[ExI] Finally!

[spike]

-----Original Message-----
From: Brent Allsop [mailto:brent.allsop at gmail.com] On Behalf Of Brent Allsop
...
Subject: Re: [ExI] Finally!


Spike,

>...So, you want me to be your bitch, doing your bidding, or your out - not
willing to help at all - otherwise?  I would be willing to do it, if there
was enough money in what I wanted to do.  Sure, I can be bought...


As we all can, but the reply seems unnecessarily negative.  We all have a
voice, but with sufficient funds, one can buy a really cool bullhorn.  With
even more funds, one can stack them end to end and really be heard.  This is
a good thing really, for if we have a ton of money, we can hire the people
we know are better at something that sounds good.  Qualia is a perfect
example in your case: I know I don't understand that concept.  I have
struggled, never have grokked that notion.  But you do.  So if I end up with
a ton of money, I hire you to explore that idea and explain it to me.
Everyone wins.

  
>...But I still think if we could find everyone interested in qualia and
consensus building, we could way fund more than even a $billion, and we
wouldn't be beholden to any morally bottle necked individual... Sure, Thiel
is doing great things, along with a bunch of other rich transhumanists like
Branson hiring, Burt Rutan...

I like the example of Peter Thiel, because he is a shining example of a guy
with a ton of money who is not morally bottlenecked.  He didn't steal his
money, didn't trick anyone out of it, he made it by being smart and
insightful.  He uses it to do useful things, such as PayPal, Facebook, to
support Eliezer's group and plenty of others doing worthwhile stuff.  If you
have ever heard him speak, it is an experience.  I heard Peter give a
lecture at one of the local Singularity events, and he blew my mind.  He
spoke for an hour without notes, tossing out more good memes per minute than
anyone.  I first met Peter when he was just finishing up at Stanford, before
he made it big with PayPal.  We knew back then he was a special guy.


>...  And I think it's still going to take a bit more than a $billion to
discover and fully achieve phenomenal mind uploading...  But if we could get
everyone on board, knowing and doing what everyone at the bottom truly
wanted, in an amplification of the moral wisdom of the crowd,  consensus
building way, then we could all work together to really accomplish something
great... Brent Allsop

Ja.  Having a ton of money and hiring the right people to create consensus
is currently one path.  This is so much more satisfying to me than doing
alternative things with money, such as building the Playboy mansion.  We
need more transhumanist minded people striking it really rich.  We could
create the transhumanist equivalent to Hefner's work.  Call it the Thinkboy
empire.  Or take the gender-specificity, build the Think-person mansion.
Were it not for people like Peter, people like Eliezer would be flipping
burgers for a living, assuming the local Burger King would hire him.

spike