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Recommendations
Concessions:
1) Given that our current economic system rewards innovation, the progress of
technology is thus inevitable. If people continually want for the next best
thing, then entrepreneurs will do everything in their power to provide them
with that product.
2) Given that the trend of exponential computing has held true for the last
fifty years, it is assumed that Moore's Law will continue to hold for the
next fifty.
Solutions to Posed Dangers:
Evolution is species-blind. It simply fulfills its dual role of rewarding the
fittest with continued life and punishing those who are not with extinction.
Humanity currently resides at the top of this hierarchy. As the only sentient
beings that are able to manipulate their environment, we enjoy many comforts
not afforded other creatures.
If another species were to threaten our position, we have the Darwinian
motivation to defend this position. This includes protecting humanity from
itself. If its actions ultimately undermine its evolutionary position, then
those actions must be stopped. However, determining when to blow the whistle
is the debatable issue.
The suggestion of this group after reviewing the solutions posed by the
leading minds in the IT field is quite simple. Given the above assumptions,
humanity will inevitably revolutionize its current technology many times over
in the coming century. Whether these technologies are good or bad is left as
an exercise for the implementers of said technology. Based on this
conclusion, a decision is made to continue or halt further research. This
decision is by no means final because as further knowledge is gained, the
view of implications changes.
Inherent in any innovation is the requisite of human control. If robots with
artificial intelligence were under the complete control of humanity, then
they can pose no threat. Hence, the issue of control is tantamount to
deciding whether a certain technology should be implemented.
Therefore, the trust lies within humanity to regulate itself. Knowing full
well that danger awaits in the future, it is up to mankind and its scientists
to follow the code of ethics and the code of the professional to determine
the inherent goodness of technology for everyone. Only through such foresight,
can we maintain our position as the strongest species in the land.
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