>
> Rational self-interest does not stop us from knocking down forests to
build
> cities, in spite of all the ants and squirrels that are rendered homeless
or
> dead as a consequence.
>
My point being that maybe it should. Our destruction of the environment can
be seen as not just ethically suspect, but as an irrational destruction of a
living system that we depend on for far more than manufacturing raw
materials.
> But I think there is an aspect of benevolence that goes beyond
rationality.
> Rationality is about what one does to fulfill one's goals -- morals and
> ethics are about what the goals are, in the first place. Benevolence and
> respect for all forms of life need to be there *in the goal system*. Not
> hardwired in, in any sense -- rather, taught and fully internalized.
>
There is -- as always -- much in what you say.
Kevin reveals his Hindu/Buddhist roots in his comments on the self.
Pehaps what I am trying to say is that what AGI needs to aim at is not so
much an independent entity, but a symbiotic partnership between carbon and
silicon intelligences. This gets around the problem of just how you finess
the process of "internalizing" vs. "hard-wiring" benevolence in our future
AGI masters.
C. David Noziglia
Object Sciences Corporation
6359 Walker Lane, Alexandria, VA
(703) 253-1095
"What is true and what is not? Only God knows. And, maybe, America."
Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi, Special to Arab
News
"Just because something is obvious doesn't mean it's true."
--- Esmerelda Weatherwax, witch of Lancre
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