I am as worried about a "Terminator" type extermination of humanity as I am about a new Ice Age wiping us all off the face of the earth before I turn 40... or Hell becoming a winter paradise, for that matter. Replaced as the "most intelligent" "life form" on the planet is all I meant there.
The part about deities was a severe oversight on my part (mostly due to my blatant ignorance of (and disregard for) other cultures (for which I apologize)), but I think it remains a valid point that gods were in some way superior to humans (supernaturally)... we might not be superior to artificial life forms, particularly ones with the ability to "evolve" at a rapid rate.
IMHO It seems that before we even attempt to create life, AI and reproduction , maybe we should first sit down and ask ourselves , *What is it to be a good god*
As fragile as human beings are, I think the question of being gods is far from relevant. "Gods" of religion, myth, and legend are usually omnipotent (certainly doesn't apply to us) and omniscient (ditto). Robots will certainly have the distinct advantage over us in this realm. We die in so many places and ways that suitably designed "robots" and artificial entities will thrive. More importantly, integral adaptations (making a robot waterproof or able to withstand extreme cold) would be possible *extremely* quickly (in the same generation of robot, or the next) compared to the same change in humans.
If we need to worry about anything (and I'm not convinced that we do), it's about being replaced, not about becoming gods, benevolent or otherwise.
PS. I use "robot" to mean any artificially intelligent device.
Your reply to the original question was excellent, technically. It seems, however, that you did not read (or ignored) some of the other more pressing arguments against SDMI.
1. If SDMI is in any way more restrictive than MP3s or any other similar format, why should the consumer buy it? The benefits to the music industry and RIAA are not factors to the consumer. Musicians will still make music, and money, the old way.
2. As has been raised countless times in posts in this thread, the only music you can't duplicate is music you cannot hear. If you can hear it, you can record it... to MP3.
3. IMHO (and I've seen thise elsewhere), two of the major reasons music gets pirated at all is the high cost of CDs and the fact that many people purchase a CD of 12-17 tracks to hear 3 of them for a month or two.
It's been proven time and again that technical merits bow to more subjective issues.
One more thing... [Milo_Mindbender wrote] 1. It appears you can't move the music files around on your disk. They get stored in an encrypted form and if you try and reorganize them other than through the SDMI compliant software, they go boom! [End] [Anonymous Coward replied] == Answer == The files must be stored in a protected manner, but the fact that the system breaks when the files get moved around your file system is not a result of SDMI. This is probably because the implementation expects the files to be in a particular location. [End]
The content of the post and the fact that he composed such a lengthy post both suggest to me that he's a little beyond making such an elementary error as that.
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I am as worried about a "Terminator" type extermination of humanity as I am about a new Ice Age wiping us all off the face of the earth before I turn 40 ... or Hell becoming a winter paradise, for that matter. Replaced as the "most intelligent" "life form" on the planet is all I meant there.
... we might not be superior to artificial life forms, particularly ones with the ability to "evolve" at a rapid rate.
The part about deities was a severe oversight on my part (mostly due to my blatant ignorance of (and disregard for) other cultures (for which I apologize)), but I think it remains a valid point that gods were in some way superior to humans (supernaturally)
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DataHntr
"Res ipsa loquitor."
As fragile as human beings are, I think the question of being gods is far from relevant. "Gods" of religion, myth, and legend are usually omnipotent (certainly doesn't apply to us) and omniscient (ditto). Robots will certainly have the distinct advantage over us in this realm. We die in so many places and ways that suitably designed "robots" and artificial entities will thrive. More importantly, integral adaptations (making a robot waterproof or able to withstand extreme cold) would be possible *extremely* quickly (in the same generation of robot, or the next) compared to the same change in humans.
If we need to worry about anything (and I'm not convinced that we do), it's about being replaced, not about becoming gods, benevolent or otherwise.
PS. I use "robot" to mean any artificially intelligent device.
Your reply to the original question was excellent, technically. It seems, however, that you did not read (or ignored) some of the other more pressing arguments against SDMI.
... to MP3.
...
1. If SDMI is in any way more restrictive than MP3s or any other similar format, why should the consumer buy it? The benefits to the music industry and RIAA are not factors to the consumer. Musicians will still make music, and money, the old way.
2. As has been raised countless times in posts in this thread, the only music you can't duplicate is music you cannot hear. If you can hear it, you can record it
3. IMHO (and I've seen thise elsewhere), two of the major reasons music gets pirated at all is the high cost of CDs and the fact that many people purchase a CD of 12-17 tracks to hear 3 of them for a month or two.
It's been proven time and again that technical merits bow to more subjective issues.
One more thing
[Milo_Mindbender wrote]
1. It appears you can't move the music files around on your disk. They get
stored in an encrypted form and if you try and reorganize them other than
through the SDMI compliant software, they go boom!
[End]
[Anonymous Coward replied]
== Answer ==
The files must be stored in a protected manner, but the fact that the system breaks when the files get moved around your file system is not a result of SDMI. This is probably because the implementation expects the files to be in a particular location.
[End]
The content of the post and the fact that he composed such a lengthy post both suggest to me that he's a little beyond making such an elementary error as that.
Res ipsa loquitor.
--
DataHntr