Ha! I like the Occupy Coke idea! You may not be a "PR guy" but you surely could be if you wanted to.
I thought you believed AGI to be Good News, not a pig in need of better lipstick? Calum On 18 Mar 2015, at 02:21 AM, "Ben Goertzel via AGI" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 11:13 PM, Robert Levy via AGI <[email protected]> > wrote: >> 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. > > > > > I wonder what's next.... "Was that a revolution in Russia we just saw, or > just a large-scale advertisement for Kalashnikovs??" > > Will the border between political activity and marketing campaign blur even > further? > > "Occupy your stomach with 'Occupy Cola' ,the true rebel's beverage of choice > " ??? > > ben >> >> 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 | Modify Your Subscription >>>>> >>>>> AGI | Archives | Modify Your Subscription >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> 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 | Modify Your Subscription >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Regards >>> >>> Calum >>> >>> >>> AGI | Archives | Modify Your Subscription >> >> AGI | Archives | Modify Your Subscription > > > > -- > 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 | Modify Your Subscription ------------------------------------------- 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
