From: Miriam English (miriam@werple.net.au)
Date: Sun Sep 16 2001 - 20:32:40 MDT
At 03:31 AM 17/09/2001, John Clark wrote:
>Adrian `Guru Zeb` Harper <guruzeb@blueyonder.co.uk> Wrote:
>
> >How could we guarantee that such an AI would not become infected
> with the
> >same religious viral memes that afflict so many humans.
>
>Religious memes are powerful in human beings because humans are mortal.
>Eliminate death and you eliminate religion.
We are unlikely to eliminate death in the near future, even for AIs. While
we may eliminate natural death as a result of aging, death from accident
will remain a problem for a long time to come, even with multiple
backups... and then there is the problem of people wondering if they go to
a "better" place if they let themselves die.
I agree with Zeb. Religious memes are likely to take up residence in AI
minds too. We need effective counter-memes to innoculate against that.
Cheers,
- Miriam
---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=---------=------
Q. What is the similarity between an elephant and a grape?
A. They are both purple... except for the elephant.
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Virtual Reality Association http://www.vr.org.au
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