Re: Ethical theories

From: Jef Allbright (jef@jefallbright.net)
Date: Sat Jan 31 2004 - 20:12:10 MST


Ben Goertzel wrote:
> Practiced by a superhuman AI, wouldn't this ethical system lead to
> the AI extending its Self over the entire universe?
>
> -- Ben G

I expect that intelligent structures will continue to increase indefinitely
in complexity but remain limited in the rate of growth by physical
constraints of available energy and signal transmission speed. I also
suspect that advanced civilizations would grow inward for a significant
period of time before experiencing sufficient pressure, if ever, to venture
out beyond their solar system. However due to the exponential nature of
growth, that may be a relatively short phase.

That said, I don't have any confidence in being able to predict that far
out. There may be currently unknown forms of complexity to exploit without
requiring such physical expansion for either work space or robustness. Or,
much more likely, it seems to me, our concept of complexity and its
attendant growth is only a phase within a larger logical construct. The
Fermi Question indicates that we don't know enough to try to answer that,
but we have plenty of productive work we can do before being concerned about
such limits.

- Jef



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