Re: Singularity: Generation gap

Keith Elis (hagbard@ix.netcom.com)
Thu, 25 Sep 1997 03:18:27 -0400


The Low Golden Willow wrote:

> Always? This law which didn't exist a few decades ago? And do you
> really not believe in sigmoid curves?

If you are arguing against the inevitability of a singularity, I do agree with what
I think is the implicit assumption you're making above. That is (corrections,
please), we cannot be sure that an augmented human intelligence will think up a way
to further augment the intelligence of an augmented human, etc., ad infinitum. . .

However, I don't see how sigmoid curves have anything to do with it. S-curves (as I
understand) represent a mere step in the evolution of technology. A technological
advance is made, produced and then obsoleted due to the law of diminishing returns
(obsolescence due to physical limitations, or some kind of outside force, etc). How
much effort need be put into nanotech when we have an assembler? The law of
diminishing returns goes out the window. Nanotech notwithstanding, what is to keep
an augmented intelligence from making a further technological advance, which would
then be subject to an entirely new sigmoid curve? This is bootstrapping at its
finest.

The short response being that I'm missing your point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keith M. Elis
A/K/A Hagbard (to the initiated)
http://pw1.netcom.com/~hagbard/Homepage.htm
mailto:hagbard@ix.netcom.com

COMMANDMENT VII: Vestigialize thine brain.