From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Sat Aug 07 1999 - 20:16:21 MDT
jmcasey@pacific.net.sg wrote:
>
> Forgive me for joining the party late....
>
> This neurohacking... are you talking about neural-interface hardware, or about optimising the productivity of the existing nervous system?
Mostly about reallocating neurons from one ability to another - robbing
Peter to pay Paul - by placing the "Paul" abilities under constant
stimulation, by hijacking the (hopefully localizable) interface between
emotions and intelligence, by modifying off-the-shelf brain-stimulation
devices originally developed for stuff like epilepsy.
I'm talking about neurosurgery.
See http://pobox.com/~sentience/algernon.html
> If the latter, do you contend that we humans don't do just that every time we interact, or think for that matter? (Okay, not "every" time, but that the potential doesn't exist in both interaction and thought?)
There's a difference between software and hardware optimization. There
are things you can do with hardware that you just can't do with software.
> And if the former, do you feel we're sufficiently evolved to accept physical/mental enhancers without posing tremendous risk to both ourselves and our world?
(1) Of course not; we aren't evolved enough to not grow tobacco plants.
I believe the phrase is "necessary risk".
(2) You'd better hope I'm evolved enough...
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://pobox.com/~sentience/tmol-faq/meaningoflife.html
Running on BeOS Typing in Dvorak Programming with Patterns
Voting for Libertarians Heading for Singularity There Is A Better Way
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