Re: Why would AI want to be friendly?

From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Mon Sep 11 2000 - 09:51:39 MDT


Barbara Lamar wrote:
>
> On Fri, 08 Sep 2000 14:14:47 -0400 "Michael S. Lorrey"
> <retroman@turbont.net> writes:
>
> > >
>
> > Capitalists have never:
> >
> > a) operated concentration camps
>
> How about what was done to US citizens of Japanese ancestry during the
> 1940's?

That was done by a government, not a corporation, and a government that was
socialist in all but name.

>
> > b) exterminated people they refused to do business with
>
> How about US aid to military in places such as San Salvador, Mexico,
> Guatemala?

governments, again...

>
> > c) exterminated anyone who looked at or talked badly about the
> > bosses
>
> How about unruly slaves?

Context, dear. If slavery is constitutional (as it has been under many
governments), they technically are not 'people'. Yeah, its splitting hairs as
far as you and I are concerned, by today's standards, but not by those of the
relevant era.

>
> > d) waged war against people
> > etc etc etc
>
> How about the USA/CSA war of the 1860's? How about the "war on drugs?"

Again, governments, governments, governments.

Show me a corporation, businesses, etc who have done any of the above. The
closest example of anything like that that you could possibly come up with were
the coal mine/union conflicts of the late 1800's, where mine owners had to
employ troops with gatling guns to protect their assets from being destroyed by
union vandals. One other possibility is the Dole Banana uprising against the
Hawaiian royalty when the kingdom was annexed by the US. As military actions go,
that was relatively bloodless and painless.

You might try to claim companies like the Hudson's Bay Company, or the East
India Company, but they, again, were not capitalists, but state sanctioned
mercantilists with plenipotentiary police powers granted them by the monarch.



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