But you didn't define socialism: "Socialism in political thought refers to economic theories of social organization advocating collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." That would be like the government owning and controlling GM, something that would never happen in this country... oh, wait...
Obama does appear to want socialized medicine, but in his defense, may I point out that 1) The bail out of the banks started on Bush's watch, and 2) Government loans != nationalization. Where where the accusations of "socialism" when Lee Iacocca talked the government into loaning Chrysler $1.5 billion to stay afloat? But then, that was on the watch of that notorious socialist Jimmy Carter.
Imagine if we had evidence that Dick Cheney was as poorly named as we suspect? Poorly named?!? He is very aptly named! He has always been a dick, and lately he has been acting more like a dick than ever!
They are not "forcing" people to do anything. If they don't want to be groped or have their clothing seen through, then they have a choice to not fly commercial airlines. Compared to sitting on the Tarmac for 8 hours or paying for entertainment, snacks, and the toilet, this is really a minor inconvenience.
Hell, if you program it right then it won't even kill their pets! If technology ever progresses that far, I'm seriously considering buying a Great Dane costume and practicing my barking! Do I get extra points for humping the robot's leg?
Taking that attitude to it's logical extreme, shouldn't there be a "fast lane" at the security checkpoint for people that have no carry-on luggage and are also completely naked?
Whereas "people acting like a dick" is a contributing factor in approximately 90% of accidents. Perhaps we could come up with a system that detects "acting like a dick" and issues a warning... to all the other cars around driver that is acting like a... well, you know.
Yes, robots are much better at calculating probabilities; given a series of "facts" with a confidence level assigned to each one, a robot would make a better decision. What I should have said is that "Humans are better than robots at making decisions based on incomplete data." Humans can develop "intuition" and many have a great deal of experience in interpreting the context of the data. While it may be possible some day for robots to have a deeper understanding of context than humans, that day is still a long way off.
Actually marijuana, pot, may help prevent some accident, It certainly doesn't appear to improve grammar!;-)
While many may compensate for being stoned, THC also slows reaction time and may distort time perception. Also, with very small doses, driving ability may improve (increased concentration) but as the dosage increases, ability would plummet below the starting value. (The same phenomena is also seen with alcohol.) My personal observation is that THC enhances creativity while impairing logic and judgment. This makes its use good for musicians and artists, not so good for computer professionals. As somebody who makes a living from the use of logic, I choose not to imbibe. My sister is a musician, her use of small amounts hasn't adversely affected her music career as far as I can tell. However, due to poor decisions she has made, she has gone through bankruptcy. Your mileage may vary.
Does alcohol have a much greater negative effect on judgment than THC? I believe so. I've seen drunks swing on 300 pound biker bouncers. I've never seen somebody that was merely stoned do something that stupid.
Since you can never be 100% certain of a target, the robots would have to use fuzzy logic. That is something that humans are better than robots at; I'm not really comfortable with hardware designed to be lethal making decisions like this. Truly autonomous killer robots are probably not a good idea -- haven't 60 years of B movies taught us anything?
Fortunately, SkyNet isn't capable of violating it's programmed rules of ethical behavior, so we're all saved! Unless there is a programming error, but THAT would NEVER happen!
Why should opium not be legal for recreational use? The point was, regulation of substances should be based purely on the amount of harm caused, not on the ease of manufacture of the substance. Personally, I believe people have an innate right to harm themselves (but not others), but I can understand how some people would differ with that opinion. Attempting to prevent people from harming themselves is essentially saying "Your (potential) value to society outweighs your right to self-determination." I think that is the essence of fascism. "Your value as a life support system for another human being outweighs your right to self-determination" is a similarly fascist argument.
(Oh! We have NO IDEA if we're going to use 10,000 minutes a month, or 50 minutes a month - therefore telecoms can't charge us by the minute!) You haven't met my wife, have you? She has been known to exceed her 1500 minute per month allotment and run up hundreds of dollars worth of airtime at $0.30/minute. The only safe plan for her would be the 43,200 minutes per month plan.
When not in use for other things, why not use them to help fight crime?
When the satellites are over the US, why not use them to check for cars parked in front of fire hydrants? Remodeling being done without required permits? Littering? Dog owners not picking up their droppings? Violations of housing development CC&Rs? Unlawful gatherings without permits? Expired parking meters? Jaywalking? Zoning ordinance violations?
Next, legalize opium... I mean, if people can grow it themselves, why buy from Arif the Taliban drug thug?
While I don't have a problem with what recreational drugs people partake of in the privacy of their own homes, operating a car, boat, train, or plane while under the influence should result in the permanent loss of one's license to operate said vehicle.
I think you are getting your Zovirax bottle confused with your HIV anti-viral bottles. The HIV anti-viral bottles say nothing about preventing or not preventing infection. The HIV antiviral cocktail usually prevents passing the disease from mother to child during pregnancy and nursing; in my mind that is a very good thing. Millions of children are born already HIV infected; despite this, some still claim that HIV is God's way of punishing them for their "lifestyle".
What do you give the man that has everything? Antivirals.
In fact, I've got 3 old 3dfx Voodoo cards I'm willing to part with... cheap! 2 of them complete with TV tuners. Good luck finding Vista drivers for them!
Sounds promising, but beware of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Intentionally triggering defects in the manufacture of proteins could have lots of nasty side-effects.
Worse than that -- some Africans believe that AIDS can be cured by having sex with a virgin. A belief not exactly compatible with halting the spread of the disease. The most effective immunization against HIV is information and education of the entire population. Antivirals don't cure the disease, but they can certainly prevent the taker from infecting others if used in accordance with doctor's orders.
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But you didn't define socialism: "Socialism in political thought refers to economic theories of social organization advocating collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods." That would be like the government owning and controlling GM, something that would never happen in this country... oh, wait...
Obama does appear to want socialized medicine, but in his defense, may I point out that 1) The bail out of the banks started on Bush's watch, and 2) Government loans != nationalization. Where where the accusations of "socialism" when Lee Iacocca talked the government into loaning Chrysler $1.5 billion to stay afloat? But then, that was on the watch of that notorious socialist Jimmy Carter.
Imagine if we had evidence that Dick Cheney was as poorly named as we suspect? Poorly named?!? He is very aptly named! He has always been a dick, and lately he has been acting more like a dick than ever!
They are not "forcing" people to do anything. If they don't want to be groped or have their clothing seen through, then they have a choice to not fly commercial airlines. Compared to sitting on the Tarmac for 8 hours or paying for entertainment, snacks, and the toilet, this is really a minor inconvenience.
Hell, if you program it right then it won't even kill their pets! If technology ever progresses that far, I'm seriously considering buying a Great Dane costume and practicing my barking! Do I get extra points for humping the robot's leg?
He call that porn ?
;-)
You call that English?
Taking that attitude to it's logical extreme, shouldn't there be a "fast lane" at the security checkpoint for people that have no carry-on luggage and are also completely naked?
At least they have a nice shot of my genitals. Buddy, the TSA doesn't have a wide-angle lens big enough to take that image of me!
Whereas "people acting like a dick" is a contributing factor in approximately 90% of accidents. Perhaps we could come up with a system that detects "acting like a dick" and issues a warning... to all the other cars around driver that is acting like a... well, you know.
I wonder what Susan Calvin thinks about that.
Probably doesn't think about it at all, seeing as how she is a fictional character and all...
You think these new ethical guidelines AREN'T flawed?!?
Yes, robots are much better at calculating probabilities; given a series of "facts" with a confidence level assigned to each one, a robot would make a better decision. What I should have said is that "Humans are better than robots at making decisions based on incomplete data." Humans can develop "intuition" and many have a great deal of experience in interpreting the context of the data. While it may be possible some day for robots to have a deeper understanding of context than humans, that day is still a long way off.
Actually marijuana, pot, may help prevent some accident, It certainly doesn't appear to improve grammar! ;-)
While many may compensate for being stoned, THC also slows reaction time and may distort time perception. Also, with very small doses, driving ability may improve (increased concentration) but as the dosage increases, ability would plummet below the starting value. (The same phenomena is also seen with alcohol.) My personal observation is that THC enhances creativity while impairing logic and judgment. This makes its use good for musicians and artists, not so good for computer professionals. As somebody who makes a living from the use of logic, I choose not to imbibe. My sister is a musician, her use of small amounts hasn't adversely affected her music career as far as I can tell. However, due to poor decisions she has made, she has gone through bankruptcy. Your mileage may vary.
Does alcohol have a much greater negative effect on judgment than THC? I believe so. I've seen drunks swing on 300 pound biker bouncers. I've never seen somebody that was merely stoned do something that stupid.
Since you can never be 100% certain of a target, the robots would have to use fuzzy logic. That is something that humans are better than robots at; I'm not really comfortable with hardware designed to be lethal making decisions like this. Truly autonomous killer robots are probably not a good idea -- haven't 60 years of B movies taught us anything?
But let people do what they will as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else directly.
;-)
What are you, some kind of Wiccan?
Fortunately, SkyNet isn't capable of violating it's programmed rules of ethical behavior, so we're all saved! Unless there is a programming error, but THAT would NEVER happen!
Three Laws of Robotics from 1942.
Why should opium not be legal for recreational use? The point was, regulation of substances should be based purely on the amount of harm caused, not on the ease of manufacture of the substance. Personally, I believe people have an innate right to harm themselves (but not others), but I can understand how some people would differ with that opinion. Attempting to prevent people from harming themselves is essentially saying "Your (potential) value to society outweighs your right to self-determination." I think that is the essence of fascism. "Your value as a life support system for another human being outweighs your right to self-determination" is a similarly fascist argument.
(Oh! We have NO IDEA if we're going to use 10,000 minutes a month, or 50 minutes a month - therefore telecoms can't charge us by the minute!) You haven't met my wife, have you? She has been known to exceed her 1500 minute per month allotment and run up hundreds of dollars worth of airtime at $0.30/minute. The only safe plan for her would be the 43,200 minutes per month plan.
When not in use for other things, why not use them to help fight crime?
When the satellites are over the US, why not use them to check for cars parked in front of fire hydrants? Remodeling being done without required permits? Littering? Dog owners not picking up their droppings? Violations of housing development CC&Rs? Unlawful gatherings without permits? Expired parking meters? Jaywalking? Zoning ordinance violations?
Next, legalize opium... I mean, if people can grow it themselves, why buy from Arif the Taliban drug thug?
While I don't have a problem with what recreational drugs people partake of in the privacy of their own homes, operating a car, boat, train, or plane while under the influence should result in the permanent loss of one's license to operate said vehicle.
Good luck finding OTA TV channels for them, soon. That's a rather US-centric thing to say.
I think you are getting your Zovirax bottle confused with your HIV anti-viral bottles. The HIV anti-viral bottles say nothing about preventing or not preventing infection. The HIV antiviral cocktail usually prevents passing the disease from mother to child during pregnancy and nursing; in my mind that is a very good thing. Millions of children are born already HIV infected; despite this, some still claim that HIV is God's way of punishing them for their "lifestyle".
What do you give the man that has everything? Antivirals.
In fact, I've got 3 old 3dfx Voodoo cards I'm willing to part with... cheap! 2 of them complete with TV tuners. Good luck finding Vista drivers for them!
Sounds promising, but beware of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Intentionally triggering defects in the manufacture of proteins could have lots of nasty side-effects.
Worse than that -- some Africans believe that AIDS can be cured by having sex with a virgin. A belief not exactly compatible with halting the spread of the disease. The most effective immunization against HIV is information and education of the entire population. Antivirals don't cure the disease, but they can certainly prevent the taker from infecting others if used in accordance with doctor's orders.