I didn’t read it, but I heard that Elon Musk is badly influenced by it. I know of his papers prior to the book, and I’ve taken a look at the content, I know the material being discussed. I think he is vastly exaggerating the risks from AI technology. AI technology will be as pervasive as the internet, it is a very spook/military like mindset to believe that it will only be owned by a few powerful entities, who will wield it to dominate the world, or the developers will be so extremely ignorant that they will have AI agents escaping their labs and start killing people. Those are merely bad science fiction scenarios, like they have on Hollywood movies, it’s not even good science fiction, because he is talking about very improbable events. An engineer who can build an AI smarter than himself probably isn’t that stupid or reckless. Terminator/Matrix scenarios won’t happen; they will remain in the movies.
Moreover, as a startup person, I think he doesn’t understand the computer industry well, and fails to see the realistic (not comic book) applications of AI technology. AGI researchers must certainly do a better job at revealing the future applications. That will both help them find better funding and attracting public attention, and of course, obtaining public approval.
Thus, let me state it. AI really is the next big thing (after wearable/VR/3dprinting, stuff that’s already taking off, I would predict). It’s right now like a few years before the Mosaic browser showed up. I think that in AI there will be something for everybody, just like the internet. And Bostrom’s fears are completely irrational and unfounded, it seems to me. People should cheer up if they think they can have the first true AI in just 5 years.
It is entertaining indeed that a non computer scientist entrepreneur (Elon Musk) is emotionally influenced by the incredibly fallacious pseudo-scientific bullshit of Nick Bostrom, another non-computer scientist, and that people are talking about it.
So let’s see, a clown writes a book, and an investor thinks it is a credible book while it is not true. What makes this hilarious is people’s reactions to it. A ship of fools.
Do you have any serious counter arguments to ideas presented in a Bostrom’s book? Majority of top AI experts agree that we will have human-level AI by the end of this century, and people like Musk, Bostrom and MIRI guys are just trying to think about possible negative impacts that this development may have on humans. The problem is that the fate of humanity may depend on action of non-human actors, who will likely have utility function incompatible with human survival and it is perfectly rational to be worried about that.
Those ideas are definitely not above criticism but also should not be dismissed based on perceived lack of expertise. Someone like Elon Musk has actually direct contact with people who are working on one of the most advanced AI projects on earth (Vicarious, DeepMind), so he certainly knows what he is talking about.
I do. Nick Bostrom is a creationist idiot (simulation “argument” is creationism), with absolutely no expertise in AI, who thinks the doomsday argument is true. Funnily enough, he does claim to be an expert in several extremely difficult fields including AI and computational neuroscience despite lack of any serious technical publications, on his book cover. That’s usually a red flag indicating a charlatan. Despite whatever you might think, a “social scientist” is ill-equipped to say anything about AI. That’s enough for now. For a more detailed exposition, I am afraid you will have to wait a while longer. You will know it, when you see it, stay tuned!
I didn’t read it, but I heard that Elon Musk is badly influenced by it. I know of his papers prior to the book, and I’ve taken a look at the content, I know the material being discussed. I think he is vastly exaggerating the risks from AI technology. AI technology will be as pervasive as the internet, it is a very spook/military like mindset to believe that it will only be owned by a few powerful entities, who will wield it to dominate the world, or the developers will be so extremely ignorant that they will have AI agents escaping their labs and start killing people. Those are merely bad science fiction scenarios, like they have on Hollywood movies, it’s not even good science fiction, because he is talking about very improbable events. An engineer who can build an AI smarter than himself probably isn’t that stupid or reckless. Terminator/Matrix scenarios won’t happen; they will remain in the movies.
Moreover, as a startup person, I think he doesn’t understand the computer industry well, and fails to see the realistic (not comic book) applications of AI technology. AGI researchers must certainly do a better job at revealing the future applications. That will both help them find better funding and attracting public attention, and of course, obtaining public approval.
Thus, let me state it. AI really is the next big thing (after wearable/VR/3dprinting, stuff that’s already taking off, I would predict). It’s right now like a few years before the Mosaic browser showed up. I think that in AI there will be something for everybody, just like the internet. And Bostrom’s fears are completely irrational and unfounded, it seems to me. People should cheer up if they think they can have the first true AI in just 5 years.
+1 for entertainment value.
EDIT: I am not agreeing with examachine’s comment, I just think it’s hilariously bad.
It is entertaining indeed that a non computer scientist entrepreneur (Elon Musk) is emotionally influenced by the incredibly fallacious pseudo-scientific bullshit of Nick Bostrom, another non-computer scientist, and that people are talking about it.
So let’s see, a clown writes a book, and an investor thinks it is a credible book while it is not true. What makes this hilarious is people’s reactions to it. A ship of fools.
Do you have any serious counter arguments to ideas presented in a Bostrom’s book? Majority of top AI experts agree that we will have human-level AI by the end of this century, and people like Musk, Bostrom and MIRI guys are just trying to think about possible negative impacts that this development may have on humans. The problem is that the fate of humanity may depend on action of non-human actors, who will likely have utility function incompatible with human survival and it is perfectly rational to be worried about that.
Those ideas are definitely not above criticism but also should not be dismissed based on perceived lack of expertise. Someone like Elon Musk has actually direct contact with people who are working on one of the most advanced AI projects on earth (Vicarious, DeepMind), so he certainly knows what he is talking about.
I do. Nick Bostrom is a creationist idiot (simulation “argument” is creationism), with absolutely no expertise in AI, who thinks the doomsday argument is true. Funnily enough, he does claim to be an expert in several extremely difficult fields including AI and computational neuroscience despite lack of any serious technical publications, on his book cover. That’s usually a red flag indicating a charlatan. Despite whatever you might think, a “social scientist” is ill-equipped to say anything about AI. That’s enough for now. For a more detailed exposition, I am afraid you will have to wait a while longer. You will know it, when you see it, stay tuned!