This is probably an important discussion, independent of the event that prompted it, but it turns out the protest at SXSW was a hoax/ viral marketing campaign staged to promote a new dating site.
On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 8:06 AM, Calum Chace via AGI <[email protected]> wrote: > Very well said. (And Pandora's Brain does say it, as it happens...) > > But the pro-AGI community also needs to convince the public that the AGI > we'll get will be a Friendly one. > > Calum > > On 17 March 2015 at 15:56, Ben Goertzel via AGI <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> A problem is that careful, balanced discussions of difficult issues are >> boring and don't attract media attention >> >> Joel Pitt and I wrote a fairly thoughtful discussion of AGI safety issues >> a few years ago, >> >> http://jetpress.org/v22/goertzel-pitt.htm >> >> but of course our thoughts are more complex and nuanced, whereas a tweet >> from a billionaire comparing AI research to demon-summoning is a lot >> sexier... >> >> IMO, to get media attention sufficient to counteract the media's love of >> alarmism and doomsaying, the pro-AGI community would need to come forward >> very >> aggressively with the message that AGI is important for SAVING AND >> IMPROVING HUMAN LIVES ... for designing the next generation of >> medicines, for creating elder-care robots to make old age more >> livable, for extending healthspan for those who want it, for aiding >> the invention of new energy sources, for aiding in the fight against >> physical and cyber terrorism, and so forth.... "Don't worry too >> much, we'll be careful" is not a convincing counterargument -- a better >> counterargument to the Musks, Hawkings, Bostroms and Yudkowskys of the >> world is more like "Hey, I don't want your fear of science fiction bad >> guys to >> deny my grandma her life-extending, health-improving medicine and her >> robot friend, to eliminate my future of virtually unlimited energy and >> to put me at risk from terrorist attacks...." I.e. "DON'T LET THE >> LUDDITES KILL YOUR GRANDMA AND TAKE YOUR TOYS AWAY!! EMBRACE AI AND >> ROBOTS LIKE YOU'VE EMBRACED SMARTPHONES, AC POWER, THE INTERNET AND BIRTH >> CONTROL PILLS -- AND YOUR LIFE WILL BE BETTER -- " .... >> >> OK I'm semi-joking ;) ;p ... but unfortunately I think it's a mistake to >> overestimate the general public's appetite for rational, balanced >> discussion and thinking ;p ... When careful nuanced thinking on difficult >> issues it put out there, it tends to be vigorously ignored... >> >> -- Ben >> >> On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 8:01 PM, Benjamin Kapp via AGI <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> If you think of governments as an artificial man (as was done by >>> Aristotle and Hobbes amongst others) which is composed of humans who are >>> the muscles (military, police), the intelligence (spys, scientists), the >>> judging and planning (judges, politicians), etc.. In a way the state is a >>> leviathan (a thing which has power to overawe any individual or group of >>> individuals). And in this way AGI (or a super intelligence) already >>> exists. >>> >>> On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 6:29 AM, Calum Chace via AGI <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Thanks Basile. I agree with Pitrat, although I might dial up the >>>> consideration of the downside possibility a touch. >>>> >>>> Hawking usually gets slightly mis-represented. He said that AGI could >>>> be either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to humanity. The >>>> "best" bit seems to get missed by both sides of the debate. >>>> >>>> So, my question is, what is the best way for people who think along >>>> these lines to try and steer the public debate on AGI? Alarmism is >>>> unhelpful, and hard to avoid. Secrecy won't work. Ben is tackling the >>>> issue head-on (as in the video he posted just now), but it's a hard debate >>>> to get right. >>>> >>>> Calum >>>> >>>> On 17 March 2015 at 11:17, Basile Starynkevitch < >>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 09:33:22AM +0100, Calum Chace via AGI wrote: >>>>> > Steve >>>>> > >>>>> > I sympathise with your very understandable preference not to be >>>>> targeted by >>>>> > anti-AI crazies! >>>>> > >>>>> > What do you think is the best way to try and shape the growing public >>>>> > debate about AGI? Following Bostrom's book, and the comments by >>>>> Hawking, >>>>> > Musk and Gates, a fair proportion of the general public is now aware >>>>> that >>>>> > AGI might arrive in the medium term, and that it will have a very big >>>>> > impact. >>>>> > >>>>> > Some AI researchers seem to be responding by saying, "Don't worry, >>>>> it can't >>>>> > happen for centuries, if ever". No doubt some of them genuinely >>>>> believe >>>>> > that, but I wonder whether some are saying it in the (forlorn?) hope >>>>> the >>>>> > debate will go away. It won't. In fact I suspect that the new >>>>> Avengers >>>>> > movie will kick it up a level. >>>>> > >>>>> > Others are saying, "Don't worry, AGI cannot and will not harm >>>>> humans." To >>>>> > my mind (and I realise I may be in a small minority here on this) >>>>> that is >>>>> > hard to be certain about - as Bostrom demonstrated. >>>>> > >>>>> > Yet others are saying, "AI researcher will solve the problem long >>>>> before >>>>> > AGI arrives, and it's best not to worry everyone else in the >>>>> meantime." >>>>> > That seems a dangerous approach to me. If the public ever feels >>>>> (rightly >>>>> > or wrongly) that things have been hidden from them, they will react >>>>> badly. >>>>> > >>>>> > But I do definitely sympathise with the desire not to be targeted by >>>>> > crazies, or to be vilified by journalists who have half-understood >>>>> the >>>>> > situation! >>>>> > >>>>> >>>>> [...] >>>>> >>>>> > >> > ------------------------------------------- >>>>> > >> > AGI >>>>> > >> > Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now >>>>> >>>>> [....] >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> I would suggest reading J.Pitrat's december 2014 blog entry on that >>>>> subject. >>>>> J.Pitrat is probably not subscribing to that list, i >>>>> so I am blind-carbon-copying him. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> http://bootstrappingartificialintelligence.fr/WordPress3/2014/12/not-developing-an-advanced-artificial-intelligence-could-spell-the-end-of-the-human-race/ >>>>> >>>>> He is explaining that >>>>> >>>>> "Not developing an advanced artificial intelligence >>>>> could spell the end of the human race" >>>>> >>>>> and I believe he has a point. Of course AGI researchers should be >>>>> careful. >>>>> >>>>> Regards >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> Basile Starynkevitch http://starynkevitch.net/Basile/ >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Regards >>>> >>>> Calum >>>> >>>> *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> >>>> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/26973278-698fd9ee> | >>>> Modify <https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;> Your Subscription >>>> <http://www.listbox.com> >>>> >>> >>> *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> >>> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/212726-deec6279> | >>> Modify <https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;> Your Subscription >>> <http://www.listbox.com> >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Ben Goertzel, PhD >> http://goertzel.org >> >> "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one >> persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress >> depends on the unreasonable man." -- George Bernard Shaw >> *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> >> <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/26879140-5b8435c3> | >> Modify <https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;> Your Subscription >> <http://www.listbox.com> >> > > > > -- > Regards > > Calum > > *AGI* | Archives <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now> > <https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/18769370-bddcdfdc> | > Modify > <https://www.listbox.com/member/?&;> > Your Subscription <http://www.listbox.com> > ------------------------------------------- AGI Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/21088071-f452e424 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=21088071&id_secret=21088071-58d57657 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
