[aracari]

This is actually my theory of life -- humanity will eventually create a "perfect" version of ourselves, which with then exterminate us because we are inferior, and then the AI-human race will create a perfect society and branch off to explore the universe.

[stcredzero]

humanity will eventually create a "perfect" version of ourselves, which with then exterminate us because we are inferior

Human cultural evolution has already created self-proclaimed "perfect" cultures that went on to attempt exactly this. The Nazis were only the most recent notable example. There are many examples in history of groups who considered it their holy duty or moral duty to take over the world. Fortunately, for most of human history, this hasn't been feasible, but technology is changing this equation.

then the AI-human race will create a perfect society and branch off to explore the universe.

Physics tells us that the "speed of light" is actually the absolute speed of causality for mass-energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msVuCEs8Ydo

So until consciousness can inhabit a substrate independent of mass-energy and based on space itself, and thus not subject to the light speed limit, any intelligent civilization which expands is doomed to create its own rivals. In Michael Swannick's Vacuum Flowers the Earth is taken over by a hegemonic super-intelligence, but it's forever trapped there, because when attempting to expand, the light-speed lag will cause a sub-part of it to bud off and immediately attack its greatest rival -- which is always the rest of itself.

In any case, civilizations are clearly not stable on cosmic time scales. Who in their right mind would think that billions of interacting sentients with their own agendas would produce any stable organization? It's ridiculous on the face of it.

[omegaworks]

We have a long way to go. That perfect AI-run society will only be so superficially if it continues to propagate exclusion and marginalization.

http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/how-to-call-bullshit-...

[Aron]

This is also how I see things going. Humans end more or less, and give birth to machine children. I don't think any part of it will be perfect though. It'll just be some starting condition playing out according to platonic principles interacting with arbitrary specifics like how far the nearest reserve of iron is in the universe, etc.

[rfrank]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_(novel)

[Aron]

I'm not clever enough to relate these to each other.

[rfrank]

The broader conversation about the desirability of separating ourselves from our humanity is what made me think of the novel, because it's ultimately about the importance of choice (especially the UK version with the final chapter included).

> In the final chapter, Alex finds himself halfheartedly preparing for yet another night of crime with a new gang (Lenn, Rick, Bully). After a chance encounter with Pete, who has reformed and married, Alex finds himself taking less and less pleasure in acts of senseless violence. He begins contemplating giving up crime himself to become a productive member of society and start a family of his own, while reflecting on the notion that his own children will be just as destructive as he has been, if not more so.

Broadly speaking, the whole sentiment makes me uneasy, especially given how powerful a tool the internet can be for consensus building.

[titanix2]

I also think that mankind destiny it to create by bio-engineering the specie that will replace us. Of course that view doesn't take in account civilization collapse or culture change that might turn humanity away from science.

[euyyn]

> "perfect" version of ourselves, which with then exterminate us because we are inferior

The latter makes it sound like a much worse version of ourselves.

[jpk]

Yeah, copy that. I'd like to think a "perfect" version of ourselves would branch out to explore the galaxy and use part of their resource gathering capacity to compassionately provide for and nurture their Earthbound meat parents.

[oliv__]

I think we are already perfect.

[jacquesm]

Evolution does not strive for perfection, it is a utility function without so much as a moments pause for what you might think.

[oliv__]

So what's our function?