From: Nicholas Bostrom (bostrom@mail.ndirect.co.uk)
Date: Tue Aug 26 1997 - 06:25:44 MDT
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
> Our immune systems are unimaginably more sophisticated than a virus or a
> bacterium, using controlled evolution to combat natural evolution. And yet we
> still suffer from colds and diseases. The only reason that the viruses
> haven't killed us outright is that it isn't good strategy.
Very good point about the biological immune system analogy.
> It is easier to destroy than create!
...
> Well... I'm not competent to estimate the percentage of the population with
> the genius and expertise to design death goo. The "twisted" part can pretty
> much be taken for granted. And I truly don't think death goo would be that
> hard to design. If any human is even capable of designing an immune system,
> then the average educated person will be capable of breaking it, given time
> and effort. Any twisted genius will go through it like tissue paper.
>The
> situation will be pretty much the same with nanotechnology... except that a
> first strike will have a different probability of succeeding. If that
> probability is high enough, MAD won't work and nano should be confined to a
> *single* group.
I agree. This single group could be demorcatic, though.
------------------------------------------------
Nicholas Bostrom
bostrom@ndirect.co.uk
*Visit my transhumanist web site at*
http://www.hedweb.com/nickb
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