[ExI] It might be, was Is Transhumanism Coercive?

[Keith Henson]

On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 8:32 PM,  Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:
>
> Keith Henson wrote:
>> On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 5:00 AM,  Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> We cannot assume nature or the parents have (or are able to)
>>> provide these resources.
>>>
>>
>> No, but it's not hard to imagine an infectious agent that would build
>> a neural interface into every person it infects (perhaps everyone)
>> which would give them access to the totality of information available
>> to humans
>>
>
> Or a GPS transponder/ID tag, making sure nobody was ever lost. Or an
> implanted, infectious e-meter for instant engram detection. (sorry)

We need an app for that!

> The technological feasibility of something doesn't mean it is a good
> idea.

I didn't mean to even *imply* it was a good idea, just that it was not
hard to imagine.

> Mandatory things must be scrutinized with extra concern: because
> they might not actually fulfill the need they are intended to fulfill,
> the moral need might not actually be so compelling that it is worth the
> infringement of rights, or because they might have side effects that
> make them unsuitable. Errors are much more grave than in the case of
> voluntary things since they get imposed on the whole population.
>
>
>> It's not hard to project current smart cell phones into this development path.
>>
> Charles Stross said it well: the next generation will never be alone,
> lost or forget.
>
Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote.
>
> On 25 October 2011 22:53, Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:
>> However, there is a great deal of difference between having lots of
>> smartphones because they are so darn nifty and a rule that everybody must
>> carry one.
>
> I think that difference between legal rules and social norms are, for
> the best and for the worst,  overestimated. The latter can be as
> "coercive" as the second. The former may be at the end of the day less
> hypocritical and more open to critique.

Well said.

I suspect that most of us feel akin to being naked in public when
realize we have left our cell phone at home.

>From what I have seen, most of the homeless have cell phones (ghod
knows where they charge them).

Keith