[ExI] AGI development and human extinction risk

[Keith Henson]

On Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 7:37 AM Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> On 21/03/2026 12:38, Keith Henson wrote:

>snip

> "There has never been any reproductive disadvantage to having more wealth (or firewood)."
>
> I don't think that's exactly true. We (in common with many other mammals) have a tendency to punish those who take more than their fair share.

I suppose so, but I can't think of an example.  Got one?

> This is probably older and stronger than the 'unlimited accumulation' trait, which might be unique to humans.

I was about to say this was post-agriculture, but I remembered reading
about a cache of a dozen Clovis points that was found a few years ago.
In most natural examples, you can't accumulate stuff because it
decays, or, like grass, is consumed. A few animals do build up stores
of things like nuts.

> And there's probably a tendency to avoid this punishment by refraining from the unfair behaviour, even if you'd like to.

Examples would help.  I can't think of any disadvantages of having wealth.

Keith

> Maybe that's why only a small percentage of people do indulge in unlimited accumulation.
>
> --
> Ben
>
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