XPost: comp.robotics.misc, comp.ai.philosophy   
   From: kcalder@blueyonder.co.uk   
      
   In message <364fd697.0407280911.28172f66@posting.google.com>, David   
   Harper  writes   
      
   >I wonder which political party would be more opposed to an AI aided   
   >gov't?   
      
   /semirant on   
      
   I'd imagine the old-left.  Democrat, Labour (maybe not UK Labour, who   
   aren't very old-left)  or whatever.  The right (supposedly) stand for   
   small, efficient government, and oppose state run bureaucracy.  An AI   
   could eliminate all the inefficiencies, corruption and ineptitude's   
   involved in trying to get enormous state bureau to solve massively   
   complex problems.  There was a time when the left were strongly allied   
   with science and the cause of reason, but I'd say that this clearly   
   isn't that time. I don't think they'd want to have social problems   
   rendered as "cold-hard logic".  I reckon they'd complain that it was   
   missing the point, which they would allege was some indefinable,   
   unquantifiable "essence of human drama" or someshit.  I'd reckon that an   
   AI running the economy would support free market capitalism too, being   
   that it would instantly realise that export subsidies and import tariffs   
   don't do anyone any good in the long run and that the reasons for   
   retaining them are political rather than mathematical.   
      
   /semirant off   
      
   Depends very much on the AI of course.  I'm sure there would be plenty   
   of pundits from the cultural left queuing up to add a commandment or   
   two!   
      
      
   beep,   
   --   
   Kevin Calder   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)