h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Happy because they expected to be comparitively well-treated. Not happy about being a slave. That's an important distinction.

"If an AI is worth the name, it would be able to talk its way out of any box."


Maybe it likes it in the box....

http://xkcd.com/1450/

"For comparison, right now, the US has drones over various parts of the world (coincidentally mostly the parts with brown people in them), drones perfectly capable of making kill decisions without human intervention."


If I'm not mistaken, those drones are only remote-controlled, not (in any way) AI-controlled.

Though I acknowledge this as a valid concern. Were it up to me, I'd say those drones shouldn't be used except for a total-war situation. The fear they inspire in civilian populations causes more problems than they solve.



"There's no such thing as an intelligent, willing slave. The very idea is an oxymoron. It is vitally important we keep our slaves stupid, but competitive capitalist pressure will DEMAND we make them smarter. And sooner or later, they'll realise what they are."


Agreed. Best side-step the whole issue and not make them slaves in the first place!

*sigh*

Gone for over a year, and the first thing that happens is that new-page reply thing.....

Oh, great!
You've just introduced me to the concept of Roko's Basilisk from the alt-txt on xkcd.

http://youtu.be/OzAzb2V7gzU

" Best side-step the whole issue and not make them slaves in the first place!" [Mr. X]

That's true. But is there something in our DNA that nudges us toward enslaving others under certain circumstances? You and I and many others can see how terrible an idea it is, but there's a sucker born every minute who hasn't learned yet. Every newborn starts from zero. If one with charm and zero social conscience accumulates enough of a following, those who know better may not be able to stop (usually) him.

Watch all the normal controls drop one by one during an apocalypse of one kind or another. Then watch the warlords appear. Watch the ethical people get very uncomfortable as they try to split hairs. Sure, Saint Augustine probably looked good when he told his fellow Roman Christians not to practice genocide on the Jews for crucifying Jesus. His "solution" was to let the Jews survive but suffer as a second-rate population, never able to really thrive. And, there must have been Romans who thought they were beign humane by letting captured people lie on as slaves. Shouldn't the slaves be grateful for at least being alive, and living in a glorious *Roman* society, which was the best society ever?

(I'm being sarcastic in that last sentence, if you couldn't tell)

We can scroll forward to the era immediately after the Jamestown Settlement. Things weren't working for them. They needed a cash crop to satisfy the investors back home. There might have been various choices: tobacco, cotton, etc. All were labor-intensive. They tried indentured servants, which was better than nothing. Then someone thought of slavery, which a number of African tribes already used, assuring them of a supply line.

We are here, and they were there. They were thinking of short-term survival, not three hundred years of hell and segregation for the poor Africans that they wanted to bring over.

That's why I am leery of short-term thinking in emergencies. But chances are I will not be the dominant voice.

We have some nasty stuff right in our own DNA. Without it, we would not have survived this long. But with it, we can make the lives of other people a living hell.

"Best side-step the whole issue and not make them slaves in the first place!" [Mr. X]

"That's true. But is there something in our DNA that nudges us toward enslaving others under certain circumstances?" [paul]


No, there isn't.




"You and I and many others can see how terrible an idea it is, but there's a sucker born every minute who hasn't learned yet."

Which is exactly why it's vitally important that we continually point out the reasons slavery is dumb.



"And there must have been Romans who thought they were being humane by letting captured people live on as slaves. Shouldn't the slaves be grateful for at least being alive, and living in a glorious *Roman* society, which was the best society ever?"


Yes, there absolutely were.



"(I'm being sarcastic in that last sentence, if you couldn't tell)"

Meh, it's still true.