AW: [alicebot-aiethics] Ok, who would deny Hawking the first artificial body?

[Christian Dro?mann]

Tamara Thompson wrote:

Just curious, would anyone actually fight over who gets the first artificial
human body?

I would nominate Hawking, because he's had  great experience with being a
mind
and voice trapped inside a body that is failing.  And because he's struggled
to educate all of us despite the problems.  And because he's pretty smart.
<smile>  And because his eyes twinkle,  he's aware of everything.  <big
grin>

[...]

To answer your question: I would!

Sure, Hawking is a brilliant scientist and has achieved a lot in his
life...but why does this qualify him to get the first artificial body?
Why not the boy you wrote about? Why not one of the many others who suffer
from motor neurone disease, but who are not a celebrity of science?
Because keeping Hawking alive would be more useful?
I can tell you a reason why Hawking should NOT be the first person to get an
artificial body: Unlike many others in whose cases the decay of the body
happened more rapidly and/or they could not afford the treatment Hawking is
getting and who will die at an early age, he had a life! Hawking is an old
man and although his death will be a great loss for science, physics in
particular, he had the chance to achieve something, and he sure did.

IMHO all human life is equally valuable. So the criterion for getting an
artificial body should not be how "useful" a person is, but how much a
particular person is in need of such a body.
And I would say a young man at the age of 20 suffering from MND is much more
in need of a new body than a man at the age of 60 is...


Another thing: I partially adopt Chris Fahey's point of view...but being at
least as cynic as he is, I would take his scneario a step further:

If we leave out the money factor, then it is most likely that those who are
considered "useful" (for whatever reason) will be the ones to get an
artificial body if they need one...no one will care about those with
moderate or even below-average intelligence...who needs those people anyway?
When I read the Hawking interview, the part about genetically engineering
people's IQ in particular,the term "Uebermensch" came to my mind...and with
the question above it came to my mind again...

In Germany, about 50 years ago, we had people choosing whom to save and whom
to kill according to their "usefulness" for the sake of creating a better
race of humans...I wouldn't want this to happen again...

Christian