I would consider my goal not accomplished at all...it seems to be one of the basic tenets of my value system that other people exist and one other person is just as valuable as me, therefore one of my responsibilities in life is to help other people. I am very, very leery of futures where I would end up in a virtual world–if they’re simulated deeply enough to be sentient beings, I would care about them as well, but I would be abandoning any chances of influencing the fate of everyone else.
I think maybe I could justify it to myself if I knew in advance, and could prove to myself, that everyone else was also ending up in a virtual world where they would be even happier… But the idea still makes me uncomfortable. I think it seems like ‘cheating at life’, somehow, taking the easy road out. Although that’s probably a random emotional prejudice more than a logical objection.
I think this is exactly right. While I share your lack of understanding of exactly why the machine would be unsatisfying here, I don’t think it’s a random emotional prejudice. I think we’re on to something.
I would consider my goal not accomplished at all...it seems to be one of the basic tenets of my value system that other people exist and one other person is just as valuable as me, therefore one of my responsibilities in life is to help other people. I am very, very leery of futures where I would end up in a virtual world–if they’re simulated deeply enough to be sentient beings, I would care about them as well, but I would be abandoning any chances of influencing the fate of everyone else.
I think maybe I could justify it to myself if I knew in advance, and could prove to myself, that everyone else was also ending up in a virtual world where they would be even happier… But the idea still makes me uncomfortable. I think it seems like ‘cheating at life’, somehow, taking the easy road out. Although that’s probably a random emotional prejudice more than a logical objection.
I think this is exactly right. While I share your lack of understanding of exactly why the machine would be unsatisfying here, I don’t think it’s a random emotional prejudice. I think we’re on to something.