by Omnitir » Wed 30 May 2007, 20:50:47
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('UFCjunkie', 'w')ithout oil we won't devolop more new techs we wont even be able to produce materia for the experiments. Or what is yor plan with that? How are we going to keep the technology growt in a world without oil?
Firstly, there will be oil. It will just be really expensive. Secondly, if tech keeps developing for only two more decades and we get MNT, we won't even need fossil fuels at all, since we then have the ability to produce material at the molecular level based on the raw materials (mostly carbon).
Yeah I know, star trek dream land, right? We'll see.
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('UFCjunkie', '
')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Omnitir', ' ')If the singularity happens, and we end up with greatly increasing the intelligence on the planet, such a super intelligence will be able to solve our problems.
I believe that such intelligance would wipe out our race in one of the steps to solve this planets problems.
That's that common conclusion that people come to when they anthropomorphise an artificial intelligence. If this intelligence was like a human mind, than it probably would destroy all humans. But the human mind is only one small area of all possible minds. It won't necessarily think like we do. It depends how we build it. If it's built the right way, it could naturally desire to help people.
Of course wiping people out isn't the only way to get people to stop destorying the earth
You know, in a strange way, I hope you are right. I would much rather see civilization collapse back down to a pseudo sustainable hunter gatherer society than see it blow itself up on the road to further development. But I think this collapse scenario is actually the most dream land fantasy of all. No way are those with all the power in this world going to sit by and let that power go. They are going to do everything they can to keep any semblance of the status quo.
Some people act like once oil peaks (with apparently was several years ago), we are just going to have a few rights, some starvation, and back to hunter gatherers we go.
Meanwhile in the real world, those with power are waging resource wars, all the while pumping massive investment dollars into R&D to keep their armies on the cutting edge, and to keep their customers with the latest gizmo's.
Yeah, energy is intimately related to progress. But energy isn't going to disappear overnight. It's going to get expensive, it's going to get more violent to attain, and it's going to get dirtier. But energy, the most valuable commodity in the world, is not going to go away in a hurry. And as long as we have energy, we have progress.
If we make it through these turbulent times ahead, than we will achieve new and better ways of doing things. If we don't make it through, well it will likely be because we destroy ourselves. It seems most fairy tail to me that we could somehow get through these issues without either destroying ourselves or achieving technological sustainability.
"Mother Nature is a psychopathic bitch, and she is out to get you. You have to adapt, change or die." - Tihamer Toth-Fejel, nanotech researcher/engineer.