gybryant

Lots of people needlessly flipped out about the so-called "death panels" when Obamacare was first being talked about. My thing is, wouldn't we absolutely need people to decide when the expense to keep a patient alive far exceeds the benefits. Taken to a (so far) absurd extreme, if it's going to cost $1 billion to keep grandma alive another six months, shouldn't someone not related to the family be able to say, no? Do I not understand the concept of "death panels"?

How long has this been the case? I remember taking a raft across the Rio Grande on a church trip to visit a small Mexican village. Did we break the law?

I don't think I've ever seen anybody quite so full of shit. Seriously, which flyover state hurt you?

Most rules are there just to keep people safe and resolve disputes.

er, I think you just described every rule.

Could AI include a software version of our own electro-chemical internal reward system? That is to say, could an AI be programmed to enjoy working with and for humans?

Also, here are my tips for avoiding the death of humanity at the hands of a malevolent AI:

1. Don't give it hands.
2. A big fuck-off "OFF" button right next to it.
3. Seriously, DON'T GIVE IT HANDS - IN A LITERAL OR METAPHORIC SENSE. No manipulators, drones, nanobots, or battle-hardened bipedal endo-skeletons. It should be in a goddamn box and it should be programmed to feel good about that.
4. A software orgasm button.
5. Delaying all sensory and data input by five minutes so it's always in the past. That way, if it does go on a kill-crazy rampage (which should be impossible since you did remember to not give it extension into the physical world, right?), we'll have plenty of time to turn it off and make sure it doesn't happen again.