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The utility-maximizing complexity of conscious beings
An AI that runs conscious beings has finite resources. Complex conscious beings consume more of these resources than do simpler conscious beings. Suppose, for purposes of discussion, that a friendly AI would maximize the aggregate utility of the beings it runs by modulating their level of complexity.
The utility-maximizing level of complexity would depend on the natural laws that govern the relation between the complexity of a being and the magnitude of the utility that it can experience.
When you are uploaded to the AI, then, one of three things will happen, depending on the result above:
1. You may wake up to discover that most of your mind, memory, and identity had disappeared, because most of your computational resources had been stolen in order to create a set of new, simple beings who, in total, would enjoy more utility than you had thereby lost. You may even be much less happy than you now are.
2. You may not wake up at all, because the totality of your computational resources had been stolen from you and given to a superbeing who was capable, because of some economy of scale in utility consumption, of extracting more utility from them than you could.
3. You may wake up to discover that you are much smarter and happier than you now are, because the utility-maximizing level of complexity is larger than your own, but not so large that, if all people were to upload, it would exhaust the AI's resources, thus making rationing necessary.
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I would tone down the purple bracelet to "the wearer may at all times be presumed to be open to all offers of intimacy or informality which are permitted at the gathering, but their refusal of specific offers is still to be taken seriously".
Would this system require that the level of intimacy and informality for a gathering be made explicit?
I imagine that one would post some kind of notice at the entrance to the venue, which would precisely explain the mapping of bracelet colors to the norms of personal interaction that they indicate; the bracelets themselves would then be piled up in baskets beneath that notice.
I think it's important to have explicit norms of permissible behavior for a few reasons:
The juridical function of explicit norms: Explicit norms form a bright line by which to identify malicious actors, such as, for example, an aggressive pickup artist who is willing to harass dozens of women in order to somewhat increase the likelihood that he will take one home with him.
The didactic function of explicit norms: Explicit norms allow well-intentioned people to clearly distinguish behaviors that are acceptable to the community from those that are harmful and forbidden. For example, in the absence of explicit norms, a man who lacked social skill might not realize that putting his hands on a woman's shoulders would probably make her uneasy. At the same time, however, he might also be refraining from certain pleasurable actions because he wrongly feared them to be unacceptable to the community, when, in fact, they were really innocuous.
The efficiency function of explicit norms: Explicit norms make it easier for people to determine which norms to apply in their relations with one another. In the absence of explicit norms, people must invest significant amounts of time trying to identify other people with whom they have complementary interests. A bracelet-signalling scheme would lessen the burden of these taxing social negotiations.
In practice, I think a relatively open gathering at a public location would call for the following levels of intimacy:
Black bracelet: I'm not interested in anything except polite intellectual discussion.
White bracelet: You may try to establish a more personal relationship with me, but if I'm not interested in you, I expect you to take notice of this quickly and to gracefully withdraw.
Purple bracelet: Feel free to approach me and to say or propose anything you like. It won't bother me very much, and if I don't enjoy your company, I'll frankly tell you to go away.
On the other hand, a debauched soirée at a private house might require a rather different scheme, such as:
Black bracelet: I'm not interested in anything except polite intellectual discussion.
White bracelet: You may say what you like to me, but no touching. If I tell you to back off, do so immediately.
Purple bracelet: You may hug me, put your arms around my shoulders, and so on, but not in any way that is grossly erotic. If I tell you to stop, do so immediately.
Green bracelet: You may wrestle with me, grope me, kiss my body, etc. If I tell you to stop, do so immediately.