tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post4303772353721613365..comments2023-10-28T06:49:31.452-05:00Comments on Max More's Strategic Philosophy: Singularity and Surge ScenariosMax Morehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09399507145120248307noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-25611171313920397112009-07-09T10:43:06.032-05:002009-07-09T10:43:06.032-05:00Hey Max
Just wanted to pass on my thanks. You'...Hey Max<br /><br />Just wanted to pass on my thanks. You're doing a great job for us Transhumanists/Immortalists.<br /><br />I know it was a while ago, but also wanted to say 'nice work' in Technocalyps: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7141762977713668208<br /><br />Keep on rockin' mate ...I'll be joining the fight soon. Just need a few more years to reach financial independence...after that, I'll be contributing to the movement.<br /><br />Cheers<br />DanModern Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13990115448502883146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-13103115122312108662009-06-23T07:14:29.356-05:002009-06-23T07:14:29.356-05:00Nice exposé, but I wonder about the naming of the ...Nice exposé, but I wonder about the naming of the last two scenarios, for singularity.<br />It seems to me that a voluntarist singularity not at all guaranteed to be positive (as in unfriendly AI), and an authoritarian one not necessarily negative either (however unlikely you think that may be, an authoritarian may for example enforce the emergence of a friendly AI - eg in a Yudkowsky lab-dictatorship).Hervé Musseauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09162155298790281786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-61191704527333915962009-06-23T05:24:57.844-05:002009-06-23T05:24:57.844-05:00"But we need dynamism now to enable this futu..."But we need dynamism now to enable this future, and this is why space is so important: for the mental health of our species."<br /><br />Exactly. As in "societal projects". In any event, even in the case of the XV and XVI explorations (most of) the inhabitants of the old world remained where they were, and this is of course very likely to be the case when we are speaking of deep gravitional wells, not to mention the other issues involved...Stefano Vajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11725653303024645938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-60546402893449571772009-06-23T01:32:23.386-05:002009-06-23T01:32:23.386-05:00I am a big supporter of expansion to the outer spa...I am a big supporter of expansion to the outer space -- going back to space to stay -- for the reason you mention: to recover our past "dynamism".<br /><br />At the same time I don't think space "belongs" to us flesh and blood humans 1.0: it is our robotic and uploaded mind children who will move beyond the solar system and spread to the cosmos.<br /><br />But we need dynamism now to enable this future, and this is why space is so important: for the mental health of our species. We need to see people walking on the Moon again, and then Mars. The night sky itself, that everyone can see from everywhere, will be a constant and powerfully symbilic reminder of the cosmic future waiting for us.Giulio Priscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13811681020661409028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-74583171523723278392009-06-22T16:16:47.337-05:002009-06-22T16:16:47.337-05:00Young cultures as opposed to old civilisations? :-...Young cultures as opposed to old civilisations? :-)<br /><br />But it is true, in some sense, that by now we are living an overpopulated, but above all entirely explored/conquered, Earth.<br /><br />This is why, if we really prize some features of past "dynamism", there are no alternatives IMHO to some sort of expansion in the outer space, and, to a much lesser degree, in the oceanic depths.Stefano Vajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11725653303024645938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-12893837749656409422009-06-22T12:19:03.384-05:002009-06-22T12:19:03.384-05:00The current obsession for security / safety / sust...The current obsession for security / safety / sustainability / "end of history", etc. is a typical disease of our old Western society. Most old persons grow over-worried and over-scared, and tend to avoid all risks. I am afraid we, as a society, are falling to the same syndrome.<br /><br />A young friend who just spent some months in Africa told me a wonderful thing: that instead of fearing change, they are hungry for it. Probably overstated, but a positive indication nonetheless.Giulio Priscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13811681020661409028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-80366280020098701572009-06-22T11:53:19.551-05:002009-06-22T11:53:19.551-05:00Nice post. What is my primary concern is that the ...Nice post. What is my primary concern is that the world runs a significant riks of undergoing a semi-permanent Full Stop, with a hint of Strolling. <br /><br />This in turn describes very well what I call a <i>Brave New World</i> scenario, where technology - actually, a slightly more advanced technology than we have - is not relinquished, but on the contrary employed at avoiding any further progress, at least of the sort that can be defined as a "paradigm shift".<br /><br />The underlying factors would be both cultural: <br />- the extinction of the "fundamentals" that allowed in certain eras, and especially in the recent past (1860-1960), dramatic changes and accelerations in the progress rate; <br />- the current obsession for security / safety / sustainability / "end of history", etc.<br /><br />Of course, I may be wrong.<br /><br />But, be it as it may, the very mission of transhumanis, as I see it, is to fight this trend.Stefano Vajhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11725653303024645938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3128629259461943328.post-45591298398699774952009-06-22T09:19:02.139-05:002009-06-22T09:19:02.139-05:00Great analysis Max, and I also look forward to a S...Great analysis Max, and I also look forward to a Surge.<br /><br />I never believed too much in a hard takeoff, exponential Singularity. As an engineer, I know that the real world is not simple, clear and pristine like a mathematical equation, but often messy, chaotic and greasy. So while I do expect an overall exponential trend, I do expect one with roadblocks, false starts, backsteps etc., which will result in a fractal rising at a rate halfway between linear and exponential.<br /><br />Let's hope this Surge will be spontaneously emergent and not forced.<br /><br />I always found Ray's predictions way too optimist and "clean". But I also find them refreshing against the often overcautious and defeatist attitude of some modern "transhumanists" (quotes intentional).<br /><br />Thanks for linking to my blog (formerly Transumanar), which now has a new title and URL:<br />cosmi2le<br />http://cosmi2le.com/<br />Please update the link. Best, G.Giulio Priscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13811681020661409028noreply@blogger.com