Prediction has some disadvantages compared to constant observation:
Some physical systems are hard to model well with simplification; even for the AI it might be necessary to use simulations composed of amounts of matter proportional to the thing simulated. If about one half of all matter has to be given over to the AI, instead of being used to create more people and things, that is a significant loss of opportunity. (Maybe the AI should tax people in simulation-resources, and those who opt in to surveillance have much lower taxes :-)
Simulations naturally have a rising risk of divergence over time. The AI is not literally Omega. It will have to come in and take periodical snapshots of everyone’s state to correct the simulations.
Simulations have a chance of being wrong. However small the chance, if the potential result is someone building a UFAI challenger, it might be unacceptable to take that chance.
OTOH, surveillance might be much cheaper (I don’t know for sure) and also allows destroying the evidence close to the site of observation once it is analyzed, preserving a measure of privacy.
Prediction has some disadvantages compared to constant observation:
Some physical systems are hard to model well with simplification; even for the AI it might be necessary to use simulations composed of amounts of matter proportional to the thing simulated. If about one half of all matter has to be given over to the AI, instead of being used to create more people and things, that is a significant loss of opportunity. (Maybe the AI should tax people in simulation-resources, and those who opt in to surveillance have much lower taxes :-)
Simulations naturally have a rising risk of divergence over time. The AI is not literally Omega. It will have to come in and take periodical snapshots of everyone’s state to correct the simulations.
Simulations have a chance of being wrong. However small the chance, if the potential result is someone building a UFAI challenger, it might be unacceptable to take that chance.
OTOH, surveillance might be much cheaper (I don’t know for sure) and also allows destroying the evidence close to the site of observation once it is analyzed, preserving a measure of privacy.