A third task listed is “social manipulation.” Here we must admit we are skeptical. Anyone who has ever tried to convince a dog to part with a bone or a child with a toy could attest to the diminishing returns that an intelligence advantage has in such a situation.
Try convincing a rock to do something by arguing with it. The rock remains supremely unconvinced. You are much smarter than a rock.
In order to be convinced to do something, there needs to be sufficient complex structure to be capable of being convinced. This is the same reason that sophisticated malware can’t run on simple analogue circuits.
Dogs aren’t capable of being motivated by sophisticated philosophical arguments.
Of course, humans can get dogs to do all sorts of things through years of training.
Added to that, a human trying to part a bone from a dog isn’t exactly applying the full intellectual power humanity can bring to bear. It isn’t like a company doing statistics to optimize add click through.
Also, many of the fastest ways to get a small child to give up a toy might count as child abuse, and are therefore not options that naturally spring to mind. (Ie spinning a tail of terrifying monsters in the toy, that will get the child to drop the toy, run screaming and have nightmares for weeks)
Try convincing a rock to do something by arguing with it. The rock remains supremely unconvinced. You are much smarter than a rock.
In order to be convinced to do something, there needs to be sufficient complex structure to be capable of being convinced. This is the same reason that sophisticated malware can’t run on simple analogue circuits.
Dogs aren’t capable of being motivated by sophisticated philosophical arguments.
Of course, humans can get dogs to do all sorts of things through years of training.
Added to that, a human trying to part a bone from a dog isn’t exactly applying the full intellectual power humanity can bring to bear. It isn’t like a company doing statistics to optimize add click through.
Also, many of the fastest ways to get a small child to give up a toy might count as child abuse, and are therefore not options that naturally spring to mind. (Ie spinning a tail of terrifying monsters in the toy, that will get the child to drop the toy, run screaming and have nightmares for weeks)