12-03-2006, 06:35 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: At the Stern, Raising the Black
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Impending Crisis in THS?
„I suspect circa 2120 the conditions will exist for a major population movement off world, thanks to the completion of the Earth beanstalk and a desire to escape from growing social instability on Earth caused by increasing distance as societies transition out from Fourth Wave to Fifth Wave and FW entities demand full reproductive rights, leaving those stuck in Third Wave to Fourth Wave transition completly behind in terms of numbers and economic power.“
David L. Pulver Transhuman Space is said to be an essentially optimistic setting. And on the surface it seems indeed so: no really desastrous wars have happened in the 21st century, dictatorships haven’t taken over the world and people are richer and healthier than ever. But somehow one can get the impression that dark clouds are gathering just beyond the horizon. Could it be that the world of THS is headed for some major desaster in the near future, especially if one looks at the situation with the existence of SAIs and Ghosts in mind? Lots of questions come to mind: What if even more powerful infomorphs are created? (Looking back one can assume that a SAI-11 is developed before 2110). What if a nondestructive mind uploading technology is invented? And what if sapient AIs demand the right to procreate? Wouldn’t the result be utter chaos? Aren’t biosophonts destined to become obsolete or at least overpowered by infomorphs in the near future? Won’t sapient AIs or mind emulations control more and more important positions in societies everywhere? Will the Earth of the year 2200 be a planet ruled and inhabited primarily by artifical intelligences? What will happen? Will biosophonts start to develope more and more negative attitudes towards sapient Ais when something of the above comes to pass? Or will they peacefully submit to whatever happens? Will there even be a war between biological and cybernetical entities? And if, how could it be fought? Who would win? Or is a peaceful coexistence of biosophonts and Ais possible in the long run? And if so, how could it look like?
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"I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." Last edited by Kitsune; 12-03-2006 at 06:56 PM. |
12-03-2006, 07:05 PM | #2 | ||||||
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Oldenburg, Germany
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Re: Impending Crisis in THS?
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And there are also some major generational conflicts on Earth - the Old Guard who unlike leaders in previous centuries just won't go away versus increasingly alien younger generations. In fact, the age spread is greater than in any time of human history! Quote:
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GURPS Repository • Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles - translating German folk tales into English! |
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12-03-2006, 09:21 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
That feeling of impending doom or apocalypse is something that many times and places have felt is right around the corner. However, it seems to me that one of the things that characterises THS is that many of the apocalyptic events that were feared did not happen, and that in general apocalyptic events don't really happen anymore. The world is too complex with too many moving parts, too big and too stable (overall) because of multiple systems which reinforce stability to be subsumed by anything apocalyptic. I can see something like 9-11 perhaps happening again in THS, but not the rise of a Hitler or anything big like that. The nature of things has just changed too much.
A possible exception would be a meteor about to crash into Earth. But I would think by then we would have tracked all possible candidates, so we'd have plenty of warning. And we would have the capability to deal with something like this. |
12-04-2006, 04:04 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
SAI-11's may be further away then you postulate: one key element of the receeding singularity mentioned in the core book is that Moore's Law failed, and another is that developing techniques for sentient computing is a realm of diminishing returns.
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12-04-2006, 08:13 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
Perhaps the "stars are (finally) right"...
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12-05-2006, 01:06 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
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12-05-2006, 01:07 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
I've always felt that the ultimate fate of humanity in a world with AIs is integration. If we ever get real artificial intelligence, humans will eventually have to either heavily cyborg or go completely digital themselves to compete.
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12-05-2006, 02:53 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Sep 2006
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
Or we could, just, you know, get along.
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12-05-2006, 04:21 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: At the Stern, Raising the Black
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
That would be the question. Can we in the long run? Get along with AIs, I mean?
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"I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." |
12-05-2006, 06:01 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Christchurch, NZ
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Re: Impending Doom in THS
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But I don't think either of these really qualify 9-11 events. In terms of lives lost and property damage they may well have been just as devestating, but the lasting effect of 9-11 was its massive cultural and memetic impact. It shifted the whole focus of US and world policy, laws, and military activity. No terrorist act in THS has had this much influence. |
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