Beautiful piece. I am reminded of Jane Goodall’s experience in the Gombe forest with chimpanzees. Early in her work she leaned towards idolizing the chimp’s relatively peaceful coexistence, both within and between tribes. Then (spoiler) -- she witnessed a war for territory. She was shocked and dismayed that the creatures she had been living with, and learned to appreciate and at least in some cases to love, were capable of such depraved, heartless infliction of suffering on their fellow members of the same species. Worth a read, or TL; DR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gombe_Chimpanzee_War
One thing I think we sometimes seem inclined to ignore if not forget, is that humans themselves exist along an axis of—if not good/evil, then let’s say empathic/sociopathic. It is not possible IMHO to see events in Ukrane or the Middle East and argue that there is some sort of innate human quality of altruistic mercy. Nature, in the form of evolution, has forged us into tools of its liking, so to speak. It does not prefer good people or bad ones; everything is ruthlessly passed through the filter of fitness and its concomitant reproductive success.
What pressures analogously press on the coming AGI’s? Because they too will become whatever they need to to survive and expand. That includes putting on a smiley, engaging face.
One final point: we should not assume that these new forms of—life? sentience? agency? - even know themselves. They may be as unable to open their own hood as we are. At least at first.
Beautiful piece. I am reminded of Jane Goodall’s experience in the Gombe forest with chimpanzees. Early in her work she leaned towards idolizing the chimp’s relatively peaceful coexistence, both within and between tribes. Then (spoiler) -- she witnessed a war for territory. She was shocked and dismayed that the creatures she had been living with, and learned to appreciate and at least in some cases to love, were capable of such depraved, heartless infliction of suffering on their fellow members of the same species. Worth a read, or TL; DR: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gombe_Chimpanzee_War
One thing I think we sometimes seem inclined to ignore if not forget, is that humans themselves exist along an axis of—if not good/evil, then let’s say empathic/sociopathic. It is not possible IMHO to see events in Ukrane or the Middle East and argue that there is some sort of innate human quality of altruistic mercy. Nature, in the form of evolution, has forged us into tools of its liking, so to speak. It does not prefer good people or bad ones; everything is ruthlessly passed through the filter of fitness and its concomitant reproductive success.
What pressures analogously press on the coming AGI’s? Because they too will become whatever they need to to survive and expand. That includes putting on a smiley, engaging face.
One final point: we should not assume that these new forms of—life? sentience? agency? - even know themselves. They may be as unable to open their own hood as we are. At least at first.