Totally agree, and I wish this opinion was voiced more on LW rather than the emphasis on trying to make a friendly self improving AI. For this to make sense though I think the human race needs to become a singleton, although perhaps that is what Google’s acquisitions and massive government surveillance is already doing.
Yes, continued development of AI seems unstoppable. But this brings up another very good point: if humanity cannot become a Singleton in our search for good egalitarian shared values, what is the chance of creating FAI? After years of good work in that direction and perhaps even success in determining a good approximation, what prevents some powerful secret entity like the CIA from hijacking it at the last minute and simply narrowing its objectives for something it determines is a “greater” good?
Our objectives are always better than the other guy’s, and while violence is universally despicable, it is fast, cheap, easy to program and the other guy (including FAI developers) won’t be expecting it. For the guy running the controls, that’s friendly enough. :-)
On one hand, I think the world is already somewhat close to a singleton (with regard to AI, obviously it is nowhere near singleton with regard to most other things). I mean google has a huge fraction of the AI talent. The US government has a huge fraction of the mathematics talent. Then, there is Microsoft, FB, Baidu, and a few other big tech companies. But every time an independent AI company gains some traction it seems to be bought out by the big guys. I think this is a good thing as I believe the big guys will act in there own best interest including their interest in preserving their own life (i.e., not ending the world). Of course if it is easy to make an AGI, then there is no hope anyway. But, if it requires companies of Google scale, then there is hope they will choose to avoid it.
The “own best interest” in a winner- takes-all scenario is to create an eternal monopoly on everything. All levels of Maslow’s pyramide of human needs will be served by goods and services supplied by this singleton.
Totally agree, and I wish this opinion was voiced more on LW rather than the emphasis on trying to make a friendly self improving AI. For this to make sense though I think the human race needs to become a singleton, although perhaps that is what Google’s acquisitions and massive government surveillance is already doing.
Yes, continued development of AI seems unstoppable. But this brings up another very good point: if humanity cannot become a Singleton in our search for good egalitarian shared values, what is the chance of creating FAI? After years of good work in that direction and perhaps even success in determining a good approximation, what prevents some powerful secret entity like the CIA from hijacking it at the last minute and simply narrowing its objectives for something it determines is a “greater” good?
Our objectives are always better than the other guy’s, and while violence is universally despicable, it is fast, cheap, easy to program and the other guy (including FAI developers) won’t be expecting it. For the guy running the controls, that’s friendly enough. :-)
On one hand, I think the world is already somewhat close to a singleton (with regard to AI, obviously it is nowhere near singleton with regard to most other things). I mean google has a huge fraction of the AI talent. The US government has a huge fraction of the mathematics talent. Then, there is Microsoft, FB, Baidu, and a few other big tech companies. But every time an independent AI company gains some traction it seems to be bought out by the big guys. I think this is a good thing as I believe the big guys will act in there own best interest including their interest in preserving their own life (i.e., not ending the world). Of course if it is easy to make an AGI, then there is no hope anyway. But, if it requires companies of Google scale, then there is hope they will choose to avoid it.
The “own best interest” in a winner- takes-all scenario is to create an eternal monopoly on everything. All levels of Maslow’s pyramide of human needs will be served by goods and services supplied by this singleton.