I agree, it’s indeed a topic worth of a serious consideration.
A related approach is mind uploading. I would compare it with cloning as follows:
Pros:
create the exact same mind, with all the genius and wisdom, without regressions to the mean etc
no need to wait for 15+ years to grow the clone
likely much easier to scale (e.g. create 10 instances of the entire MIRI, and task them with 10 different problems to solve)
it might be possible to run the uploaded mind much faster than real-time (e.g. an instance of the entire MIRI working x1000 faster)
it could grant immortality to existing alignment researchers (they are not getting younger)
Cons:
depending on implementation details, there is some risk that the uploading mind could go rogue (the risk could be partially mitigated by a careful selection of the people to upload)
unlike cloning (which is already a today’s tech), mind uploading still requires some large R&D effort
uploading is unlikely to be useful for cloning dead people (but maybe not)
There are paths to mind uploading that don’t require extremely detailed scans & emulations of the brain. Maybe one of the paths will take less time than growing a clone.
I agree, it’s indeed a topic worth of a serious consideration.
A related approach is mind uploading. I would compare it with cloning as follows:
Pros:
create the exact same mind, with all the genius and wisdom, without regressions to the mean etc
no need to wait for 15+ years to grow the clone
likely much easier to scale (e.g. create 10 instances of the entire MIRI, and task them with 10 different problems to solve)
it might be possible to run the uploaded mind much faster than real-time (e.g. an instance of the entire MIRI working x1000 faster)
it could grant immortality to existing alignment researchers (they are not getting younger)
Cons:
depending on implementation details, there is some risk that the uploading mind could go rogue (the risk could be partially mitigated by a careful selection of the people to upload)
unlike cloning (which is already a today’s tech), mind uploading still requires some large R&D effort
uploading is unlikely to be useful for cloning dead people (but maybe not)
There are paths to mind uploading that don’t require extremely detailed scans & emulations of the brain. Maybe one of the paths will take less time than growing a clone.