[extropy-chat] hope you can comprehend

[Samantha Atkins]

On May 20, 2006, at 10:58 AM, KAZ wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Robert Bradbury <robert.bradbury at gmail.com>
> To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> Sent: Saturday, May 20, 2006 7:20:48 AM
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] hope you can comprehend
> I missed the last part of that post...
>
> > 4. For example, donating the money to organizations that would  
> limit efforts to
> > create advanced general AIs, which could in turn lead to "SkyNet"  
> which could
> > in turn lead to the end of humanity as we know it.
>
> First, as noted already, "donating" rarely contributes to real  
> advancement.
>
> The for-profit guys continue to kick the asses of the non-profit  
> researchers, when it comes to knowledge advancement. The illusion  
> that the latter is the cutting edge comes mainly from them buying  
> the former's stuff and announcing that they're working for some  
> blue-sky thing based on it. Imagine if government and non-profit  
> research had been responsible for the advancement computing,  
> instead of Intel, Motorola, Microsoft, Apple, et cetera. We  
> probably still would have to go beg computer time from big central  
> machines which would be about as fast as a Pentium, with a clunkier  
> interface and poorer information system. Note the lack of roman  
> numeral after the word "Pentium".


This does not seem reasonable.  I have worked in commercial software  
for heading toward three decades now.  I have continuously noted that  
academic and non-profit research is way ahead of what is actual  
commercial practice.  Some companies have significant research  
divisions but relatively little of the results seem to come to  
market.   The commercial world emphasizes that which has likely  
profit potential in the not too distant future.  Trends in business  
today are strongly oriented to short term bottom line results,  
especially in software businesses.   I doubt very much you are going  
to find many commercial software houses willing to internally fund a  
10+ year effort to produce AGI.  if you know of any there are many  
here who would very much like to have this information.  I know that  
you won't find a VC firm willing to fund an AGI startup or a startup  
to achieve full MNT for that matter.    Again, if you can point to  
for profit significant private funding in these areas other than a  
few self-funded efforts then please share.

I am a big believer in the free market.  However, that is a darn  
sight different from a claim that only for profit efforts are any  
good at all in all fields.

- samantha

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