X-Message-Number: 18478
From: 
Date: Sun, 3 Feb 2002 12:08:53 EST
Subject: Re: CryoNet #18466 Rats

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 Extract from Rober Ettinger's Brain:
Subject: rats 

>Speculating on organic brains enhanced by computers, Yvan Bozzonetti writes 
>in part:
>
>>The biological part of the ?brain? has 
>>not to be encased in a human specimen. Up to 5 000 species could have the 
>>brain power to run the technological civilization. The fastest reproducing 
>>would soon overtake all bigger, slower ones.
>
>>Who will be the first on Mars? Who will return to the Moon? Who will 
>>be here when we get out of cryonics state?  In each case, a man seems a bad 
>>answer.
>
>I don't think that follows. Rats or whatever will become superhuman only if 
>we make them so, and even then would take over in the manner he suggests 
only 
>if we allow it. Furthermore, enhanced individuals, whatever the species 
>substrate, will probably all be considered "people" in the same sense; 
>rationality will probably rule, and there will be no special incentive for 
>species chauvinism.
 
I agree, making animal/computer will be at start a high tech activity and, 
beyon the first experiments, will be used in high tech activities. For 
example in planetary exploration where mass matter(so to speak!). A squirel 
geologist on Mars could be very interesting, its life support would be only 
some percents of the equivalent man request for the same service. Such 
"people" will have a good social rank.
 
There will not be "wars" between such technical species and man at large, 
only very rough problems with religions and established institutions, states 
and powerfull peoples.
 
That technology could be interesting in cryonics as an answer to the all too 
common question:
If cryonics becomes a largely used technology, that will create 
overpopulation. Answer: copy the brain content on a computer and use a small 
animal as biological interface. Turning so a large part of the current 
population would reduce the ecological pressure of the civilization on the 
world.

> Further, more rats than people doesn't imply more 
>rat/computers than human/computers.
 
Both, rats and computers have a tremendous expansion capacity. Because they 
have a low mass, they can expand in space at far lower cost than man. They 
natural sphere of action is so far larger.

>In most respects it doesn't really matter if the strictly computing 
functions 
>are separate from the organic brain or physically linked. A human with a 
>self-improving computer at his command (or a zillion of them), linked just 
>enough to maintain control, would be more than a match for any swarm of 
rats, 
>given his head start.       
 
I think exponential expansion will swap any start advantage in half a 
century. Think for example about 100 animals/computers and use Moore's law so 
that more computing power is used for more "people" You have:
100 000 individuals after 15 years,
100 000 000 after 30 years,
100 000 000 000 after 45 years, game over.
 
Yvan Bozzonetti.

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