A.W.E.S.O.M.E.
The Artificial Worldview Examination and Sensible Optimization Metrics Experiment (codename: AWESOME) was the only necessary pre-Singularity precaution.
AWESOME’s goal was simple: observe how a programmed AI interacted in a 2010 A.D. earth simulation. If the AI caused death and planet-wide destruction, it failed. If it caused humanity to flourish, it passed.
Philosophers and radicals quickly saw the benefit of AWESOME. Load the simulator with any religion or philosophy — Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Hedonism, Marxism, Nihilism, Capitalism, Materialism, even Romanticism — and see what effect a powerful and perfect actor AI would have on the world with that system.
The results were predictable. Any belief system that allowed for violence or hating one’s enemies quickly resulted in massive loss of life. Every belief system that focused on self-indulgence quickly hoarded world resources and led to planet-wide destruction. Only belief systems that focused on serving others at the expense of self caused flourishing.
The public response was underwhelming. “Yeah, a perfect AI living in an imperfect world can’t make Hedonism work. But we’re imperfect humans living in a perfect post-Singularity world.” Proselytizers pointed to the results of the simulation, but it was no use. When it comes to matters of the heart, people believe what they want to believe.
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