The analogy to molecular biology you’ve drawn here is intriguing. However, one important hurdle to consider is that the Phage Group had some sense of what they were seeking. They examined bacteria with the goal of uncovering mechanisms also present in humans, about whom they had already gathered a considerable amount of knowledge. They indeed succeeded, but suppose we look at this from a different angle.
Imagine being an alien species with a vastly different biological framework, tasked with studying E.Coli with the aim of extrapolating facts that also apply to the “General Intelligences” roaming Earth—entities that you’ve never encountered before. What conclusions would you draw? Could you mistakenly infer that they reproduce by dividing in two, or perceive their surroundings mainly through chemical gradients?
I believe this hypothetical scenario is more analogous to our current position in AI research, and it highlights the difficulty in uncovering empirical findings that can generalize all the way up to general intelligence.
The analogy to molecular biology you’ve drawn here is intriguing. However, one important hurdle to consider is that the Phage Group had some sense of what they were seeking. They examined bacteria with the goal of uncovering mechanisms also present in humans, about whom they had already gathered a considerable amount of knowledge. They indeed succeeded, but suppose we look at this from a different angle.
Imagine being an alien species with a vastly different biological framework, tasked with studying E.Coli with the aim of extrapolating facts that also apply to the “General Intelligences” roaming Earth—entities that you’ve never encountered before. What conclusions would you draw? Could you mistakenly infer that they reproduce by dividing in two, or perceive their surroundings mainly through chemical gradients?
I believe this hypothetical scenario is more analogous to our current position in AI research, and it highlights the difficulty in uncovering empirical findings that can generalize all the way up to general intelligence.