Transhumanity, like it or not?

[Jeff Bone]

On Monday, Apr 28, 2003, at 17:04 US/Central, Brian Atkins wrote:

> Tom wrote:
>> I still think the Eli's of the movement will win out and it will 
>> become
>> this "For your own good you have to be a borg" style thing. Why? 
>> Because
>> power corrupts.
>
> Please stop making these absolutely incorrect statements. This is the 
> antithesis of our volition-based hopes for the future. We have always 
> maintained that in such a future, anyone who wants to stay the same 
> should be able to make that choice, and furthermore have it enforced 
> for them when necessary.

I understand that this is the Friendly party line, here.  But I also 
have serious doubts as to whether, given the particular formulation of 
"Friendly" as of the last time I looked at CFAI, it is really sensible 
to assume that the supercop can avoid coercing the customers in some 
cases "for their own good."

There are some paradoxes that need to be resolved, here.  Some of them 
can't be resolved volitionally, such as when some flesher expresses 
irrational and inconsistent needs.  E.g. "don't virtualize me" and 
"don't let me die" when the Sun is going nova in just over minutes, and 
the only ticket out of town is the light-speed digital squirt to Tau 
Ceti.

jb