As you note, we don’t have nukes connected to the internet.
But we do use systems to determine when to launch nukes, and our senses/sensors are fallible, etc., which we’ve (barely— almost suspiciously “barely”, if you catch my drift[1]) managed to not interpret in a manner that caused us to change the season to “winter: nuclear style”.
Really I’m doing the same thing as the alignment debate is on about, but about the alignment debate itself.
Like, right now, it’s not too dangerous, because the voices calling for draconian solutions to the problem are not very loud. But this could change. And kind of is, at least in that they are getting louder. Or that you have artists wanting to harden IP law in a way that historically has only hurt artists (as opposed to corporations or Big Art, if you will) gaining a bit of steam.
These worrying signs seem to me to be more concrete than the, similar, but not as old, nor as concrete, worrisome signs of computer programs getting too much power and running amok[2].
If only because it hasn’t happened yet— no mentats or cylons or borg history — tho also arguably we don’t know if it’s possible… whereas authoritarian regimes certainly are possible and seem to be popular as of late[3].
I get the premise, and it’s a fun one to think about, but what springs to mind is
Phase 1: collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: kill all humans
As you note, we don’t have nukes connected to the internet.
But we do use systems to determine when to launch nukes, and our senses/sensors are fallible, etc., which we’ve (barely— almost suspiciously “barely”, if you catch my drift[1]) managed to not interpret in a manner that caused us to change the season to “winter: nuclear style”.
Really I’m doing the same thing as the alignment debate is on about, but about the alignment debate itself.
Like, right now, it’s not too dangerous, because the voices calling for draconian solutions to the problem are not very loud. But this could change. And kind of is, at least in that they are getting louder. Or that you have artists wanting to harden IP law in a way that historically has only hurt artists (as opposed to corporations or Big Art, if you will) gaining a bit of steam.
These worrying signs seem to me to be more concrete than the, similar, but not as old, nor as concrete, worrisome signs of computer programs getting too much power and running amok[2].
we are living in a simulation with some interesting rules we are designed not to notice
If only because it hasn’t happened yet— no mentats or cylons or borg history — tho also arguably we don’t know if it’s possible… whereas authoritarian regimes certainly are possible and seem to be popular as of late[3].
hoping this observation is just confirmation bias and not a “real” trend. #fingerscrossed