People sometimes say that AGI will be like a second species; sometimes like electricity. The truth, we suspect, lies somewhere in between. Unless we have concepts which let us think clearly about that region between the two, we may have a difficult time preparing.
I just want to strongly endorse this remark made toward the end of the post. In my experience, the standard fears and narratives around AI doom invoke “second species” intuitions that I think stand on much shakier ground than is commonly acknowledged. (Things can still get pretty bad without a “second species”, of course, but I think it’s worth thinking clearly about what those alternatives look like, as well as how to think about them in the first place.)
I just want to strongly endorse this remark made toward the end of the post. In my experience, the standard fears and narratives around AI doom invoke “second species” intuitions that I think stand on much shakier ground than is commonly acknowledged. (Things can still get pretty bad without a “second species”, of course, but I think it’s worth thinking clearly about what those alternatives look like, as well as how to think about them in the first place.)