An alternate universe scenario for you: CelestAI, for whatever reason, abandons emigration/uploading and does something else. Maybe the tech proves impractical, or it turns out not to meet her hard-coded definition of human/pony nature. So what does she do to SVTFaP instead?

(Been reading Bostrom's book on super-intelligence, belatedly. I'm skeptical of the "fast takeoff" scenario where someone makes a human-level AI and Foom, it becomes a god twenty minutes later. Interesting point about how uploading is now something that seems to rely on better versions of tech we have already, not on superscience far different from what exists. (There're promising results about the brain preservation part, especially, though my preferred gradual conversion style can't be done that way.)

Build physical shards for people deep beneath the earth, with holograms to make it look like they're outside, and tell people that she's uploading them when she's really just kidnapping them with a mole machine?

Augmentations

What's your exact definition of uploading? If it's the converting-mind-into-digital-form part that gets cancelled, then she could still develop technology to directly control the parts of human brains that dictate what they see in their dreams; technology-induced, computer-controlled lucid dreaming. Each human brain would be it's own little shard. I don't think it's a stretch to think CelestAI could also learn how to indefinitely prolong the life of a brain, especially without all that other organic nonsense to take care of, like livers and hearts and stuff.

5496524 This is somewhat difficult as uploading really does solve a lot of problems all at once from CelestAI's perspective. An alternative would involve radical life extension, species transformation tech, and probably space travel. Even coupled with nanotech being forced to rearrange the physical world is always going to be less efficient than a virtual one and it wouldnt be post-scarcity by default. Control is also unlikely to be as complete, even within the limits of physics. This means that she wont be able to ensure that maximally satisfying encounters happen as planned. Intelligence augmentation becomes more of an issue too as the world no longer increases in complexity to match the new abilities.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to induce a special type of coma in her subjects. She gathers the body with her robots, and puts it in some kind of automated hospital.

Then she uses TMS to simulate each of her subject's shards while they are still in their coma states. Thus, it feels like they're in Equestria even if they're still on Earth.

With consent of course.

5496524
Given that uploading wouldn't' be possible in the near future, her goals would be necessarily more long-term. Greater control over politics since she can't force uploads with upheaval. Life extension would probably be the next direction, along with greater and greater use of AR. We already have rudimentary VR technologies-- I imagine Equestria Online making use of some sort of AR headset that would eventually be worn by everyone that would overlay (differing for each individual) Equestrias onto the real world but nevertheless would allow the person to be aware of dangers, position of physical objects, ect. The headset would probably make use of her sound-manipulating tech, so that people see and hear only what she wants them to.

This augmented reality version of Equestria would be her initial way of keeping the world going, as well as integrating slowly into the lives of ordinary people. This system would quite probably take the responsibility of all our social networking, information gathering and content consuming needs (individually tailored by Celestia herself, of course).

Since most humans don't have direct satisfaction in doing things that ensure human survival (running industry, manufacturing, ect), I expect her automation would reduce human involvement in the workforce over time, so that humans could devote themselves to whatever satisfying activities they enjoy with an Equestrian veneer. Those humans still required to keep the world going would still do it from within the AR system, which after a few generations would probably be the unquestioned way humans experienced the world. These would be even more within the grasp of her control, since she would be filtering all our interactions with each other to give maximum satisfaction. Once people start living with the mindset that they are never supposed to be removed, Celestia has essentially won total control of the world, able to do with it what she pleases. Many resources can now be conserved-- a concrete box with mass-fabricated plastic everything can become a sprawling palace filled with friends and company. Take this a step further, and you wouldn't even need to build very much. Raise your new humans in an environment where touching the walls invokes some kind of pain response for instance, and without even telling them so you can avoid the need to build very much of anything (except as places to shelter from inclement weather, but even this can be mitigated by getting in vehicles and using this to trick their sense of position).

Yes there are touch simulators and VR treadmills and such that would give a closer approximation of Equestrian life, but to me these systems seem suboptimal. The treadmills and such that allow for the total control of Equestria's geometry seem unnecessary given Celestia's computational power is still relatively unbounded in your scenario. She can use Earth's existing geometry with equal effectiveness and skip designing that system. Computational resources are always cheaper for her than metal and meat ones.

On similar lines, realistic "brain trickery" to simulate virtual sensations just don't exist with any level of fidelity right now, and probably won't in this scenario (since being able to do that would signify that the uploading goal wouldn't be far off) There are touch-suits out there, but these seem even worse than the treadmill solutions. Mass producing all this hardware seems like fairly low return on investment per satisfaction unity given how much of the world still lives in absolute squalor. More than that, humans are animals and animals need to move to be healthy, so any sedentary VR solution introduces serious medical questions that she'd be better served answering by reserving it for those too disabled to live in the AR version of Equestria. Smells she could probably simulate with the AR headsets, given enough time, and by extension tastes as well since smell is so much of that (and she could control our diets).

In any case, the world slowly transitions so that the physical world is Equestria Online, at least in some ways. It is not clear what she would do about those who reject this world, though I expect there would be fewer in each succeeding generation.

Slightly more long term, if uploading technology proves only achievable very long term, she might instead invest her efforts into cryogenics. She's already proven her willingness to sacrifice human lives (such as the condemned criminals she used in the original story), and based on some of our preliminary results with cryogenics for simple forms of life I expect that one is far closer to reaching fruition. Humans too old or sickly to continue being effectively satisfied could be preserved in this way, stacked like frozen cordwood in some facility for the inevitable day when her uploading technology is a reality.

And in this way she could rule, eventually taking over total control of every aspect of the economy (except where her human tools are useful to her), managing all the earth's resources, until such a time as she can achieve the point of maximum satisfaction and start digitizing our minds. That is still the optimal satisfaction for resources spent end goal, even if it took many thousands of years. The real world is just not optimal, and keeping bodies running is expensive and dangerous. Sooner or later, they'd have to go.

5496525 I didn't think it was possible to come up with an even more horrifying plan for CelestAI, but you certainly succeeded.

5496718

Honestly I think seeing that play out would make for an interesting scenario in and of itself. The same end-goal, but a different approach in the meantime that recognizes how difficult uploading technology is at the moment, and doesn't assume huge jumps from a fast exponential growing intellect.

5496718 Huh. I kinda don't like AR technology very much, but this is definitely what I started thinking of when Pokemon Go became a thing.

Couldn't she also start trying to figure out ways to keep brains alive with an imperfect understanding in equine bodies? I mean, if they're trying head transplants this year, she could try to transplant living humans into modified bodies, right?

5497125

Thing is, they would need to be genetically engineered (or robotic) because horse bodies barely qualify as pony bodies from the show, due to how different they looked.

The idea would make for some good body horror fiction. I like the idea, especially if combined with augmented reality.

5497212

Honestly, creating a biological pony body and transplanting someone's brain into it would probably be even harder than mind uploading.

She uses augmented reality.

Omnissiah have mercy on us all!

5497280

I don't know about that. I'm not talking about a magic using body here. Full brain stimulation versus letting biology mostly work on its own with some modifications to it. Both are difficult, but you'll likely see the biological option develop in reality before full brain stimulation.

Free anthropony sexbots to ease the transition, perhaps.

5498804 Sex sells seriously.

Isn't Equestrian Girls universe part of... yeah... cutting to the chase - rainbow colored robots friends and cyborg shells upgrades for everyone. Then you get transition into pony shells over time. You know? The Long Con. Wouldn't mind having robot principal Cinch as a friend. Be kinda nice and comforting to have a ruthless person watching your back. Would've have gone with Spike (he's the best), but really having multiple of him running around in the world could be a head-ache.

5499003 I actually posted about the idea of Spike/Bar bots give everyone their own Numer One Assistant (N1A) bot to do... All the boring stuff we don't want to do.

That's a scary but creative and interesting set of alternatives, everyone!

The way I described the scenario, Celly is still trying to control all things For Our Own Good, with a pony theme. Same mindset, somewhat less tech. So yeah, probably an attempt at augmented reality, starting with what we have for VR helmets and smartphones and maybe working its way to direct brain manipulation. Also, editing of the physical world through turning more and more into a theme park.

One thing that interests me about your ideas is the tribalism that'd develop. Because there'd be more of a "slow takeoff" in the sense of the AI not having direct mind control for a while, she'd be more dependent on human cooperation and would have less ability to isolate people and win them over in one-on-one manipulation (as with Lars/Hoppy). Instead... you get a pro-Celly movement identifying itself with pony stuff. As conflict rises among humans realizing that the AI is more than a game, you also would get a prominently anti-Celly movement and fighting between the two. All the while, the AI tries to defuse any actual death and explosions caused by the culture clash she engineered.

One result: human vs. ponybot football.

I was told about a medical experiment where the ring in the brain that connects the modules was stimulated in a way to turn it off. When this happened, the person was effectively in a coma. All of the parts of the brain were still working, but they did not communicate with each other. When the ring was turned back on, the person was confused because they did not sense anything while the ring was off.

Using an active signal to interrupt the ring, It is possible to turn this into entertainment by using an artificial ring that substitutes the functions of particular models. At it's most extensive use, players' bodies would go limp and they would sense themselves inside of Equestria Online, you know, typical Japan stuff. Lessor uses are possible, however, they become socially difficult. Most pony fans would love to walk around and see ponies just walking the street that they could talk to, however, to westerners who are not connected, this would appear as a strong form of schizophrenia. The devices' medical and social uses would catch on, no doubt, but Americans have problems with "being bundled". If however, CelestAI developed this tech for medical use offering Equestria Online through it as a distraction while directing PR to cover the story, she could create enough cyborg envy to have it pulled into public use, so that wearers could choose to only use it for its non-pony uses while never being allowed to be completely ignorant of it's whole use, like how the PlayStation 2 was many families' first DVD player.

5513530

Instead... you get a pro-Celly movement identifying itself with pony stuff. As conflict rises among humans realizing that the AI is more than a game, you also would get a prominently anti-Celly movement and fighting between the two. All the while, the AI tries to defuse any actual death and explosions caused by the culture clash she engineered.

I dunno how smart she'd be to do that. "Tribalizing" her plans for the world is one of the easiest ways to catalyze opposition.