Author David Brin considers the issue of how Artificial Intelligences should be treated. A topic straight out of science fiction that really does deserve some attention before we actually have to deal with it.
I've spoken elsewhere of one great irony -- that there is nothing new about this endeavor. That every human generation embarks upon a similar exercise -- creating new entities that start out less intelligent and virtually helpless, but gradually transform into beings that are stronger, more capable, and sometimes more brilliant than their parents can imagine.
The difference between this older style of parenthood and the New Creation is not only that we are attempting to do all of the design de novo, with very little help from nature or evolution, but also that the pace is speeding up. It may even accelerate, once semi-intelligent computers assist in fashioning new and better successors.
See the full article at Contrary Brin or Tomorrow Happens.
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