Regarding the counterexample: I think it is fair to say that perfect orthogonality is not plausible, especially not if we allow cases with one axis being zero, whatever that might mean. But intelligence and generality could be still largely orthogonal. What do you think of the case of insects, as an example of low intelligence and high generality?
(I think not even the original orthogonality thesis holds perfectly. An example is the oft-cited fact that animals don’t optimize for the goal of inclusive genetic fitness because they are not intelligent enough to grasp such a goal. So they instead optimize for similar things, like sex.)
Have you come across the work of Yann LeCun on world models? LeCun is very interested in generality. He calls generality the “dark matter of intelligence”. He thinks that to achieve a high degree of generality, the agent needs to construct world models.
Insects have highly simplified world models, and that could be part of the explanation for the high degree of generality exhibited by insects. For example, the fact the male Jewel Beetle fell in love with beer bottles mistaking them for females is strong evidence that beetles have highly simplified world models.
I see what you mean now. I like the example of insects. They certainly do have an extremely high degree of generality despite their very low level of intelligence.
Regarding the counterexample: I think it is fair to say that perfect orthogonality is not plausible, especially not if we allow cases with one axis being zero, whatever that might mean. But intelligence and generality could be still largely orthogonal. What do you think of the case of insects, as an example of low intelligence and high generality?
(I think not even the original orthogonality thesis holds perfectly. An example is the oft-cited fact that animals don’t optimize for the goal of inclusive genetic fitness because they are not intelligent enough to grasp such a goal. So they instead optimize for similar things, like sex.)
Have you come across the work of Yann LeCun on world models? LeCun is very interested in generality. He calls generality the “dark matter of intelligence”. He thinks that to achieve a high degree of generality, the agent needs to construct world models.
Insects have highly simplified world models, and that could be part of the explanation for the high degree of generality exhibited by insects. For example, the fact the male Jewel Beetle fell in love with beer bottles mistaking them for females is strong evidence that beetles have highly simplified world models.
I see what you mean now. I like the example of insects. They certainly do have an extremely high degree of generality despite their very low level of intelligence.