That there is no such thing as being 100% objective/rational does not mean one can’t be more or less rational than some other agent. Listen. Why do you have a favorite color? How come you prefer leather seats? In fact, why did you have tea this morning instead of coffee? You have no idea. Even if you do (say, you ran out of coffee) you still don’t know why you decided to drink tea instead of running down to the store to get some coffee instead.
We are so irrational that we don’t actually even know ourselves why most of the things we think, believe, want or prefer are such things. The very idea of liking is irrational. And no, you don’t “like” a Mercedes more than a Yugo because it’s safer—that’s a fact, not a matter of opinion. A “machine” can also give preference to a Toyota over a Honda but it certainly wouldn’t do so because it likes the fabric of the seats, or the fact the tail lights converge into the bumper so nicely. It will list a bunch of facts and parameters and calculate that the Toyota is the thing it will “choose”.
We humans delude ourselves that this is how we make decisions but this is of course complete nonsense. Naturally, some objective aspects are considered like fuel economy, safety, features and options… but the vast majority of people end up with a car that far outstrips their actual, objective transportation needs, and most of that part is really about status, how having a given car makes you feel compared to others in your social environment and what “image” you (believe you) project on those whose opinion matters most to you. An AI will have none of these wasteful obsessive compulsions.
Look—be honest with yourself Mr. Kluge. Please. Slow down, think, feel inside. Ask yourself—what makes you want… what makes you desire. You will, if you know how to listen… very soon discover none of that is guided by rational, dispassionate arguments or objective, logical realities. Now imagine an AI/machine that is even half as smart as the average Joe, but is free from all those subjective distractions, emotions and anxieties. It will accomplish 10x the amount of work in half the time. At least.
That there is no such thing as being 100% objective/rational does not mean one can’t be more or less rational than some other agent. Listen. Why do you have a favorite color? How come you prefer leather seats? In fact, why did you have tea this morning instead of coffee? You have no idea. Even if you do (say, you ran out of coffee) you still don’t know why you decided to drink tea instead of running down to the store to get some coffee instead.
We are so irrational that we don’t actually even know ourselves why most of the things we think, believe, want or prefer are such things. The very idea of liking is irrational. And no, you don’t “like” a Mercedes more than a Yugo because it’s safer—that’s a fact, not a matter of opinion. A “machine” can also give preference to a Toyota over a Honda but it certainly wouldn’t do so because it likes the fabric of the seats, or the fact the tail lights converge into the bumper so nicely. It will list a bunch of facts and parameters and calculate that the Toyota is the thing it will “choose”.
We humans delude ourselves that this is how we make decisions but this is of course complete nonsense. Naturally, some objective aspects are considered like fuel economy, safety, features and options… but the vast majority of people end up with a car that far outstrips their actual, objective transportation needs, and most of that part is really about status, how having a given car makes you feel compared to others in your social environment and what “image” you (believe you) project on those whose opinion matters most to you. An AI will have none of these wasteful obsessive compulsions.
Look—be honest with yourself Mr. Kluge. Please. Slow down, think, feel inside. Ask yourself—what makes you want… what makes you desire. You will, if you know how to listen… very soon discover none of that is guided by rational, dispassionate arguments or objective, logical realities. Now imagine an AI/machine that is even half as smart as the average Joe, but is free from all those subjective distractions, emotions and anxieties. It will accomplish 10x the amount of work in half the time. At least.