Re: Matrix

From: Brian Atkins (brian@posthuman.com)
Date: Fri Nov 10 2000 - 21:55:02 MST


I still hold to the idea that the whole "human battery" thing is a cover
story the AIs put out. Now why would they put out such a silly cover story
unless they were actually in a pretty difficult situation right? Well
consider the possibility they aren't turing computable, and must run them-
selves on human neurons via the pod people.

"Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" wrote:
>
> Gina Miller wrote:
> >
> > I just digested the Matrix movie via DVD last night. It was visually
> > stimulating, made you think about the future of VR life alternative, and the
> > cue words (like AI) were titilating. But don't you think the AI could have
> > selected/converted better energy than humans?
>
> In a word, YES. The whole concept is silly; all human body heat is recycled
> solar energy to begin with.
>
> The best explanation I could rationalize - and I freely admit that it's not
> very good, but it's still the best you're likely to find - is that the Matrix
> Pods are magic incomprehensible technology designed by human/AI hybrids before
> the Big Wars, and that they have an independent magic power source but it only
> works to support the human inside. This also explains why the agents don't
> have root permissions on the Matrix - they can't decompile the code. It also
> explains why, in the absence of AI support, the "real-life wound suppressors"
> on the Matrix Pods don't work.
>
> Sadly, even this attempt at rationalization is torpedoed by Morpheus's
> statement that the AIs also use fusion power. Of course, Morpheus's ideas of
> the laws of physics aren't necessarily correct - after all, he learned them in
> school, and where did he go to school? Why, in the Matrix, of course. Still,
> the best thing the Wachowski Bros. could do for a sequel would be to pretend
> that the whole "batteries" explanation never happened and that the Matrix is a
> deranged interpretation of some Asimov Law about preserving human
> civilization.
>
> -- -- -- -- --
> Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
> Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence

-- 
Brian Atkins
Director, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
http://www.singinst.org/



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