From: Grant Callaghan (grantc4@hotmail.com)
Date: Wed 20 Nov 2002 - 04:13:12 GMT
One thing I've noticed about humans is that for all of our intelligence
we're pretty good at deceiving ourselves. If we see a fact we don't want to
believe, we simply refuse to believe it. So far, machines don't have that
luxury. Belief is not a part of their system.
Grant
>
>At 08:33 AM 19/11/02 -0800, you wrote:
>
>Grant:
> >An article I read about a year ago by a businessman who was selling to
>the
> >global economy said that the greatest problem he had today was the pace
>of
> >change. The world is changing so quickly that he couldn't use methods he
> >learned at Harvard Business School to solve his business problems. They
> >were obsolete before he graduated.
> >
>SNIP.............
>
>Sorry to snip such an excellent and insightful piece, and I am keeping this
>one Grant as it covers most of the main issues at play in the global
>conflict today. The only criticism that I have is that you have brought
>them ALL up in the one post.
>There is just one thing that I would add. Since it would take another two
>and a half planets worth of resources, and one hell of a lot of pollution
>control, to raise the quality of life of all on the planet to that of the
>average Westerner, many people see 'development' as a con. They see it as
>an elaborate con that has been perpetrated by the wealthy economic
>interests to enslave them.
>Personally I feel like we are strapped to a technological bobsled hurtling
>down a slope towards the unknown. Maybe I am a 'fraidy cat', or maybe I am
>judiciously cautious.
>On the subject of computers becoming 'more intelligent' than us, I think
>that that they may become more logical, or more reasoning, but not more
>intelligent.
>My hypothetical question is, if a super-computer logically and reasonably
>arrived at the decision that humanity was on an unsustainable path and that
>we must modify the 'pace of change', or even go back to a simpler
>lifestyle, like Gandhi suggested, would our intelligence take any notice of
>it, or would we declare it faulty and try to build another more
>superer-computer which would agree with what we wanted to hear? I reckon
>that it would be the latter option.
>Cheers
>Jeremy
>
>
>
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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