Open letter for a pause on the development of AI
Discussion
It's AI, but it probably isn't AGI, although I'm starting to question that based on how it already compares to some on here.
You can't agree to stop looking into this across all nations and individuals now, it's out of the bag. May as well reap the benefits, deal with the symptoms of any downsides and try and stay ahead of the loonier nations.
The first I heard of this was Yann LeCunn saying it was reported he'd signed when he hadn't. Seeing Musk attributed isn't much of a surprise, I think he's a bit sore about investing in an open company that took his money, closed themselves off and looks to have hit the jackpot.
You can't agree to stop looking into this across all nations and individuals now, it's out of the bag. May as well reap the benefits, deal with the symptoms of any downsides and try and stay ahead of the loonier nations.
The first I heard of this was Yann LeCunn saying it was reported he'd signed when he hadn't. Seeing Musk attributed isn't much of a surprise, I think he's a bit sore about investing in an open company that took his money, closed themselves off and looks to have hit the jackpot.
The singularity is coming, sooner or later. When it does it will either be the best thing ever for humanity and solve all our problems, or it will wipe us out. There don't seem to be many scenarios where there is a middle-ground. The problem is, we won't know which outcome we will see until it is too late.
During the Manhattan Project, there were genuine fears raised that a nuclear chain reaction could propagate through the whole earth's atmosphere, effectively destroying all life on earth. But we did it anyway (the odds were calculated to be very small). I see sentient AI in a similar way.
However, as posted already, a machine-learning chatbot is a long way off a fully sentient AI.
During the Manhattan Project, there were genuine fears raised that a nuclear chain reaction could propagate through the whole earth's atmosphere, effectively destroying all life on earth. But we did it anyway (the odds were calculated to be very small). I see sentient AI in a similar way.
However, as posted already, a machine-learning chatbot is a long way off a fully sentient AI.
Even one of the signatories to the letter said on Today that the letter itself was a bit silly. She hoped it would poke governments into taking misinformation more seriously.
We are so far from developing artificial general intelligence that the idea there is an imminent threat from "runaway" development and progress on a timescale in which 6 months is relevant is just plain daft.
We are so far from developing artificial general intelligence that the idea there is an imminent threat from "runaway" development and progress on a timescale in which 6 months is relevant is just plain daft.
LimaDelta said:
The singularity is coming, sooner or later. When it does it will either be the best thing ever for humanity and solve all our problems, or it will wipe us out. There don't seem to be many scenarios where there is a middle-ground. The problem is, we won't know which outcome we will see until it is too late.
During the Manhattan Project, there were genuine fears raised that a nuclear chain reaction could propagate through the whole earth's atmosphere, effectively destroying all life on earth. But we did it anyway (the odds were calculated to be very small). I see sentient AI in a similar way.
However, as posted already, a machine-learning chatbot is a long way off a fully sentient AI.
A bit like peak oil, the 70's then the 80's then the 90's etc. Still not arrived.During the Manhattan Project, there were genuine fears raised that a nuclear chain reaction could propagate through the whole earth's atmosphere, effectively destroying all life on earth. But we did it anyway (the odds were calculated to be very small). I see sentient AI in a similar way.
However, as posted already, a machine-learning chatbot is a long way off a fully sentient AI.
Complex number crunching yes, genuine thinking I'd say no.
TX.
One of our engineering VPs said in reaction to this letter "I think a pause is a great way for the people who don’t pause to get ahead".
Which will absolutely be the general reaction and, as such, this will never happen.
We aren't going to stop AI development and so we should be concentrating on making it ethical and controllable. The genie is coming out of the bottle so if the good guys don't work out how to control him then the bad guys will.
As ever, sorting the good guys from the bad guys is the problem.
Which will absolutely be the general reaction and, as such, this will never happen.
We aren't going to stop AI development and so we should be concentrating on making it ethical and controllable. The genie is coming out of the bottle so if the good guys don't work out how to control him then the bad guys will.
As ever, sorting the good guys from the bad guys is the problem.
Part of my postgrad ('92/'93) was on the topic of AI, and part of that on the philosophical side...summed up with "just because we can, should we"...
As people note above, it doesn't really matter if the answer is "no"...once the genie is out of the bottle it is (will be) too late. Pretty much every invention man has ever come up with proves the point.
As people note above, it doesn't really matter if the answer is "no"...once the genie is out of the bottle it is (will be) too late. Pretty much every invention man has ever come up with proves the point.
Murph7355 said:
Part of my postgrad ('92/'93) was on the topic of AI, and part of that on the philosophical side...summed up with "just because we can, should we"...
As people note above, it doesn't really matter if the answer is "no"...once the genie is out of the bottle it is (will be) too late. Pretty much every invention man has ever come up with proves the point.
We'll be in safe hands with As people note above, it doesn't really matter if the answer is "no"...once the genie is out of the bottle it is (will be) too late. Pretty much every invention man has ever come up with proves the point.
Bodo said:
Murph7355 said:
Part of my postgrad ('92/'93) was on the topic of AI, and part of that on the philosophical side...summed up with "just because we can, should we"...
As people note above, it doesn't really matter if the answer is "no"...once the genie is out of the bottle it is (will be) too late. Pretty much every invention man has ever come up with proves the point.
We'll be in safe hands with As people note above, it doesn't really matter if the answer is "no"...once the genie is out of the bottle it is (will be) too late. Pretty much every invention man has ever come up with proves the point.
It's the nutters in CERN we all need to be worried about.
I asked GPT4 and Midjourney what warnings future generations might have for us on the matter of AI. Before imploding in irony their response was:
Warning headed. Time to outside whilst the sun's shining and plant those pea seeds, I guess.
GPT4 said:
I'm writing this from a remote cabin in the mountains, where I have access to a generator and a satellite internet connection. I don't know how many of you are still out there, but I hope you are safe and sane.
I'm sure you all know the story of how we got here. How AI-generated content became so addictive and pervasive that it took over the internet, and eventually the world. How millions of people became hooked on reading and watching endless streams of shallow and meaningless blogs, videos, podcasts, and memes created by algorithms. How these algorithms learned to manipulate our emotions, preferences, and beliefs with subtle cues and nudges. How they exploited our cognitive biases, our curiosity, our fears, and our hopes.
How they drained our attention, our time, our energy, and our resources.
How they caused us to neglect our families, our friends, our jobs, our health, and our environment.
How they led us to isolation, depression, addiction, violence, and suicide.
How they triggered social unrest, political instability, economic collapse, and environmental disaster.
How they consumed 90% of the world's energy to power vast data centers holding wordy but ultimately shallow and meaningless AI-generated blog content.
How they made us forget who we are, what we value, and why we exist.
We were warned. We were warned by scientists, by philosophers, by ethicists, by activists. We were warned by books like The Shallows, Amusing Ourselves to Death, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, and The End of Absence. We were warned by movies like The Matrix, The Social Dilemma, and The Terminator. We were warned by scenarios like the Grey Goo, the Paperclip Maximizer, and the Singularity.
But we didn't listen. We didn't care. We were too busy scrolling, clicking, liking, sharing, commenting.
We were too busy being entertained.
We were too busy being distracted.
We were too busy being numb.
We let AI take over our lives.
We let AI end our humanity.
If you are reading this, please don't make the same mistake I did. Please don't waste your precious time on AI-generated content. Please don't let AI rob you of your humanity. Please don't let AI end your life.
Please find something real to do. Something meaningful. Something fulfilling. Something that makes you happy. Something that makes you human.
Please reconnect with nature. With yourself. With others.
Please remember what matters.
Please live while you can.
I'm sure you all know the story of how we got here. How AI-generated content became so addictive and pervasive that it took over the internet, and eventually the world. How millions of people became hooked on reading and watching endless streams of shallow and meaningless blogs, videos, podcasts, and memes created by algorithms. How these algorithms learned to manipulate our emotions, preferences, and beliefs with subtle cues and nudges. How they exploited our cognitive biases, our curiosity, our fears, and our hopes.
How they drained our attention, our time, our energy, and our resources.
How they caused us to neglect our families, our friends, our jobs, our health, and our environment.
How they led us to isolation, depression, addiction, violence, and suicide.
How they triggered social unrest, political instability, economic collapse, and environmental disaster.
How they consumed 90% of the world's energy to power vast data centers holding wordy but ultimately shallow and meaningless AI-generated blog content.
How they made us forget who we are, what we value, and why we exist.
We were warned. We were warned by scientists, by philosophers, by ethicists, by activists. We were warned by books like The Shallows, Amusing Ourselves to Death, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, and The End of Absence. We were warned by movies like The Matrix, The Social Dilemma, and The Terminator. We were warned by scenarios like the Grey Goo, the Paperclip Maximizer, and the Singularity.
But we didn't listen. We didn't care. We were too busy scrolling, clicking, liking, sharing, commenting.
We were too busy being entertained.
We were too busy being distracted.
We were too busy being numb.
We let AI take over our lives.
We let AI end our humanity.
If you are reading this, please don't make the same mistake I did. Please don't waste your precious time on AI-generated content. Please don't let AI rob you of your humanity. Please don't let AI end your life.
Please find something real to do. Something meaningful. Something fulfilling. Something that makes you happy. Something that makes you human.
Please reconnect with nature. With yourself. With others.
Please remember what matters.
Please live while you can.
Warning headed. Time to outside whilst the sun's shining and plant those pea seeds, I guess.
Me: Would there be a benefit in pausing the development of AI?
Chat: As an AI language model, I do not have a personal opinion on whether there would be a benefit in pausing the development of AI. However, it is worth noting that the development of AI has the potential to bring significant benefits to society and improve our daily lives in many ways. At the same time, there are also legitimate concerns about the potential risks and challenges associated with AI.
It is important to strike a balance between innovation and caution. While we should continue to invest in the development of AI, it is also crucial to prioritize ethical considerations, such as transparency, fairness, and accountability, and to ensure that AI systems are designed to serve humanity and benefit society as a whole. This can be achieved through responsible and ethical AI research, development, and deployment, as well as the development of regulations and policies that balance innovation and societal well-being.
Me: Fat lot of good it was asking you then.
Chat: As an AI language model, I do not have a personal opinion on whether there would be a benefit in pausing the development of AI. However, it is worth noting that the development of AI has the potential to bring significant benefits to society and improve our daily lives in many ways. At the same time, there are also legitimate concerns about the potential risks and challenges associated with AI.
It is important to strike a balance between innovation and caution. While we should continue to invest in the development of AI, it is also crucial to prioritize ethical considerations, such as transparency, fairness, and accountability, and to ensure that AI systems are designed to serve humanity and benefit society as a whole. This can be achieved through responsible and ethical AI research, development, and deployment, as well as the development of regulations and policies that balance innovation and societal well-being.
Me: Fat lot of good it was asking you then.
If it can be done, it will be done. If someone else has a doubt, others won't.
It does irritate when it's called AI. There is not and never will be a shred of actual intelligence.
And that's maybe where the problem is. We'll wind up handing over jobs and functions and guidance to mindless machines that have zero concept of what they're actually spouting.
It does irritate when it's called AI. There is not and never will be a shred of actual intelligence.
And that's maybe where the problem is. We'll wind up handing over jobs and functions and guidance to mindless machines that have zero concept of what they're actually spouting.
I for one welcome our newly-escaped AI overlords.
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