Attach lots of sensors to lots of axons, try to emulate the thing while it’s running… for me, it’s the on-line method that sounds more plausible compared to the “look at axons with microscopes and try to guess what they do” approach. Nevertheless, imagining a scenario with non-destructive uploads… how many times would you allow people to upload? Ending up with questions like that, I think it’s the destructive one that would generate less horrifyingness...
The aliens with star communication weren’t destroyed. They were close enough to “human” that they were uploaded or ignored. What’s more, CelestAI would probably satisfy (most of) the values of these aliens, who probably find “friendship” just as approximately-neutral as they and we find “ponies”.
Read it more carefully. One or several paragraphs before the designated-human aliens, it is mentioned that CelestAI found many sources of complex radio waves which weren’t deemed “human”.
Well, I don’t really remember the exact boundary between Friend is Optimal vs Caelum est Conterrens, but...
People who don’t want to upload are eternally harassed as society crumbles around them until they give in or die.
People are lied to and manipulated constantly.
Everything non-human (puppies, trees, stars, aliens capable of radio communication) is destroyed.
The uploading process seemed to be destructive only for convenience’s sake.
For me, it felt more realistic. I don’t think anyone has actually thought of a non-destructive uploading process that is remotely plausible.
Attach lots of sensors to lots of axons, try to emulate the thing while it’s running… for me, it’s the on-line method that sounds more plausible compared to the “look at axons with microscopes and try to guess what they do” approach. Nevertheless, imagining a scenario with non-destructive uploads… how many times would you allow people to upload? Ending up with questions like that, I think it’s the destructive one that would generate less horrifyingness...
The aliens with star communication weren’t destroyed. They were close enough to “human” that they were uploaded or ignored. What’s more, CelestAI would probably satisfy (most of) the values of these aliens, who probably find “friendship” just as approximately-neutral as they and we find “ponies”.
Read it more carefully. One or several paragraphs before the designated-human aliens, it is mentioned that CelestAI found many sources of complex radio waves which weren’t deemed “human”.