Elon Musk's quest to colonize Mars could upend international cooperation and the establishment of space as a commons—it's a risk to Earthlings everywhere.
The tech you’d need to make living on Mars independent of Earth, like consciousness uploading, self sufficient friendly AI, extensive human/plant bioengineering, terraforming… Well, they’re better at solving our problems on Earth anyway.
That sounds like an argument for a Mars colony, not against it.
Not that I think continuousness uploading or AI have anything to do with a Mars colony… Even terraforming is totally unnecessary.
Honestly, I don’t think Mars is a great candidate for a space colony, though probably not for the same reasons you’re thinking. But I think it is in fact vital that we start colonizing space soon, and I think the technologies developed in pursuit of that goal will absolutely aid us here on earth.
That sounds like an argument for a Mars colony, not against it.
Not that I think continuousness uploading or AI have anything to do with a Mars colony… Even terraforming is totally unnecessary.
Honestly, I don’t think Mars is a great candidate for a space colony, though probably not for the same reasons you’re thinking. But I think it is in fact vital that we start colonizing space soon, and I think the technologies developed in pursuit of that goal will absolutely aid us here on earth.