| " With 21st century space technology, it may be entirely feasible to transport whole populations of Cosmist scientists and technicians to some distant planet, where they can build their artilects and suffer the consequences. However, even this option may be too risky for some Terran politicians, because the artilects may choose to return to the Earth, and with their superior intellects, they could easily overcome the military precautions installed by the Terrans." | M K Z D K 1 9 9 9
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"We could never be sure these artilects, as we call them -- artificial intellects -- wouldn't decide that humanity is a pest and try to exterminate us, and they'd be so intelligent they could do it easily," - Hugo de Garis.
Kevin Warwick has even gloomier premonitions:
"We're talking, in the future, the end of the human race as we know it."
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""Intelligists will be able to construct true electronic (optical, molecular) brains, called artilects, within one to two human generations. It is argued that this possibility is not a piece of science fiction, but is an opinion held by a growing number of professional intelligists. This prospect raises the moral dilemma of whether human beings should or should not allow the artilects to be built, and whether artilects should or should not be allowed to modify themselves into superbeings, beyond human comprehension. This dilemma will probably dominate political and philosophical discussion in the 21st century. A new branch of applied moral philosophy needs to be established to consider the artilect problem."" | ||