This won't surprise the people who know me.

[elfs]

I only answered one question in the negative: whether or not I feel that AIs should be given the same rights as human beings. Since I believe strongly that the Friendly AI problem is a serious problem we face in the next twenty years, that shouldn't be too surprising. In the Journal Entries, AIs and robots do have the same rights as human beings as far as human beings are concerned, but among their own people a different set of rights and responsibilities is at play, one that is harsher and more Darwinian, with an eye to ensuring a pro-human niche. I happen to like human beings, mostly; giving faster, stronger, smarter beings our own instinct patterns is a sure route to our own extinction. Take the quiz yourself. Anyway, on to the meme:

You Score as a Transhumanist-Biotech Transhumanists believe that humanity can and should strive to attain higher levels of physical, mental, and social achievement through the use of technology. They seek to extend human capabilities and improve the human condition through technology- supporting the quest for immortality, the conquering of death and disease, the amplification of human intelligence, and the capabilities of the human body. Transhumanists recognize that over time and with technological advancements, man will realize new possibilities for society and human nature and achieve a posthuman condition (becoming more than human). Societal change is an important consequence of technological progress. Because of this passionate trust in technological advancement, transhumanists generally see all technologies, as long as they don't jeopardize the non-corporeal consciousness of a person, as being beneficial both to society and to the happiness and advancement of the person. Transhumanists see benefit not only in technologies that address medical necessities, but also aesthetic or recreational demands. They support advances in cybernetics, genetic engineering in clinical settings, embryo design, and other technologies that allow individuals to take control of their biology, and the human species to take control of evolution. Transhumanists can be either hard-technology oriented--more inclined to add microchips and machines to their lifestyle--or bio-technology oriented--preferring the softer, more natural advancements and modifications that are made available. [ See All Results ]

Your Results You scored as a TB 74.3% of people also scored as TB Other Results 6.6% of people scored as BC 1.5% of people scored as BL 0% of people scored as LU 0.2% of people scored as TC 17.3% of people scored as TP

Comments

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to the view that AIs should have parallel rights,

Some things are fairly easy concepts to parallelise: due process for instance. There could still be practical problems--what does habeas corpus if the hardware is as portable as a mainframe?

There's SF asking the same question of aliens, and one of A.P. Herbert's Misleading Cases explored the topic (and was rooted in the English law on whether a defendant was fit to plead).

One of the famous cases was on whether a cheque could be written on a cow. My father apparently once was given one written on a sugar bag, and the bank paid.

[mouser.livejournal.com]

If we could create AI on the level of Data, then yes. I don't see that happening in my lifetime unless they manage to add a zero to my life expectancy.


I find I find one or two questions amusing:
A newly engineered type of grain is more resilient to harsh environmental conditions and produces more nutrition per acre used than any plant found in the wild. Should it be used to feed the populations?

Pretty sure we do that now.

Food processing technology has been invented that greatly increases the usable harvest from existing farmland. Should the technology be deployed to farms around the world?

"The tractor"



I think this test has a serious bias - answering all the questions "yes" should push you midway between Transhumanist Biotech and Cybernetic, not into Biotech alone.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was my impression. I think I'm much more a cyb than a bio, yet I ended up in the bio quadrant.

[lisakit.livejournal.com]

This "more than human" concept is hard for me to understand. What exactly is more than human? Are we more than people in the middle ages were? Than people in the stone age? And if so, in what ways? Does that mean they were less than human?

To me, being human is a constantly changing and evolving state. There is no more or less than those who've been before or those yet to come, just different.

[lisakit.livejournal.com]

Heh, I didn't bother to even finish the quiz. There were too many hard line yes or no answers. I tend to take the "it depends" line.

For example should X always be allowed to be studied? Well, it depends on what the study methods are. Would you take such-n-such new drug, procedure, etc? Depends on how well tested it is, side effects, lots of other variables.

I don't think there will ever be such a thing as a cure-all or any kind of perfect solution. And I'm on enough drugs as it is. I know from hard experience there is always a give and take involved with new pharmaceuticals and procedures and I can't just say yes to something without knowing what the "take" is.

Seemed kind of an unrealistic quiz to me.