<html><head></head><body><div>1300 - wow! I remember when we were just a handful...</div><div><span data-mailaddress="spike66@att.net" data-contactname="spike" class="clickable"><span title="spike66@att.net"><br></span></span></div><div><span data-mailaddress="spike66@att.net" data-contactname="spike" class="clickable"><span title="spike66@att.net">spike</span><span class="detail"> <spike66@att.net></span></span> , 13/1/2015 6:18 PM:</div><blockquote class="mori" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; border-left-width: 2px; border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>Whether or not it is a legitimate means of determining the propriety of signing a petition, most of us here will likely confess we are influenced by the presence or absence of other signers. </blockquote><div><br></div><div>I was following the changes over the weekend in the signatory list - before it went very public I noticed that there were a few re-orderings, no doubt because the FLI people were trying to figure out the proper way of showing who had signed up originally without just sorting it by fame. It does matter if the top names are actual AI researchers or talk-show hosts...</div><div><br></div><div>(While I think petitions with zillions of names are usually a waste of effort, it is useful to show that there exists a fairly big consensus about something, shared by domain stars, insiders and the public. )</div><br><blockquote class="mori" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; border-left-width: 2px; border-left-color: blue; border-left-style: solid; padding-left: 1ex;"> I took the list of over 1300 signers and listed them two ways, alphabetical by last name and alphabetical by first name, listed below. This one was a slam dunk: Anders wrote it. I already know that fine lad thinks carefully and ethically and doesn't do the wrong thing.</blockquote><div><br></div><div>Oh dear... Me, careful or moral?! (Spike, I should introduce me to my mother so you can act as a character witness :-) )</div><div><br></div><br>Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University</body></html>