13 Comments

Wouldn't the distance be farther off if there are things we have to copy that are unknown to us now, but closer if we are willing to devote more resources to it? One doesn't have to believe in exponential growth forever to notice our children WILL have more money to spend on this than we do.

I recall some of the early predictions for how long the Human Genome Project was supposed to take. In hindsight, it's not hard to see why they were wrong. The same may apply here.

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Great! 🙇 Person Bowing Deeply emoji

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It is by Sarah O’Connor (really!)

For anyone, like me, who didn't get the joke: https://www.rt.com/news/271...

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Audio version is supposed to be out in a few months.

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Congrats! Book arrived at my house in Denver yesterday. Look forward to reading this weekend.

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Am I dreaming if I'm hoping for an audiobook?

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I think the premise, that we will invent the ability to scan and copy brains, is much farther off than Dr Hanson thinks. First, the scanning would have to come at a level of detail unprecedented in science: down almost to the atom, but without destroying the original. Second, we don't really know yet what OTHER bodily factors may effect thinking. For example, what part do our hormones or the chemicals from the things we eat play in thinking? Are there quantum aspects to thought, such that we would have to scan down LOWER than the atom to resolve them? What about parts of our internal biome that don't share our DNA; do they play a part in thought? Third, can a brain think normally, if not connected to a body? For example, what would a brain do if the sense of balance that comes from the inner ear isn't present? What about the innate sense of what is part and what is not part of our bodies. Would Ems experience a "phantom body" the way an amputee experiences a phantom limb?

There is just SO much we don't know yet and, in many cases, aren't even close to knowing. I don't doubt that some day, in the more distant future, we could develop this ability; it's certainly possible. On the other hand, there may be some reason, related perhaps to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, that makes it impossible.

I think most of this speculation is premature, since the society that develops the ability to create emulations will be very different from the one we have today. On the other hand, there's certainly no harm in speculating and I DID buy a copy of the book (only read a couple of chapters, so far), so Dr Hanson should be happy!

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The book cites other arguments, but doesn't so much argue that itself. So many others have done that; this book is on the neglected topic of the consequences IF ems are feasible & cheap.

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From O'Connor:

For any of this to seem plausible, one has to believe that we will invent the ability and be willing to scan and copy human brains.

It this really something "one has to believe," or does the book argue for it?

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Shhhhhh... We're not supposed to talk about that.

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Although it's paywalled, you can read the article by the usual trick of googling the title, "A down-to-earth journey to the robots’ world," and following the first link.

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A bit weird criticism. If brains are emulated as a whole, then the mate preferences will also be. If there is enough technology to change that aspect, same can be done with a whole lot of other things, which would likely change the whole setting. Seems like she was tribalising your position into the hbd camp, perhaps unknowingly.

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Given her name, you would expect her to be more worried about superintelligent AIs in the future.

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