I don’t understand this question. The best time for the emergence of a great optimizer would be shortly after you were born (earlier if your existence were assured somehow).
If an AI is a friendly optimizer, then you want it as soon as possible. If it is randomly friendly or unfriendly, then you don’t want it at all (the quandary we all face). Seems like asking “when” is a lot less relevant than asking “what”. “What” I want is a friendly AI. “When” I get it is of little relevance, so long as it is long enough before my death to grant me “immortality” while maximally (or sufficiently) fulfilling my values.
So I recently found LessWrong after seeing a link to the Harry Patter fanfiction, and I have been enthralled with the concept of rationalism since. The concepts are not foreign to me as I am a chemist by training, but the systematization and focus on psychology keep me interested. I am working my way through the sequences now.
As for my biography, I am a 29 year old laboratory manager trained as a chemist. My lab develops and tests antimicrobial materials and drugs based on selenium’s oxygen radical producing catalysis. It is rewarding work if you can get it, which you can’t, because our group is the only one doing it ;)
Besides my primary field of work, I am generally interested in science, technology, economics, and history.
I am looking at retirement from the 9-5 life in the next year or so, and am interested in learning the methods of rationality, which I feel would allow me to excel in other endeavors in the future. I already find myself linking to articles from here to explain and predict human behavior.
This place is overwhelming with its content. I don’t think I have ever seen a website with a comment section so worth reading. I fear that I could spend the remainder of my life reading and never have the time to DO anything.
In the realm of politics, I would be considered an anarcho-capitalist, though I value any and all types of values between there and where the USA’s politics currently lay. I am an atheist to the extent that I don’t believe in an anthropomorphic god, though reading the “an alien god” (not quite sure how to post links here yet) sequence certainly made me realize that certain pervasive and extremely powerful processes do exist, so I am reexamining some of my long-held assumptions in that arena.
I spend quite a lot of my time in the online “Fight Club” that is Zerohedge’s comment section, so apologies in advance if I come off as sharp in some of my remarks. I prefer appeals to logic and reason as a rule, but sometimes I resort to pathos and personal attack, especially when I feel that I am being personally attacked. This impulse has been greatly curbed by what I have read here, however, and I find that I am able to pierce through inflammatory arguments much more cool-ly, which I count as a positive result for all involved.
In any event, I generally try not to comment when I feel ill-informed on a subject, but when I think I have something to contribute, I will. I am really enjoying the site so far.
Now, back to reading. So much to read, so little time.