josh@cs.rutgers.edu (01/07/91)
I hereby offer Robin Hanson (only) 2-to-1 odds on the following statement: "There will, by 1 January 2010, exist a robotic system capable of the cleaning an ordinary house (by which I mean the same job my current cleaning service does, namely vaccuum, dust, and scrub the bathroom fixtures). This system will not employ any direct copy of any individual human brain. Furthermore, the copying of a living human brain, neuron for neuron, synapse for synapse, into any synthetic computing medium, successfully operating afterwards and meeting objective criteria for the continuity of personality, consciousness, and memory, will not have been done by that date." Since I am not a bookie, this is a private offer for Robin only, and is only good for $100 to his $50. --JoSH