[ExI] Von Neumann probes for what?

[BillK]

On Sat, Jan 1, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Anders Sandberg  wrote:
<snip> probe descriptions ---
> I think a probe infrastructure could be something that just looks like added
> value to a civilization. It launches the probes, they spread and set up
> waystations that can receive instructions and mindstates, as well as send
> back observations. If they want to use the system they can. The key limiters
> are whether the cost of the initial probe is high relative to the
> civilization GDP and whether the time horizons of *every* entity within it
> are so short there is no value in getting a fraction of the galaxy in the
> far future.
>
>

Time horizons for a post-singularity culture tend towards eternity.

If the intelligence is processing in a substrate a million times
faster than humans, that effectively 'freezes' the real universe. If
they live on the edge of a black hole, then it actually does freeze
the real universe so far as they are concerned.
Sending out probes that never seem to move away is a pointless
endeavour from their POV.

That's likely why the galaxy hasn't already been swamped with probes
many times over.
(Or, possibly, no culture has ever survived its singularity).


BillK