[ExI] From Friendly AI to Loving AI

[Samantha Atkins]

On 05/16/2011 09:54 PM, Kelly Anderson wrote:
> 2011/5/6 spike<spike66 at att.net>:
>>> … On Behalf Of Stefano Vaj
>> Subject: [ExI] From Friendly AI to Loving AI
>>
>> On 6 May 2011 08:23, Kelly Anderson<kellycoinguy at gmail.com>  wrote:
> Sorry Spike, this email got misfiled... This is interesting to me.
>
>> Focus on this a minute.  If someone manages to create a sex machine and the
>> moral majority is squirmy about it, I ask them to show me in their sacred
>> literature exactly what commandment or principle or ethical guideline is
>> being violated by the whole notion.  Do let them cite the example of Onan in
>> Genesis 38:8-10, I’m ready, eager even, to debate that.  Go ahead, I dare
>> ya.  {8^D  Kelly, you are one who was trained in that discipline (religion
>> based morality.)  Pretend you are still in that thought-space, and do
>> suggest a line of argument that there is AAAAANYTHING at all wrong with
>> taking care of one’s biological needs using a sexbot.  Anything.  Bible
>> only, no Mormon lit please.  Be prepared; I have pondered this long and
>> hard, and I find nothing, nada.  {8^D  {8-]
> Religion is all about controlling your desires. There is an internal
> battle that by some Islamist texts is called the inner jihad. Giving
> into lust in any fashion, including daydreaming, is coming short of
> the goal. The idea is to give your spiritual self complete and utter
> control over your carnal self. Subject the body to the will of the
> soul or inner spirit of man.

Control and disowning some drives/desires are very different things.  
Transmutation - using the drives and desires to achieve the goal, 
whatever the goal is, is a well explored path.  Many creative people no 
about transmuting various energies into their work.  It is not an 
exclusively religious or spiritual thing.

It strikes me that much of our evolved psychology will be increasingly 
in the way of our future progress as our environment gets further and 
further away from the environment those traits were evolved in and for.  
So self-control is likely crucial to our achieving our H+ dreams.
> This is the argument Catholics and Mormons use against masturbation.
> If you can make a compelling spiritual argument against masturbation,
> then you can clearly make an argument against masturbation using
> artificial means. Masturbation using a sexbot could be argued by such
> a line of thinking as first degree masturbation. That is, masturbating
> in the excitement of a moment is a crime of passion, but going out and
> buying a sexbot requires premeditation. Premeditated crime is
> generally considered to be more evil, and deserving of greater
> condemnation.

Some religions also had the notion that the "vital fluid" leaving the 
body sapped energy and other abilities crucial to "the work".   Of 
course I don't hold with such things in the least.  However, there are 
many layers of behaviors that are part of the sex/reproduction nexus - 
many of which need some careful examination and perhaps re-routing.

- samantha