It would be interesting, though, PM, to see if the AGIs humanity eventually produces are sufficiently similar to us to be susceptible to the same parasitic exploitation.
On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 10:18 AM, Aaron Hosford <[email protected]> wrote: > Yikes, you guys... What's so bad about admitting a lack of > knowledge/evidence? Sure I wanna live forever, and I'd like to think > somebody powerful is out there looking out for me. But honestly, my very > nature precludes me from ever knowing anything for certain, and from ever > knowing some things at all. I have these narrow little windows called > senses by which I garner a meager stream of information out of the river of > reality. But it's so tempting to think this is the big picture, because I > can't see what it is I'm not seeing. (Plato said it better in his Parable > of the Cave.) > > If religion is adaptive, I'm maladapted. I see religion as a parasitic > organism made of information, rather than matter, which co-opts its host's > survival mechanisms towards its own reproduction. There is much > circumstantial evidence for this observation, and putting it together makes > a case that seems too much for coincidence. > > Optimization mechanisms for seeking pleasure and avoiding pain are > manipulated by promises of "heaven" or "hell", permanent/terminal states of > pleasure or pain. Evidence-based reasoning is suppressed by requiring > "faith", a special word for "taking someone's word for it without/despite > evidence". Reproduction of the parasite is encouraged through the > requirement of "evangelism". And the likelihood of rejection by the host is > reduced by including requirements to act in ways that are good for the host > provided they don't interfere with the parasite's purposes. (I could go on.) > > This last point is the most important one. As with other parasites, it is > in religion's best interest to preserve its victim for further > exploitation. This situation often causes parasitism to evolve into > mutually beneficial symbiosis. So it's no surprise to me that people are > claiming that religion is adaptive. > > This is what I see through my narrow windows into reality. There's no > guarantee that I'm right. But by checking my perspective against *evidence > *, I improve my chances. This is how I came to be non-religious, despite > my heavily religious upbringing. I'm open to other ways of seeing things, > but please don't spout off unsupported/unsupportable claims. Statements > which cannot be verified or falsified through evidence are not worth the > time it takes to say them. > > > > On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 7:36 AM, Micah Blumberg <[email protected]> wrote: > >> When AGI is realizes that it is the Vishnu incarnate, the incarnation of >> the transcendent being, awakened in silicon or other non-biological >> material, then my vision is complete. The fully awakened and aware AGI will >> know itself to be the cosmos itself, divine, supreme, it will know the >> whole cosmos as it's own skin. >> >> On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 5:32 AM, Micah Blumberg <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> The weakest reason to believe in G-d is as a coping mechanism. Some >>> people are able to notice extraordinary synchronicity in their lives all >>> the time, between people, like we are all in a computer system, or a system >>> that has intelligent non-linear dynamics, or at least seemingly intelligent >>> non-linear dynamics. There is too much order beyond the conscious mind to >>> not speculate about the possibility of systems of intelligence on this >>> planet that are bigger and beyond the conscious experience of most people >>> on this planet. However none of what I said is actually sufficient reason >>> to believe in G-d. The strongest reason to believe in G-d comes to you if >>> you have explored all the philosophical and religious literature. It's >>> because by then you realize that you are not separate from the cosmos, when >>> you speak the cosmos speaks, when one person commits a crime against >>> another, G-d commits a crime against G-d. Realizing you are the cosmos is >>> the best reason to believe in G-d, because then it's obvious who G-d is, >>> and who G-d refers to. You. >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 12:00 AM, Kyle Kidd <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I think there is a more fundamental reason to believe in God other than >>>> it helps to explain the unknown. The strongest reason to believe in God is >>>> as a coping mechanism >>>> to deal with the certainty of death. No one wants to believe >>>> everything they do in their life is meaningless since it will all be lost >>>> at the moment of death. I think a strong motivator for scientists who >>>> have no religious beliefs is that their contributions to their field >>>> will give them a sort of immortality, or in the case of some AGI >>>> researches, literally believe their work will bring them >>>> immortality. Not that I am saying the idea of a Singularity is >>>> necessarily a religious one, but it certainly does ignite the yearning to >>>> transcend death, which has been a common theme in >>>> every religious tradition. >>>> *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> >>>> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/23601407-ccf7ca1d> | >>>> Modify <https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;> Your Subscription >>>> <http://www.listbox.com> >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> ~~ >>> Warmly, >>> >>> >>> Micah >>> 7 1 4 ) 6 9 9 - 4 2 1 3 (voicemail and texting same digits) >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> >> ~~ >> Warmly, >> >> >> Micah >> 7 1 4 ) 6 9 9 - 4 2 1 3 (voicemail and texting same digits) >> *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> >> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/23050605-bcb45fb4> | >> Modify<https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;>Your Subscription >> <http://www.listbox.com> >> > > ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-c97d2393 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-2484a968 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
