[ExI] FW: How fun could doom intelligent life to a blissful extinction

[Adrian Tymes]

Some people - not everyone by any extent, but a significant enough fraction
of people - find it fun to have and raise children.  In this scenario,
perhaps only they would create further generations, but they are enough
that further generations would continue to be created.

On Wed, Jul 19, 2023 at 5:08 AM efc--- via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I think this raises interesting questions of ethics and the "purpose" of
> mankind.
>
> If we agree that happiness is the the ultimate goal, and not the survival
> of the species, then why not stop having children if we can get along fine
> with robots and AI:s?
>
> Perhaps, assuming life extension or "immortality", there will be a final
> generation?
>
> Best regards,
> Daniel
>
>
> On Tue, 18 Jul 2023, spike jones via extropy-chat wrote:
>
> >
> > I posted this right before the ExI list barfed.  Posting again.
> >
> > spike
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: spike at rainier66.com <spike at rainier66.com>
> > Sent: Saturday, 15 July, 2023 4:14 PM
> > To: 'ExI chat list' <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> > Cc: 'BillK' <pharos at gmail.com>; spike at rainier66.com
> > Subject: RE: [ExI] How fun could doom intelligent life to a blissful
> extinction
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf
> Of BillK via extropy-chat
> >
> >
> >> ...If the pursuit of happiness is the primary explanation for our
> decreasing fertility rate, this tendency might be true not just for humans
> but for all intelligent life — providing a possible explanation for the
> Fermi Paradox.
> >
> > <
> https://bigthink.com/the-future/pursuit-happiness-doom-intelligent-life-blissful-extinction/
> >
> > -------------------
> > ...
> >
> > BillK
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> > BillK, this is really as plausible an explanation for the Fermi Paradox
> as any I have heard, and perhaps the most pleasant one.  Having children is
> a way to experience happiness, but it is a risky bet indeed.  If we find
> sufficient alternative routes to happiness, the notion of having children
> becomes ever less compelling.  If we find alternative routes to the
> pleasures of copulation and all those cool endorphins we get from love,
> that whole risky activity isn't worth the effort either.  Result: not
> enough young people to run the world we already built for them.
> >
> > But of course nuclear war could wipe out most of what we have done,
> creating the need for rebuilders and family people, so we might save our
> species in that horrifying way: radiation therapy.  Or the singularity
> could kill us, but I don't think it would kill people who have never seen a
> computer.  They might survive to build it all back.
> >
> > spike
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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