[extropy-chat] I keep asking myself...

[Robert Bradbury]

Anna, the technology, primarily robust nanotechnology, which enables:
  (a) cryonic suspension reanimation [1], and
  (b) mind uploading (and therefore self-copies) [2]
is also the same technology which enables
  (c) having to struggle or work for "survival", and
  (d) living on this planet (and concerns regarding overpopulation)
unnecessary.

So your arguments based on the "current" reality (the classical
business/work oriented struggle to survive and human overpopulation pushing
the planetary ecolimits) really have no basis in the future.

The resource limits of our current solar system easily supports trillions
and trillions of human mind equivalents.  The problem is not so much whether
people want to make a few or many immature (baby) or mature (adult) copies
of themselves.  The problems relate more to whether a sociopath or
megalomaniac individual or "cults"(s) or amoral AI(s) decide to make many
copies of themselves and gain sufficient control over the resources to use
them to eliminate those who choose not to make copies, accumulate resources
(power), etc.

It really comes down to the question of what happens if someone (human or
AI) decides "There can be only one" -- and has the power to "Make it so"
[3].

Just to cite a simple example of the problem -- lets say the "red" people
think they are going to lose the next election -- but they don't want this
to happen and they have the resources to make lots of self-copies.  If one
allows "one copy = one vote" then you can see how they can engineer a "win"
(and then vote themselves rights to make more self-copies perpetuating their
power).  However, if one says copies do not get "votes" then one has two
classes of *real* humans with different rights -- the "originals" who get to
vote and the "copies" who do not.  One could of course subdivide one vote
among many self-copies but if you think convincing your "friends" to vote a
specific way is difficult -- imagine what it will be like to convince a room
full of self-copies (which have had a few years to live independent lives)
to cast a single vote.

Robert

1. It is possible that cryonic suspension reanimation may be feasible with
only advanced biotechnology and micro/robotic surgical methodologies.  The
requirement for "robust nanotechnology" of the nanorobot variant is not
strictly required.

2. It is also possible that mind uploading (recreation) may be feasible
using 100-1000nm scanning technologies (in parallel) [think highly parallel
AFM readout of solidified brain "slices"] so that "robust nanotechnology" of
the nanorobot variant is not strictly required.

3. Apologies for pinching appropriate quotes from The Highlander and
STNG.<http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20060404/93584d0b/attachment.html>