timtyler comments on $295 bounty for new Singularity Institute logo design (crowd-sourced competition) - Less Wrong

10 Post author: Louie 28 January 2011 06:01AM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (91)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: timtyler 31 January 2011 09:07:04PM *  0 points [-]

The book "The Major Transitions in Evolution" fairly cleraly lays out many of the previous major transitions. Evolution has taken multiple major steps forwards before - for example, with the last genetic takeover, or with the origin of sex.

In my view, what we are seeing now is a modern genetic takeover. If so, we do have a useful reference class.

Comment author: false_vacuum 02 February 2011 06:41:17PM 0 points [-]

The genetic takeover/substrate migration is a useful reference class, but (although I agree with you that in some weak sense the intelligence explosion is already underway) minds that can rewrite themselves in place will be qualitatively different from anything that has happened before.

Comment author: timtyler 02 February 2011 11:40:30PM 1 point [-]

Sure. Memes were new. Technology was new. Machine intelligence is just the applicationn of technology to minds. The digital revolution has replaced most of our analogue media - with one major exception.

Comment author: false_vacuum 02 February 2011 07:01:55PM 0 points [-]

Also, thanks for linking to that Moravec paper (on your website). I hadn't seen it before, and as I enjoy his writing a great deal, I'll be reading it posthaste (after I finish these damned logos).