[LINK] We live in interesting times.... Or - is the gold standard really extinct.

[Craig Sanders]

On Mon, Oct 20, 2008 at 01:21:03PM +1100, Tom Koltai wrote:
> An interesting read at
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12dooling.html?_r=1&oref=slogi
> n claims that derivatives have caused the current economic crisis and
> that machines are taking over the world.

the more i think about it, the more i come to believe that we NEED
real AI, and need it fast.

humans obviously can't be trusted to run governments or economies or to
look after the planet. even the best of us are petty, venal creatures
or, at the very least, subject to extortion by corporate and other
interest groups because of the need to be popular enough to win votes.

leave it to the machines. open source, of course so the decision making
algorithms can be seen by all. no scams, no back-room deals for favoured
mates, no back-handers. no multi-trillion dollar bailouts for the
thieves who caused the mess. no ignoring common sense or science just to
keep obsolete industries like logging or coal mining alive. rational,
fact-based decision making and a level playing field.

sounds insane, right? yeah, it does. until you consider that the
alternative is more of the same, which is even more insane.


craig

ps: I may or may not have been unduly influenced by Iain M Banks'
Culture novels(*).  AI-run ultra high-tech socialist utopia with
spaceships? sure, i'll have some of that.

(*) probably by Neal Asher's novels too, even if he is a right wing
nutter.

-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>