> From: Anders Sandberg <asa@nada.kth.se>
> >think the >Web concept has merit. Seen
> from a distance in time and
> >space, it might very well look like a
> small fraction of humanity
> >transcends almost immediately, but
> close up it will be a wide movement
> >involving plenty of people (definitely
> more than a few thousand) and
> >work.
>
> Do you suppose that "wide movement" will
> require membership subscriptions? Will
> it screen applicants via some testing
> procedure? Will shapely bimbos get
> special placement consideration? Or will
> it resemble a capitalist meritocracy in
> which performance decides who gets
> uploaded?
Most likely it will be a question of who downloads the software and
gets onto the train before it leaves the station. Imagine that the IA
revolution is turning a sizeable part of the research community into
more and more efficient people. The software and tools are out there,
but most people will likely not just get it or wring their hands
instead of doing something useful (despite helpful advice from the
extrosattvas). Some will grab it and amplify themselves, trying to
bootstrap themselves to the level where they can participate or at
least keep up. There won't be a "transcension board" reviewing
applications, rather a question of if you adopt the new tools and can
use them.
Fair or not, it doesn't really matter. The point is, whatever the form
this kind of development takes, it will likely roll on because the
people involved in it will push on and they will be getting better at
it. So the important questions are if this is possible at all, and how
we can act in order to make it conform a little bit better with our
own values.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y