FastForward Radio

Phil and Stephen:

I sent Tyler an email clearing up what I meant to say during the chat. I’m going to summarize it here if I may.

I couldn’t agree more with your response, but my point was misunderstood. I said that I try not to imagine radical improvements as being in my personal future because I think it helps me to think more clearly about what is best for the human future collectively, or to keep my eye on the ball, if you will. I think that thoughts along the lines, “Cool! I’m going to live to be a thousand.” can cloud one’s judgment as we try to create the best possible outcomes. Your point about children dying from water shortages was well taken. This and other such issues would be immensely important even if things like radical life extension and strong ai will not come to pass in our lifetimes. On the other hand, I believe it is prudent that we treat risks as though they are imminent. The stakes are so high that they are worth our concern and talents regardless. Besides, benefits from technological progress will not become benefits without good planning. I also think it’s not healthy for us to only value our lives under the assumption that they will be very long. I’ll try to live a worthwhile life whether it last 25 or a google years. Maybe this is like the concern a parent would show for their child’s future. If things go very well, decades from now I may not bear much resemblence to my current state anyway. I would not insist that anyone else follow this way of thinking, but I find it is a strategy for being more observer-independent that works for me.

Anytime.