[extropy-chat] Is the future under control?

[BillK]

On 1/16/07, Anders Sandberg wrote:
<snip>
> People who think everything should be regulated often get into a spin when
> they realize that there might be other regulators out there who want to
> regulate just as much as they do, but from completely different values.
> That often drives them to flip to a very anti-regulation perspective.
>
> --

I feel I should mention that my original post wasn't really advocating
more regulation. It was meant more on the lines of "Look - the
future's uncontrollable!".  :)

I was responding to Jef's complaint that the people and decision
makers weren't rational enough to solve the complex problems facing
us.

My expectation is that the future will happen more or less
accidentally. Lots of little decisions gradually accumulate, paths
open and paths close, and we end up where we end up.

Mind you life might become interesting when nano factories and virus
manipulation become readily available and start to appear in the
garages and basements of every geek, angry teen and criminal.

Did you notice that spam hit a peak of 94% of all email in December?
<http://www.onestopclick.com/news/Email-spam-hits-new-record_18033578.html>

Think how much fun they will have with nano factories.

BillK