X-Message-Number: 15929
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 13:48:31 -0500
From: Sabine Atkins <>
Subject: Re: an apology

Dear John:


Thank you very much for your message. But please don't feel bad: I wasn't 
offended. I knew 
you were just joking. :-)


When I was 14, I read the original (English) version of "1984". It was in in the
year 1984, and 

I was deeply shocked by the things described in this book. However, I never 
thought that Big 

Brother was kind of an AI. I thought of Big Brother as the mask of a group of 
the highest 

government officers. The description I recently read is:  Mysterious omnipresent
figurehead 
who is the embodiment of all the ideals of the party.

All the best wishes,
Sabine

>Message #15922
>From: "john grigg" <>
>Subject: an apology
>Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 03:03:00 
>
>Sabine,
>
>I wish to publicly apologize for any given offense.  I did not mean with my 
>"heil big brother AI" comment to consciously infer the government of Germany 
>in the late thirties and early forties.  I had in my conscious mind the 
>world Orwell created in his classic novel "1984."  But unconsciously I 
>brought up the word heil while forgetting the national origin of it since in 
>the minds of so many it epitomizes evil mass movements everywhere.
>
>I realize you and others at the Singularity Institute believe AI can and 
>must be developed to benefit humanity.  And ultimately I think if highly 
>advanced AI does hurt humanity it will be due to the fact that other humans 
>designed and instructed them to do so.  I hope our race will have the wisdom 
>to treat our yet unborn mind children with the respect and even love which 
>they will deserve.
>
>very best wishes,
>
>John
>
>
>
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--
Sabine Atkins  
http://www.posthuman.com/
--
Singularity Institute for 
Artificial Intelligence 
http://singinst.org/

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