I’m not trying to speak for Robin; the following are my views. One of my deepest fears—perhaps my only phobia—is fear of government. And any government with absolute power terrifies me absolutely. However the singleton is controlled, it’s an absolute power. If there’s a single entity in charge, it is subject to Lord Acton’s dictum. If control is vested in a group, then struggles for control of that become paramount. Even the suggestion that it might be controlled democratically doesn’t help me to rest easy. Democracies can be rushed off a cliff, too. And someone has to set up the initial constitution; why would we trust them to be as good as George Washington and turn down the opportunity to be king?
I also understand your admonition to prepare a line of retreat. But I don’t see a path to learn to stop worrying and love the Singleton. If anyone has suggestions, I’ll listen to them.
In the meantime, I prefer outcomes with contending powers and lots of incidental casualties over any case I can think of with a singleton in charge of the root account and sufficient security to keep out the hackers. At least in the former case there’s a chance that there will be periods with polycentric control. In the latter case, eventually there will be a tyrant who manages to wrest control, and with complete control over physical space, AGI, and presumably nanotech, there’s little hope for a future revival of freedom.
I’m not trying to speak for Robin; the following are my views. One of my deepest fears—perhaps my only phobia—is fear of government. And any government with absolute power terrifies me absolutely. However the singleton is controlled, it’s an absolute power. If there’s a single entity in charge, it is subject to Lord Acton’s dictum. If control is vested in a group, then struggles for control of that become paramount. Even the suggestion that it might be controlled democratically doesn’t help me to rest easy. Democracies can be rushed off a cliff, too. And someone has to set up the initial constitution; why would we trust them to be as good as George Washington and turn down the opportunity to be king?
I also understand your admonition to prepare a line of retreat. But I don’t see a path to learn to stop worrying and love the Singleton. If anyone has suggestions, I’ll listen to them.
In the meantime, I prefer outcomes with contending powers and lots of incidental casualties over any case I can think of with a singleton in charge of the root account and sufficient security to keep out the hackers. At least in the former case there’s a chance that there will be periods with polycentric control. In the latter case, eventually there will be a tyrant who manages to wrest control, and with complete control over physical space, AGI, and presumably nanotech, there’s little hope for a future revival of freedom.