[ExI] Unfrendly AI is a mistaken idea.

[Samantha Atkins]

On Jun 16, 2007, at 11:22 PM, Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
> The most frightening thing for some people contemplating a  
> technological future is that they will somehow be forced to become  
> cyborgs or whatever lies in store. It is of course very important  
> that no-one be forced to do anything they don't want to do.  
> Interestingly, aside from some small communities such as the Amish,  
> the differences between adoption rates of new technology have almost  
> always been to do with differences in access, not a conscious  
> decision to remain old-fashioned. There won't be coercion, but there  
> will be seduction.
>

Actually something more personally frightening is a future where no  
amount of upgrades or at least upgrades available to me will allow me  
to be sufficiently competitive.    At least this is  frightening an a  
scarcity society where even basic subsistence is by no means  
guaranteed.   I suspect that many are frightened by the possibility  
that humans, even significantly enhanced humans, will be second class  
by a large and exponentially increasing margin.    In those  
circumstances I hope that our competition and especially Darwinian  
models are not universal.

- samantha