Don, I think we agree on the basic issues.
The difference is one of emphasis. Because I believe AGI can be so very powerful -- starting in a perhaps only five years if the right people got serious funding -- I place much more emphasis on trying to stay way ahead of the curve with regard to avoiding the very real dangers its very great power could bring. Edward W. Porter Porter & Associates 24 String Bridge S12 Exeter, NH 03833 (617) 494-1722 Fax (617) 494-1822 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: Don Detrich [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 1:12 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [agi] Religion-free technical content First, let me say I think this is an interesting and healthy discussion and has enough "technical" ramifications to qualify for inclusion on this list. Second, let me clarify that I am not proposing that the dangers of AGI be "swiped under the rug" or that we should be "misleading" the public. >>I just think we're a long way from having real data to base such discussions on, which means if held at the moment they'll inevitably be based on wild flights of fancy.<< We have no idea what the "personality" of AGI will be like. I believe it will be VERY different from humans. This goes back to my post "Will AGI like Led Zeppelin?" To which my answer is, probably not. Will AGI want to knock me over the head to take my sandwich or steal my woman? No, because it won't have the same kind of biological imperative that humans have. AGI, it's a whole different animal. We have to wait and see what kind of animal it will be. >>By that point, there will be years of time to consider its wisdom and hopefully apply some sort of friendliness theory to an actually dangerous stage. << Now, you can feel morally at ease to promote AGI to the public and go out and get some money for your research. As an aside, let me make a few comments about my point of view. I was half owner of an IT staffing and solutions company for ten years. I was the sales manager and a big part of my job was to act as the translator between the technology guys and the client decision makers, who usually were NOT technology people. They were business people with a problem looking for ROI. I have been told by technology people before that concentrating on "what the hell we actually want to accomplish here" is not an important technical issue. I believe it is. "What the hell we actually want to accomplish here" is to develop AGI. Offering a REALISTIC evaluation of the possible advantages and disadvantages of the technology is very much a technical issue. What we are currently discussing is, what ARE the realistic dangers of AGI and how does that effect our development and investment strategy. That is both a technical and a strategic issue. Don Detrich _____ This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/? <http://v2.listbox.com/member/?&; > & ----- This list is sponsored by AGIRI: http://www.agiri.org/email To unsubscribe or change your options, please go to: http://v2.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=48325024-2cff63
