[ExI] Bodies

[Giulio Prisco]

I definitely agree with Max here. I don't "hate my body", and I don't
really think there can exist such a thing as "pure thinking mode with
no sensations". On the contrary I think sensation and emotions are an
integral part of our cognitive functions, and even true AIs will have
to exhibit them is their mental activity is as complex as or more
complex than ours.

Of course the fact that I don't hate my body does not mean that I
consider it as the best possible chassis for my self, and, yes, I am
looking forward to uploading as soon as I get the chance
(unfortunately I don't think uploading will materialize in my
lifetime). These critiques: transhumanists hate their bodies, natural
is good and artificial is no good, we must humbly revere nature... are
complete bullsh### nonsense inspired by unclear thinking.

On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 12:09 AM, Max More <max at maxmore.com> wrote:

> I, too, would eventually want to transfer my cognitive functioning
> to distributed hardware (or, if not distributed, have many backups created
> as frequently as possible). I don't think this is "rejecting the body" in
> the sense that I was commenting on in my talk/paper. The view I was tackling
> was the belief that transhumanists hate their bodies or are disgusted by
> them, or that they want to spend all their time in pure thinking mode with
> no sensations. (As suggested by, for instance, Erik Davis in TechGnosis.) A
> distributed person can still connect into various bodies -- preferably with
> enhanced senses -- or virtual bodies.