There are people who treat transhumanism as a religion or cult. They believe the singularity is coming in time for them to become immortal. I think they are drawn to it for reason similar to other cults. They are accepted into a group of like minded people and it answers their evolved fear of dying that is found in all animals.
I am skeptical that a robot that looks and acts like me is me, even if I am unaware of any changes to my memories. But I will preserve as much information about myself as I can, just in case they want to build one 100 years from now when we have the technology. At least transhumanism is based on science and not purely on faith. But science says that consciousness, qualia, free will, and identity are illusions. I understand why our brains would evolve that way, but it is hard to accept. So I will take a philosophical interest but go on behaving as if they were real. It's good for my reproductive fitness. On Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 4:44 AM Steve Richfield <[email protected] wrote: > MP, > > I have posted about this on several occasions. It seems obvious that > present unscientific approaches will NEVER produce an AGI. Some argue with > this, but there is broad agreement that AGI isn't coming in the 21st > century. I have floated a method and machine to reverse engineer brains, > but I have been unable to find ANYONE willing to invest ANY resources in > it. It truly takes religious faith to believe in something without any > science to back that belief up. > > Then there is the question: What good is AGI? Mahoney's claim of > astronomical value might be correct, but this could only be realized by > DESTROYING human society. AGI is MUCH like cold fusion, as both would > enable amateur experimenters to craft world-destroying devices. > > You seem to see value in jumping to the head of this religious rabble? I > don't yet see the value, but like Christianity, there might be hidden > wealth, e.g... > > "Have a sip of my holy water > while I fertilize your daughter" Insane Clown Posse > > Some religions have "sin eaters" who for a substantial price will take on > the blame for all of your past deeds. > > Maybe we could sell positions in a future up/downloading operation? Of > course we will NEVER fail, simply because we will never give up. > > Thoughts? > > Steve Richfield > On 12:55AM, Sun, Jan 27, 2019 MP via AGI <[email protected] wrote: > >> So, I'm an atheist. But AI to me is the closest we have to god. >> >> Who wants in on creating a new cult of AI? >> >> >> Sent from ProtonMail mobile >> >> >> *Artificial General Intelligence List <https://agi.topicbox.com/latest>* > / AGI / see discussions <https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi> + > participants <https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/members> + delivery > options <https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/subscription> Permalink > <https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/T2bfbfce3f854b951-Mafcd1e7776b9334f4d3674fd> > ------------------------------------------ Artificial General Intelligence List: AGI Permalink: https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/T2bfbfce3f854b951-Mda95c3e46b1009b9cfe6b4e0 Delivery options: https://agi.topicbox.com/groups/agi/subscription
