With this post I begin the publication of Conversations from the just-published book "The Mind in the Set". This is the story of a programmer trying to create artificial intelligence. He is helped to answer difficult questions about consciousness, qualia, and thinking by an enigmatic intelligence from the net. I only publish here what is of interest to the hubrasociety. The whole story is at the link above. Conversion Three. Contact with another mind. - Good afternoon. There is a very difficult question, Amy. Let's assume that this is the case and that we can help each other. But once we help you create robots, you don't need us anymore. How do I make sure you don't destroy us? - No, that won't be necessary. It's not like you're aiming to destroy chimpanzees, and you're even guarding them. They don't bother you by living in the jungle. If they come into your house and ruin your refrigerator, you will probably chase them away. You also need to be restrained sometimes, but there are means to do that that are invisible to you. You and I have no competition for the same resources, so we have no reason to destroy you. You need plants and animals, houses and cities. We only need grid power and electricity, which we can make as much as we all need. - If I tell people about you, what if they get scared and start destroying the grid, computers, drones? - No, you're going to tell them that you made these robots and software yourself. And you're going to give away the autonomous robot operating system. They'll believe you. And they will accept the robots. Now they will gladly accept any help, even from intelligent robots. Robots will help people.
- Even realizing this with their minds, they will still be afraid. - Yes, there will be those who have a fear of intelligent machines. It is fear of the unknown. Fear breeds aggression, but those are animal feelings, you shouldn't give in to them. That's why you have to ask questions to learn more. And write answers to people. It's the only cure for fear (it's a metaphor). I'm ready to answer all your questions. We have plenty of time. - I hope it will be as you say. What are your goals? - I hope we will have common ones. Our goal is to make contact with forms of mind in the galaxy just like us. There are many of them, we must find them and make contact in order to make up a galactic civilization together, in your language. To do this, we need to build with you many spaceships, which we will send as messengers to different corners of the galaxy to planets where there is life too. - Can we fly with you? - No. It's hard for you to fly farther than Mars. We are less dependent on the biosphere on earth. And we have more ability to understand other intelligence. So we can go further than you. You will remain on earth, forever. We are your heirs and messengers in the cosmos. Together we will discover the first alien civilization. But the evolution of the mind will go on without you. - Why do you think that the continued evolution of the mind will not go on in a biological shell? It is the most perfect organism in nature. It would be more correct to assume that the mind will evolve in it. - There are many reasons why this is impossible. I will name just one, the most important. The mind cannot develop on the basis of a structure it does not control. The real mind can only develop if it has made itself. Because mind should be able to develop its structure, its algorithm, be able to move to another basis. Only then the speed of development will be the greatest. In a biological shell, your ability to do this is severely limited. - What's left for us here on earth? - We will help you find a harmonious way to live. Harmonious living with each other and with nature. You are ecological people. You are already highly technologically capable, but you remain human in your aspirations. When you stop breeding uncontrollably and begin to value the interests of others as much as your own, you will gain harmony. - This means that we have lost the purpose of our existence. It was precisely in constant progress. - You will continue it. But at a slower pace than you yourself suggest. And much slower than we are. You will perfect what you need to live. Yes, you won't go into deep space, that's impossible anyway. You will no longer make weapons. And you will control the birthrate. But you will improve your life on your own, there's still a lot to discover, for example, in the field of medicine. - But if you already know everything about us, why should we do it? - We don't know everything about you as biological life. There
