From: Samantha Atkins (sjatkins@gmail.com)
Date: Mon Feb 16 2009 - 00:38:45 MST
On Feb 11, 2009, at 3:09 PM, Matt Mahoney wrote:
> --- On Wed, 2/11/09, Johnicholas Hines <johnicholas.hines@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 11:07 AM, Matt Mahoney
>> <matmahoney@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> your carbon version becomes a zombie and is led off to
>> the recycling vats, screaming in protest as they always do.
>>
>> You imply that people who advocate uploading technologies would put a
>> perfectly viable human into a "recycling vat" (presumed fatal). This
>> is a red herring and a straw man. Some people are advocating
>> destructive uploading technologies. However, the people who advocate
>> uploading technologies would agree; a non-destructive scan followed
>> by
>> murder of the person scanned is reprehensible.
>>
>> The actual scenario looks more like this: Due to illness and/or old
>> age, someone is destructively uploaded. They are frozen and then
>> sliced thinly in order for the scanning process to take place. There
>> isn't a non-destructive technology available, nor does this process,
>> in course of operation, produce any viable physical human who is then
>> murdered.
>
> In what manner must you die in order for your consciousness to
> successfully transfer to a machine?
>
>> I invite Dr. Mahoney to state explicitly: "It is wrong to
>> murder, enslave, or torture humans. It is also wrong to murder,
>> enslave, or torture entities which are very structurally similar to
>> humans, even if they are technically mutually infertile and therefore
>> a different species."
>
> First answer the following:
> 1. At what point after conception does life begin?
Depends on your definitions, doesn't it?
>
> 2. Under what conditions is capital punishment justified?
In my opinion none but that is another story.
>
> 3. Under what conditions is euthanasia justified?
It is the right of any sentient or reasonable possession of their
faculties to decide not to go on.
>
> 4. Which species besides humans should be protected from murder,
> enslavement, and torture?
At least chimps in my opinion but still a different issue.
>
> 5. What test must a program be able to pass to grant it human rights?
Oh, I think we will have little doubt of when the line is crossed.
- samantha
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