From: D.den Otter (neosapient@geocities.com)
Date: Sun Nov 28 1999 - 10:27:31 MST
----------
> From: Spike Jones <spike66@ibm.net>
> D.den Otter wrote:
>
> > No, no, NO! For god's sake man, trust your instincts
> > on this one.
>
> den Otter, I *have* no instincts on this one. {8-[
Yes you do; you stated in the original post, regarding
Eliezer's AI-will-save-us scenario, that "The notion sounded
absurd to me at first". There you have it, that was your
common sense talking, your rational instinct for self-
preservation. Only later did your vision get blurred by
Eliezer's relentless smooth talk, which apparently
manages to obscure the simple fact that he cares
about the Singularity and the Singularity alone. When
it really comes down to it you are expendable to him.
He'll "leave you suckers to burn", as he so eloquently
put it.
> > If nanotech comes first, on the other hand, we *will*
> > have a fighting chance, certainly if we start planning
> > a space program (as mentioned in the "SPACE:
> > How hard IS it to get off Earth?" thread)
>
> But, did we not pretty much agree that a space program
> may not help, for replicating nanoassemblers might easily
> be blasted loose from the surface of a planet by a stray
> meteorite,
Hmmm, would it really be that easy to escape earth's
gravity well & atmosphere? It would take one helluva
meteorite to do that, IMO, and those are rather rare.
Even then the nanites would just drift around, not really
doing much. In the meantime we'd be working hard on
uploading etc.in our Martian (or whatever) base.
> never mind intentional spewing forth of tiny
> amounts of goo. Nanobots travel better than we do.
Nanites are only (truly) dangerous when controlled by
an intelligence. As long as that intelligence is merely
human, we have a fighting chance. Fight nanites with
nanites, incinerate them with nukes, take out their
operators, run from them at the highest achievable
% of lightspeed, fool their sensors (with infiltrator
nanites, for example) etc. A reasonably fair fight.
When fighting an ASI with nano (and JHWH knows
what other) powers, on the other hand, the odds are
*badly* against you.
> Eliezer, what is your notion?
Better ask some "neutral" third party (he's rather biased, you
know, and of course so am I).
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