I think you may have oversimplified bio-engineering to suggest it could arise in such a way before advanced technology.
I think it could be accomplished with quite primitive technology, especially if the alien biology is robust, and if you just use natural brains rather than trying to strip them down to minimize food costs (which would also make them more worthy of moral consideration). Current human technology is clearly sufficient: humans have already kept isolated brains alive, and used primitive biological brains to control robots. If you connect new actuators or sensors to a mammalian brain, it uses them just fine after a short adaptation period, and it seems likely alien brains would work the same.
But I am saying it can’t be handwaived like that. Its like suggesting that humans develop time travel before steam power; and well before other things like space travel, flight.
I was trying to address:
Is this scenario at all likely?
And saying no. We are pretty slow at technology ourselves but the chance of doing brain-manipulations before growing a brain without a body is relatively low.
And also assuming that biology is not going to throw disease-organisms onto the plate of any long-sustaining life planet, seems unlikely.
I don’t recall anyone mentioning germs making the Super-Happys in 3 worlds collide unrealistic. Went straight to talking about the implications.
My first thought about this post was that D Malik must watch Stephen Universe, and want to start a conversation about the Gems’ Homeworld’s tech’s moral implications without getting into discussions about people’s Gemsonas and ships and whatnot.
Or A Deepness In the Sky, or John Dies At the End, or any number of books that explore the idea.
I think it could be accomplished with quite primitive technology, especially if the alien biology is robust, and if you just use natural brains rather than trying to strip them down to minimize food costs (which would also make them more worthy of moral consideration). Current human technology is clearly sufficient: humans have already kept isolated brains alive, and used primitive biological brains to control robots. If you connect new actuators or sensors to a mammalian brain, it uses them just fine after a short adaptation period, and it seems likely alien brains would work the same.
I was referring to the difficulty of growing a brain without a body. Or keeping a brain alive without its natural body.
That got handwaved away in the third paragraph of the op in order to force this to be a moral dilemma rather than an engineering one.
But I am saying it can’t be handwaived like that. Its like suggesting that humans develop time travel before steam power; and well before other things like space travel, flight.
I was trying to address:
And saying no. We are pretty slow at technology ourselves but the chance of doing brain-manipulations before growing a brain without a body is relatively low.
And also assuming that biology is not going to throw disease-organisms onto the plate of any long-sustaining life planet, seems unlikely.
I don’t recall anyone mentioning germs making the Super-Happys in 3 worlds collide unrealistic. Went straight to talking about the implications.
My first thought about this post was that D Malik must watch Stephen Universe, and want to start a conversation about the Gems’ Homeworld’s tech’s moral implications without getting into discussions about people’s Gemsonas and ships and whatnot.
Or A Deepness In the Sky, or John Dies At the End, or any number of books that explore the idea.
I guess I am in fiction critiquing mode here.