In a message dated 10/4/2000 1:04:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
anrwlias@hotmail.com writes:
<< Technological development is a funny thing. Some things that seem like a
slam dunk (e.g., space colonies) prove to be inviable in the predicted
timeframe (either because technology doesn't advance fast enough, or because
of other issues that retard the tech). On the other hand, some technologies
spring up and bite us long before we ever expect them. >>
I am starting to think that laser sintering will soon become 3D printing,
that is, the production and manufacture of many types of parts that comprise
machinery. There may also be the speculation that this may develop, someday,
into being able to reproduce organic items; such a food.
<<Frankly, the notion that we are approaching a Singularity scares the hell
out of me. If I thought that there were some viable way to prevent it or
even to safely delay it, I'd probably lobby to do so. I'm not convinced
that there are any such options. As such, my personal goal is to be an
early adopter and hope that self-amplification isn't the mental equivilent
of jumping off of a cliff.>>
I tend to think that the Singularity will not soon come, but may actually
take a phenomenal amount of time. Hence I tend also to be a
Tiplerian/Moravecian and such. I guess that being taken over by Mister Roboto
and relegated to the dust heap of history. I agree with George Dyson that we
are part of the coming S.I. and it is not our replacement. Look, lets worry
about nuclear weapons, pollution, meteors climate change, volcanos; stuff
that's really whacked upon vertebrate life in global history.
Let us instead concern ourselves with using technology to AI-SI to help our
sorry asses out of problems.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:15 MDT