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

[BillK]

On Thu, 20 Jul 2023 at 03:48, Keith Henson via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> You are not thinking this through.
> Can you think of any reason a world based on nanotech would not allow
> people to be as rich as they wished?  I.e., the economic drain of
> having children will vanish.
>
> The world I set the clinic seed in had a population problem.  But that
> was because the uploaded life was more desirable than the physical
> world for most people.  The "powers that be" of that era were trying
> to maintain a physical state population of humans (why was unstated)
> but having a hard time doing so.
>
> Keith
> _______________________________________________

The problem is the changeover time.
We are not just talking about Fred and Wilma in Seattle.

For countries with nanotech it could help to address the challenges
such as resource depletion and environmental degradation. On the other
hand, it could lead to a widening gap between rich and poor countries,
as those with access to nanotech could reduce their populations while
those without would continue to grow.

The distribution of nanotech is also an issue. If it falls into the
wrong hands, it could be used for harmful purposes, such as
bioterrorism or the development of new weapons. It is therefore
essential to develop effective mechanisms for controlling the
distribution and use of nanotech safely to poorer countries that hate
the developed world.

If nanotech with virtually unlimited power is developed, then humanity
will only survive with total control over how every member of the
population uses nanotech. Perhaps an AGI which monitors and controls
the behaviour of every human will be required.
Humans are a very unruly mob to be given unlimited power.


BillK