[extropy-chat] singularity conference at stanford

[spike]

That was a terrific conference at Stanford today, ja?  I was cheered to see
many old friends there.  Mind-expanding as always, better this time than
last; the 1 April 2000 conference at Stanford was dominated by Bill Joy's
dark musings.

Max had a terrific pitch, very thought provoking, something I have wondered
about.  We all know smart people who make appalling decisions, stunning
examples of bad judgment based on emotion or human frailty.  Perhaps we
ourselves are poster children for this tragic human trait.  As we approach
the singularity, enhance human intelligence and the inherent power that
comes with increased intelligence, will we become wiser?  Max urged
evidence-based futurism with the proactionary principle. 

Bill McKibben made a pitch that was sincere and well spoken, but I disagreed
by about pi radians with nearly everything he said.  To his question, is not
this existence good enough?  I answer with a sincere nooooooooooooooo!

Sebastian Thrun gave a fun pitch on his winning entry to the DARPA
challenge.

Hofstadter gave a good singularity pitch, as did Nick Bostrom, Eliezer and
the others.

My sincere thanks to the Singularity Institute for putting this together.
You guys have expanded my mind to the very limits of its bony protective
structure. 

spike