[ExI] ai is the easy road

[Keith Henson]

On Tue, Oct 13, 2026 at 2:41 PM <spike at rainier66.com> wrot e

> *From:* extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> *On Behalf
> Of *Keith Henson via extropy-chat
> *…*
>
> >…I make the case that we need to understand our natures as evolved
> primates who have been subjected for a number of traits. It is a really
> hard meme to spread. Virtually no humans acknowledge that they have
> internal drives of which they are not aware. Even on this group, and me
> harping on it for decades, few have much insight to their internals state
> or what physical and social forces drive it.
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> Keith
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> Keith you have posted that notion before, however it feels as if you
> flatly refuse to concede victory.  When you first started posting about
> evolutionary psychology, it made perfect sense to me and perhaps to
> everyone here.  They didn’t really post much about it because it isn’t
> controversial.  You were right on.  Still are.
>

Then why is there so much disagreement on the cause of MAGA and the
outsized influence of Trump? For that matter, I don't think there is a
consensus here that an economic disaster led to the rise of Hitler or why
the IRA largely went out of business. You may say "sounds OK" but you don't
think in EP terms.

Not that it really matters. Understanding what lies behind human social
behavior does not help. You are just as dead if you understand why a mob is
lynching you.

Keith

I was thinking about EP while I was touring family history sites in eastern
> Kentucky and western West Virginia last month.  The theory worked, for
> reasons I did not understand before going there.  I visited some of the
> poorest people in the country (as measured by the number of dollars they
> own) and yet they were not the least bit inclined to go to war fearing a
> shortage of resources.  Reason: in spite of the poverty (as measured in
> dollars) the Appalachian people are not suffering from terrible
> circumstances.  Their quality of life way out there is actually pretty good
> compared to their much more wealthy (as measured in dollars) city
> counterparts.
>
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> You don’t really even need to go there.  Go on Google maps, street view,
> virtually “drive” around and look.  There are homes out there, not great
> ones by our standards, but homes.  They don’t have the things we think of
> as modern conveniences, but they do have the things THEY think of as modern
> conveniences: electricity, running water, indoor toilet.  They don’t have
> AC generally, no cable internet, no cell phone reception in the places I
> went.  But they had a fireplace, they could get a StarLink receiver if they
> wish, they had land lines.  I spoke to a number of people.  Never did I get
> a sense they recognized they were impoverished or that there was a threat
> of lack of resources.  Once I realized that, it explains why they are
> peaceful people.
>
>
>
> I am eager to recognize and acknowledge that humans have instincts.  I
> know I do: I love games, competitions of any kind, prediction games are the
> best.  I don’t do those games because I need the money.  I do them because
> my instincts enjoy it.  Furthermore… I don’t need to take responsibility
> for my baser instincts.  Evolutionary psychology bred me this way.  Can’t
> help it, man!  The whippet was born to run, I was born to play PredictIt.
>
>
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> Our instincts do not need to lead us to war.
>
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> Consider the notion that diversity is our strength.  In today’s democrat
> party, diversity is not only their weakness, it is brutally ripping them
> apart.  Other than that, today’s democrat party is not like the libertarian
> party, which is even more diverse and even more fractured.  On the other
> hand, in energy production, diversity REALLY IS OUR STRENGTH!  Make it as
> diverse as we can, lots of backups, lots of alternatives, develop
> everything investors will fund.  Yay diversity!  Then we will have fewer
> fears regarding lack of resources, and the risk of war will be reduced.
>
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> We are overly dependent on oil, because the Middle Eastern nations pumped
> it in such quantities, the price stayed low and it killed the
> alternatives.  Investors would not come if that cheap oil is out there,
> ready to crush their alternative schemes.  So… for the time being, we pay
> the price for the blockade, a small price to pay really, develop
> alternatives, resulting in diversity of energy conversion technology,
> resulting in turning down the war meme, resulting in AI having enough power
> to run, perhaps killing everybody, but it might not.  Looks to me like a
> risk we must take, for it is our only ticket out of this life alive.
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> spike
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