From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Fri Sep 05 2003 - 12:27:46 MDT
Robbie Lindauer wrote:
>
> 10) When the first one balks, blow something BIG up, like Sydney or
> Chicago (please, not Los Angeles).
>
> 12) When they balk again, blow up London.
>
> 13) See how long it take before (some) capitulate.
Forever, probably.
The opinion-movers would flee the major cities, after which it would never
be in their interest to have their country surrender. Publicly, the first
attempt at blackmail, much less the first explosion, would be met with
outrage and vows to die before surrendering. Neither the public nor the
aristocracy is likely to countenance surrender no matter how many cities
die. Countries may surrender to invading armies, but not small clever
bands of blackmailers - it just doesn't trigger our submission reflex. I
think the visceral emotional reaction to this scenario would be very
simple; crush the little upstart rodents no matter the cost. There are no
nuclear weapons in the ancestral environment.
-- Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/ Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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