Re: SI = corporation?

Dan Clemmensen (dgc@shirenet.com)
Sat, 28 Sep 1996 11:06:24 -0400


Lyle Burkhead wrote:
>
> > Dan Clemmensen has suggested that corporations don't colonise
> > the cosmos because of their high discount rate for future benefits.
> > The discount rate would presumably be high because of the
> > rapidity of their subjective time and the slowness of
> > cosmic travels. The idea is interesting since, if right, it would
> > help resolve the Fermi paradox.
> >
[SNIP]
>
> My apologies to Nicholas Bostrom and Dan Clemmensen...
> but I was curious to see what this post would look like if you substitute
> "corporation" for "SI" throughout. Does it still make sense?
> What exactly is the difference between a corporation and an SI?
>
> Lyle

Fun excersize. What's your conclusion? My conclusion, from reading
your/Nick's
work, is that a corporation (running at SI timescales) will NOT
colonize,
unless it wants to "spawn". I don't think a (for profit) corporation can
possibly
gain. Other multiple-human organizations (governments, families,
religious groups)
may wish to "spawn" or to move, but not with the motivation of monetary
profit for
the home system.