Re: Transhumanism and Macro Human Behavior

Eliezer Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Wed, 25 Dec 1996 00:02:19 -0600

> It is like the concept of the rich getting richer and the poor getting
> not so rich. They aren't getting poorer, they just aren't geting more
> rich as quickly as the really rich are. The bell curve of humanity is
> expanding to a greater and greater technological and memetic spectrum,
> where we will soon have on one planet individuals whose entire existence
> will occur on a computer, and individuals who have never seen a digital
> watch. Individuals whose personal net worth will be calculated in
> planets alongside people who only own the rags on their backs and the
> camel they ride.

...for a maximum of fifteen seconds. Does the word "charity" mean
anything to you? If my net worth was calculated in planets, the people
who own only the rags on their backs would be off the streets so fast it
would make your head spin. Moore's Law, Moore's Law, Moore's Law: When
your reality fits inside your computer, even the scraps double every two
years. My wristwatch is more powerful then ENIAC: If there are poor in
the future, which I sincerely doubt, they'll live better than Bill
Gates.

-- 
         sentience@pobox.com      Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
          http://tezcat.com/~eliezer/singularity.html
           http://tezcat.com/~eliezer/algernon.html
Disclaimer:  Unless otherwise specified, I'm not telling you
everything I think I know.