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From: minsky@media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Subject: Re: AI Heaven
Message-ID: <1995Oct15.060640.7677@media.mit.edu>
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Cc: minsky
Organization: MIT Media Laboratory
References: <45f0m2$6v0@Kaos.deepcove.com> <45pvkb$mim@celebrian.otago.ac.nz>
Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 06:06:40 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.ai:34145 comp.ai.philosophy:33716

In article <45pvkb$mim@celebrian.otago.ac.nz> Somnambulist <huantzin.goh@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> writes:
>I agree with Mario D. Kersey about physical reality as opposed to an abstract 
>data construct heaven. I'm still divided to the dangers of having an AI, but 
>Bruce Sterling, in an extremely subtle aside in his book _The Artificial Kid_ 
>implies that making AI's is a bad, repeat BAD idea. It resulted in some kind of 
>disaster that no one actually elaborates on but it occured very long ago in the 
>past and no one has forgotten it.

Frank Herbert, in Dune, explains that something bad happened in the
past -- and that's why there are no computers in his future.  Asimov
later foundation stories had robots banned from Earth.  

All innovations have potential dangers.  A poerful and malicious AI
could be among the worst.

On the other hand, consider the alternatives.  What could be worse than
our present condition, in which you (and everyone else) will certainly
die in a mere century or so?  So being too careful, in this situation,
also has disastrous consequences. 

Most people, I've found, do not agree with this.  "We live long enough
as it is," most say, "and it would be dreadfully boring to live much
longer."

Maybe so.  I've heard a lot about this feeling of boredom, and it must
