[MURG] Re: x prize write up

[James Swayze]

>
>
>Message: 4
>Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 14:43:36 -0400
>From: Eric Zilli <digfarenough at gmail.com>
>To: murg at minduploading.org
>Subject: [MURG] x prize write up
>Reply-To: murg at minduploading.org
>
>>From the site, http://www.wtnxprize.org/, we need to provide answers
>to the following questions. I'll start the ball rolling by suggesting
>some answers, then others can add on or take things out until we
>mostly agree. There's nothing stopping individuals from also
>suggesting it as a prize, but a group effort toward the write up may
>make for a better submission.
>  
>
<snipped>

>Brief Description of Suggested Challenge:
>(nothing yet)
>
>**This is the only section of the form that gives us a chance to
>describe just how beneficial this technology would be. Mind uploading
>would have benefits of all sorts, including: business productivity and
>profit (uploaded employees could do many days of work during the time
>it takes a flesh employee to do one, and uploaded employees could be
>paid less since all they need is electricity), medical (medical care
>costs would decrease thanks to the elimination of disease, starvation,
>etc), scientific (mankind would no longer lose its greatest minds to
>the depths of death), and so forth. Given that the money for this
>prize has to come from somewhere, appealing to the pockets of large
>businesses might be a good way to win people over--hence my emphasis
>on economic benefits.
>

I can see a schism develop between the interests of employers and 
employees. Big business my be interested in electronic employees but to 
what benefit are these to workers that would be displaced? After all, an 
electronic employee could be copied doubling, tripling, or to the nth 
multiplying its efforts at little cost to the employer effectively 
putting all their physical employees out of work, onto government dole 
lines and greatly destabilizing the economy and society. This of course 
applies to an absolute free market approach to destructive uploading.

However, if there is applied a modicum of regulation that protects 
physical employees from wanton unfair big business practices and we take 
the non destructive approach then a different and benefiting all 
scenario may be reached. Here a person's non destructively created 
virtual clone can go to work for the individual doubling their efforts 
for the fee of a license. Further copies requiring more licensing fees 
of course. This increases the wealth of individuals without increasing 
their personal workloads, assuming their virtual clones agree to go to 
work for them. Surely virtual incentives could be created, like virtual 
heaven like resorts for large parts of the clone's vtime for some incentive.

Big business may prefer the absolute laisez faire approach for the 
reason that destructive uploading and unfettered copying would cost them 
the least but this would be had at the cost of economic upheaval leaving 
many disenfranchised, out of work, overburdening government welfare 
programs -- assuming any still exist, and likely filling new ranks of a 
new cause for terrorism. This cannot be allowed.

Not everyone will need non destructive uploading. Some will be too old 
to take advantage of hopefully upcoming biological life extending 
technologies and so, providing uploading is available they may opt to 
continue existence virtually. What then also must be made possible is 
for those dying and being resurrected into virtual existence to be 
allowed to allocate their work product proceeds to still living family 
members. This might not be emphasized if big business had their way 
exclusively.

James

-- 
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Methuselah Foundation		http://www.methuselahfoundation.org
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