis's Webmind.
* I have a great idea about collaborative filtering.
* (There is no TECH-only subject line...)
* ARTICLE: Express an opinion or statement that you think the list
should hear.
* This may include wider Singularity-related subjects, including
general strategy.
* As in the journal of Brain and the Behavioral Sciences, someone
may post a response and the author may respond to that. No
further response depth is permitted.
* If you wish to respond further, either take it to the
Extropians list, or write a counter-article of equal quality
and originality, and post it at least one week after the first
article.
* If you want closure, or you think it's important to know who
"won", use a VOTE with the same subject line.
* VOTE: Statistical data, ideological backing.
* Gather data about list members, or learn about general
opinions.
* Gain consensus on a subject, so you can say "Singularitarians
believe..."
* Start a web poll and include it as HTML. (Non-tamperable free
polls preferred for gaining consensus.)
* If you are attempting to gain consensus, please say so.
* Include an option "I don't believe this is an appropriate
subject for a Singularitarian consensus." A consensus is not
morally or legally binding; it's just a way of ensuring you
have at least 80% support before you saying "Singularitarians
believe".
* TRIBE: Events that bind us together as a community.
* Singularitarians who will be at conventions.
* JOIN: Announcement that a person is joining the list
* Whatever relevant personal information (profession, location,
social class) s/he chooses to reveal.
* Any resources that person is willing to contribute to a good
cause.
* Which projects that person is interested in.
* RATN: Objection to a previous post on the grounds that it contains
a rational error.
* Flames cannot be effectively outlawed, but they can be
isolated.
* Logical errors and factual errors are appropriate topics.
Keep it down, people! Get boring about it and I'll tell you to
take it private.
* It would help if the beginning of the post contained the name
of the logical flaw identified, if it has a name. This
includes rhetorical tactics and logical fallacies.
* I encourage third parties to make their opinions clear on whose
side the right lies. This should enable the correct party to
break off discussion without feeling that this is conceding the
point.
* Please preserve the rest of the subject line; "MEME:
Singularity poll" becomes "RATN: Singularity poll".
* META: Discussion of the list.
I hope everyone will attempt to maintain topic discipline, although it
will not be strictly enforced. Subject lines do not require tags, but
subject lines that contain any tags except RATN or META must remain
on-topic, and discussion that wanders outside the topic should change the
subject line. This is required so that list members filtering by tag will
not waste their time.
Any Singularity-topic sufficiently sensitive that it could not be publicly
discussed is an appropriate topic, regardless of other constraints, and
may be argued normally - as long as intelligent discussion is
maintained.
Any post not marked somewhere as "public" should be treated as
semi-confidential - please don't publish it anywhere, or quote from it, or
discuss the ideas with your friends...
Don'ts:
The Singularitarian mailing list specifically excludes discussion of:
Whether a future is desirable in principle.
Personal improvement techniques.
Philosophy, ethics, and morality. Exception: An ethical principle
may be briefly cited if opposing a specific proposal for an
immediate action, and philosophical and moral principles may be
briefly cited as good things to popularize.
Any question that doesn't reflect an immediate choice in achieving a
reachable goal.
Such questions, while entirely legitimate, should be referred to the
Extropian Mailing List.
Joining:
To join, click here. Or, email sing-subscribe@onelist.com. This will
place you on the list of pending members and automatically notify me.
Then, email me with your request to join.
Use the subject line "SING: Your Name".
Please include the following information:
* If you have a particular first post in mind (including a JOIN post)
include it. (This should be enough information for me to guess
whether you belong on the list.)
OR:
* Any link that shows we should be begging you to join.
OR:
* Your name.
* How long you've known about the Singularity.
* Which projects you're interested in.
* (If applicable:) The resources, skills, or knowledge base which you
intend to bring to the list.
* (If applicable:) The URL of something you've written anything about
the Singularity, or posted about it to a mailing list. Failing
that, the URL of any other Internet writings.
* (If applicable:) The name of any other known Singularitarians or
Extropians who can attest to your fitness as a member.
==
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://pobox.com/~sentience/AI_design.temp.html
http://pobox.com/~sentience/singul_arity.html
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise specified, I'm not telling you
everything I think I know.
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