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John_KZ

Scary. I never thought I'd hate to see protein folding being solved.

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It's not solved.

It's being solved. Given how important this is, we'll have very good models fairly soon.

why is it scary?

It's weird that people seem incapable of being optimistic about scientific and technological progress unlike say in the 50's where it seemed many genuinely believed we would explore space and have robots etc.

Now people just try to malign AI, genetic engineering, nuclear power etc.

It’s not unreasonable to be cautious. Nuclear accidents did happen, which is what lead people to fear nuclear power, even if it is safer than the public realises. Not barging full speed ahead into unknown technologies with large downside potential is only sensible.

The public is also afraid of nuclear technology because of nuclear weapons used to destroy the cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a single bomb each time.

I would argue that the weaponization of nuclear power, and a generation growing up with nuclear bomb drills, was what drove the fear of nuclear. Before that people were putting it in their toothpaste.

the danger is when greed takes over e.g. as can be seen with social networks - an useful tool being milked in such a way that makes societies crack at their foundations. custom design of proteins could be used to treat and cure most diseases, but curing doesn't earn as much money and treating.

There seems to be a trend of indulging in oppressive fantasy.

Maybe it balances out any irrational exuberance about the arrival of new technological frontiers. Or maybe some folks are just grumpy.

New science is always scary, and the better it works the scarier it is.

It is scary for legitimate reasons. It doesn't mean we should stop the advancement of science, but ignoring human tendencies to leverage the best of science to amplify the destructive abilities of worst in human nature is a bit on the naive side.

Whether we are wise enough to handle our intelligence is still an open question.

Gene technology has potential to develop truly targeted weapons. What's worse is that it could spread through anyone but only attacking it's intended target(s).

> Gene technology has potential to develop truly targeted weapons. What's worse is that it could spread through anyone but only attacking it's intended target(s).

so, no collateral damage? Targeted assassinations? This is the CIA's wetdream.

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