From: Mark Phillips (clay8@hotmail.com)
Date: Tue Jun 15 1999 - 14:23:50 MDT
Thanks, Darin, for this insightful comment.
But how 'bout a NEW *MAD*, y'all: *M*utally *A*ssured *D*EFENSE. Or
*MAS*---*M*utually *A*ssured *S*URVIVAL. If we can focus the
nanotechnological (and beyond) memes and meta-memes in the direction of
thoroughly effective DEFENSE (ideally, in the sense of ultimate immunity
[imperviousness] to aggression/attack), then perhaps we can have a STABLE
game-theoretic (n-person) equilibrium concentrated around defense instead of
aggression/offence.
Although, if I understand Emlyn's original point, this itself will motivate
any "Dr. Evils" (as it were) out there to specifically concentrate on some
sort of "ultimate" (i.e., indefensible-against) weapon(s). And this may
well be the case. Is this, however, INHERENT/INTRINSIC to "competitive"
evolution as such?! Or is there a threshold beyond which this sort of
inherently dynamic escalation just sort of falls by the (evolutionary)
wayside. I would appreciate everyone's thoughts on this.
Perhaps eternal vigilance, along with a good ultra-active ultra-shield, will
indeed turn out to be the price of (meta)cosmic liberty and extropian
expansion.
Kurzweil, by the way, in his new book, *The Age of Spiritual Machines*,
seems to think, if I read and understand him correctly, that, for the most
part, the aggression/defense dynamic alluded to above, will sort of fade
away, as we upload/merge with Ultra-Intelligent machine entities. And good
ol' Hans Moravec has seemed at times to vaguely argue in this vein. Still,
the basic (meta)meme behind *active shields* would seem necessary for the
forseeable future....
Very best regards to all!
MCP
BEYOND EUTOPIA--TOWARD (META)COSMIC HORIZONS!!
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