From: Rob Harris Cen-IT (Rob.Harris@bournemouth.gov.uk)
Date: Mon Jul 12 1999 - 05:21:02 MDT
The first is the claim that superintelligences (SIs) would not want
to talk to us because we don't want to talk to nemotodes. I argued
previously in another context that this is a false analogy (I used the
example of insects). We don't talk to insects because they can't talk.
They don't talk to each other, either.
This is pants-o-logic. Another follower of the "aliens will be like
we are , and now" misassumption. You say nematodes don't "talk", by that you
are saying that nematodes are not interested/do not have the capacity to
communicate with humans on their level. I'm sure that nematodes communicate
with one another in some way or another. It's just that nematode information
is not important or useful to us, as is the position of cat territory
markers etc... It is Extremely unlikely that highly advanced SI's "talk"
like us....we're talking millions to one considering the possibilities for
communication I'm sure. Why would they want to come here, make sounds at a
human, then hear it make a human response which is undoubtedly predictable
to the SI anyway?
Similarly, what would an SI have to gain by "talking" to us? They
are not human, and so not interested in human things - social concerns make
up a massive proportion of everything we talk about, I think you'll agree,
and tech information/discussions will only be useful to us. So the
Human-Nematode thing stands - we don't want to hear nematode chemical-marker
"discussions", and we have no wisdom to gain from them, as the SI doesn't
want to come here and fire sound waves at some humans to hear them beat
their chests and polish their golden hats in response. Maybe a posthuman
apres-singularity time-traveller would want to come back for nostalgia
purposes, but I can't imagine why any other SI would be interested in our
nematode chemical marker displays.
Rob.
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