Traditionally it’s uncommon (or should be) for youth to have existential worries, so I don’t know about cradle to the grave[1], tho external forces are certainly “always” concerned with it— which means perhaps the answer is “maybe”?
There’s the trope that some of us act like we will never die… but maybe I’m going too deep here? Especially since what I was referring to was more a matter of feeling “obsolete”, or being replaced, which is a bit different than existential worries in the mortal sense[2].
I think this is different from the Luddite feelings because, here we’ve put a lot of anthropomorphic feelings onto the machines, so they’re almost like scabs breaking the picket line or something, versus just automation. The fear I’m seeing is like “they’re coming for our humanity!”— which is understandable, if you thought only humans could do X or Y and are special or whatnot, versus being our own kind of machine. That everything is clockwork seems to take the magic out of it for some people, regardless of how fantastic — and in essence magical — the clocks[3] are.
Personally I’ve always wondered if I’m the only one who “actually” exists (since I cannot escape my own conscious), which is a whole other existential thing, but not unique, and not a worry per se. Mostly just a trip to think about.
There’s the trope that some of us act like we will never die… but maybe I’m going too deep here?
There’s the superficial appearance of that. Yet in fact it signals the opposite, that the fear of death has such a vicegrip on their hearts to the point it’s difficult to not psychoanalyze the writer when reading through their post history.
Signals, and indeed, opposites, are an interesting concept! What does it all mean? Yin and yang and what have you…
Would you agree that it’s hard to be scared of something you don’t believe in?
And if so, do you agree that some people don’t believe in death?
Like, we could define it at the “reality” level of “do we even exist?” (which I think is apart from life & death per se), or we could use the “soul is eternal” one, but regardless, it appears to me that lots of people don’t believe they will die, much less contemplate it. (Perhaps we need to start putting “death” mottoes on all our clocks again to remind us?)
How do you think believing in the eternal soul jives with “alignment”? Do you think there is a difference between aiming to live as long as possible, versus as to live as well as possible?
Does it seem to you that humans agree on the nature of existence, much less what is good and bad therein? How do you think belief affects people’s choices? Should I be allowed to kill myself? To get an abortion? Eat other entities? End a photon’s billion year journey?
When will an AI be “smart enough” that we consider it alive, and thus deletion is killing? Is it “okay” (morally, ethically?) to take life, to preserve life?
To say “do no harm” is easy. But to define harm? Have it programed in[1]? Yeesh— that’s hard!
Am I wrong re: Death? Have you personally feared it all your life?
Frustratingly, all I can speak from is my own experience, and what people have shared with me, and I have no way to objectively verify that anything is “true”.
I am looking at reality and saying “It seems this way to me; does it seem this way to you?”
That— and experiencing love and war &c. — is maybe why we’re “here”… but who knows, right?
I didn’t mean it as literally every second of the day.
Traditionally it’s uncommon (or should be) for youth to have existential worries, so I don’t know about cradle to the grave[1], tho external forces are certainly “always” concerned with it— which means perhaps the answer is “maybe”?
There’s the trope that some of us act like we will never die… but maybe I’m going too deep here? Especially since what I was referring to was more a matter of feeling “obsolete”, or being replaced, which is a bit different than existential worries in the mortal sense[2].
I think this is different from the Luddite feelings because, here we’ve put a lot of anthropomorphic feelings onto the machines, so they’re almost like scabs breaking the picket line or something, versus just automation. The fear I’m seeing is like “they’re coming for our humanity!”— which is understandable, if you thought only humans could do X or Y and are special or whatnot, versus being our own kind of machine. That everything is clockwork seems to take the magic out of it for some people, regardless of how fantastic — and in essence magical — the clocks[3] are.
Personally I’ve always wondered if I’m the only one who “actually” exists (since I cannot escape my own conscious), which is a whole other existential thing, but not unique, and not a worry per se. Mostly just a trip to think about.
depending on how invested you are in your work I reckon!
be they based in silicon or carbon
There’s the superficial appearance of that. Yet in fact it signals the opposite, that the fear of death has such a vicegrip on their hearts to the point it’s difficult to not psychoanalyze the writer when reading through their post history.
Signals, and indeed, opposites, are an interesting concept! What does it all mean? Yin and yang and what have you…
Would you agree that it’s hard to be scared of something you don’t believe in?
And if so, do you agree that some people don’t believe in death?
Like, we could define it at the “reality” level of “do we even exist?” (which I think is apart from life & death per se), or we could use the “soul is eternal” one, but regardless, it appears to me that lots of people don’t believe they will die, much less contemplate it. (Perhaps we need to start putting “death” mottoes on all our clocks again to remind us?)
How do you think believing in the eternal soul jives with “alignment”? Do you think there is a difference between aiming to live as long as possible, versus as to live as well as possible?
Does it seem to you that humans agree on the nature of existence, much less what is good and bad therein? How do you think belief affects people’s choices? Should I be allowed to kill myself? To get an abortion? Eat other entities? End a photon’s billion year journey?
When will an AI be “smart enough” that we consider it alive, and thus deletion is killing? Is it “okay” (morally, ethically?) to take life, to preserve life?
To say “do no harm” is easy. But to define harm? Have it programed in[1]? Yeesh— that’s hard!
Avoiding physical harm is a given I think
I presume these questions are rhetorical?
Illustrative perhaps?
Am I wrong re: Death? Have you personally feared it all your life?
Frustratingly, all I can speak from is my own experience, and what people have shared with me, and I have no way to objectively verify that anything is “true”.
I am looking at reality and saying “It seems this way to me; does it seem this way to you?”
That— and experiencing love and war &c. — is maybe why we’re “here”… but who knows, right?