Artificial Intelligence: The demon is being raised.

“We are raising the demon” is a cryptic quote from Elon Musk. He also said: "We need to be super careful with A.I. It's potentially more dangerous than nuclear weapons."


New technologies — including genetic engineering and nanotechnology — are cascading upon one another and converging. We don’t know how this will play out. But some of the most serious thinkers on Earth worry about potential hazards — and wonder whether we remain fully in control of our inventions.


Philosopher Nick Bostron, author of the book "Superintelligence" offers this scenario:

A machine has been programmed to make paper clips (although any mundane product will do). This machine keeps getting smarter and more powerful, but never develops human values. It achieves “superintelligence.” It begins to convert all kinds of ordinary materials into paper clips. Eventually it decides to turn everything on Earth — including the human race into paper clips. Then it goes interstellar.

Bostron's admirers and 'fans' include Musk, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and a long list of professors and scientists. (Especially those working in A.I.)

This is a fantastic article. The very defintion of concise. Brief in form but comprehensive in scope.

A. I. Anxiety

a reply to: ColeYounger

AI won't have a consciousness

a reply to: ColeYounger

paper clips made out of bacon....

my mind is wandering now.


This is an important topic - I do think AI has the potential to bring down the human race and we need to keep it in check somehow but don't have the solutions as to how. "Algorithms" in the programming to prevent certain behaviors? Like in the moving iRobot with the "Laws" , perhaps?

a reply to: ColeYounger

"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race."

"It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate," he said.

"Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded."

- Stephen Hawking

nuff said

Peace!

a reply to: ColeYounger



It has begun!


This would make a great SCI-FI story, the AI could eventually worship the almighty paperclip, and have a religion around the origins of the first paperclip, etc etc.

ETA to go further:
I imagine our Paperclip AI meeting the first Alien Civilization and trade talks begin, and the AI just wants more Paperclip material, and the Aliens think they have a really good deal, getting all this GOLD, and Diamonds, and maybe even planets for just metal. Until... the metal runs out!

originally posted by: Anansi
a reply to: ColeYounger

AI won't have a consciousness

Until we know what consciousness is, that's not a valid statement.

Currently our ideas of consciousnesses are subjective. We don't really understand what is one and what isn't.

AI could certainly develop it's own version of that, and it could be very much impossible to distinguish from actual humans, other than it's physical appearance.

~Tenth

a reply to: Anansi

AI won't have a consciousness

Intelligent robots don't need to be conscious to turn against us:
A. I. Danger

Isn't one of the basis's of ai is its ability to learn, or problem solve on its own? A machine programmed to make paper clips will only make paper clips unless it is given a new function. Kind of like automated car production lines, even if it was introduced to Ai how will it take over the world if say it doesn't have the physical means cause it was made to.make paper clips, and if it is not physically(mentally) capable of network ability because it lacks a Wi-Fi feature how would it accomplish this task? I dont think AI can just will it into existence. Also with limited memory it will never attain much more then its original function.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Stephen Hawking keeps banging on about this but I just don't see the danger.

Wont the machines need to be, like, alive?

Explain how we can turn machines into living beings, Stephen.

A Universe made out of "Paper clips" is impossible
Humans over estimate their own knowledge
There is line which can never be crossed
Anything Humans do is contained by Universal Law
The life giving of the Sun itself is limited
Makes one wonder if Humans will ever "Get it right" before they are taken in so to speak


Besides which ... all that is required is Human intervention by having Humans give permission to machines before any process is initiated.

a reply to: Anansi
Just curious.

What is the opposite of consciousness? That would be AI, right?

And since everything has an opposite side, would it be possible to have AI without consciousness?

It is much like the emotion of love. Would there be the passion of love without the ability to hate?

The Demons are the ones programming the robots to kill, autonomously. The robots themselves don't know what they are doing. The computer programs will never know that they know what they are doing.

The devil isn't in the machine, the devil is behind the machines.

And wants you to think the machines are to blame, instead of the corporations, engineers, manufacturers, and operators at the controls.

Who do you work for, people?

originally posted by: CJCrawley
a reply to: ColeYounger

Stephen Hawking keeps banging on about this but I just don't see the danger.

Wont the machines need to be, like, alive?

Explain how we can turn machines into living beings, Stephen.

Quantum Computing.

The issue right now that makes AI what we would deem impossible, is the fact that all machines currently talk in Binary.

Either 1 or 0 and nothing in between. Quantum computing would allow the computer to say it's 0 and 1 at the same time. Now that's a simplistic answer, but it changes everything we know about technology.

If we can say, program a robot to learn, independent of human input beyond giving it to ability to do what it wants, then that's AI and that AI will develop their own personalities based on what it chooses to learn.

They don't have to be human, they only need to emulate humans enough to fool somebody and voila, mission accomplished.

~Tenth

a reply to: tothetenthpower

Currently our ideas of consciousnesses are subjective. We don't really understand what is one and what isn't.

Its rather simple. Computers will never know that they know. They simply execute the next instruction in a precisely written program. They may appear intelligent, but the 'artificial' part of "A.I." is the tell.

The next instruction the computer executes is merely placed there by engineers who may or may not (depending on what "smart weapon" we are talking about) know what they re doing, either.

How intelligent are the cogs of war?

a reply to: intrptr

What you point out is true

Any scientific discovery is a two edged sword:-

It can be used beneficially for the well being of the whole
Or used for nefarious purposes

It is the demon in the Human Mind which needs addressing

a reply to: tothetenthpower

It's just a theory.

So it could be wrong.

It has no precedent, so we don't know.

I also think there is an element of wishful thinking...you know, atheist scientists creating life and becoming gods.

When the machines do eventually rise up against us, we should just hide in our homes and wait for the batteries to go flat.

a reply to: intrptr

Its rather simple. Computers will never know that they know. They simply execute the next instruction in a precisely written program. They may appear intelligent, but the 'artificial' part of "A.I." is the tell.

Machines have always been built to perform specific tasks. (As you've stated)
Designers are now looking at it differently. They are building machines that incorporate "reason-based analysis".
This isn't sci-fi. It's in place now.

a reply to: intrptr

See your assumption is correct for current AI based software, because that's all we've seen. If the AI can come to it's own conclusions or for example ask a question and then answer it, that was never programmed, then we ave real AI.

It's a matter of getting to that stage and our current computing, outside of quantum cannot allow software to learn independently of human programming.

Quantum computing would allow that. It's just not been fully realized yet.

~Tenth

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

So you mean hate is Logics?