[LINK] Fermi Paradox paper touching on FAI

post by malthrin · 2011-12-03T19:22:25.731Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 3 comments

Contents

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This paper discusses the Fermi Paradox in the context of civilizations that can build self-replicating probes (SRPs) to explore/exploit the galaxy. In passing, it discusses some FAI-related objections to self-replicating machine intelligence.

One popular argument against SRPs is presented by Sagan and Newman (Sagan and Newman, 1983). They argue that any presumably wise and cautious civilization would never develop SRPs because such machines would pose an existential risk to the original civilization. The concern is that the probes may undergo a mutation which permits and motivates them to either wipe out the homeworld or overcome any reasonable limit on their reproduction rate, in effect becoming a technological cancer that converts every last ounce of matter in the galaxy into SRPs.

Bad Clippy.

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