When the machines outthink us, will they outmaneuver us? Barrat’s latest is a wake-up call we can’t afford to ignore. Having had the privilege of previewing James Barrat’s latest work, The Intelligence Explosion (Amazon link, Google Book link), I found it to be a compelling and thought-provoking exploration of the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial…
This post will be updated over the coming weeks. In his 2011 paper, Complex Value Systems are Required to Realize Valuable Futures, Eliezer Yudkowsky posits that aligning artificial general intelligence (AGI) with human values necessitates embedding the complex intricacies of human ethics into AI systems. He warns against oversimplification, suggesting that without a comprehensive inheritance…
I just finished Mo Gawdat’s book Scarey Smart. The overview says: By 2049 AI will be a billion times more intelligent than humans. Scary Smart explains how to fix the current trajectory now, to make sure that the AI of the future can preserve our species. This book offers a blueprint, pointing the way to…
In short: Satiable values have diminishing returns with more resources, while insatiable values always want more, potentially leading to risky AI behaviour – it seems likely that AI with insatiable values could make existential trades, like gambling the world for a chance to double resources. Therefore potentially design AI with satiable values to ensure stability,…
Key Points Understanding UBI and Its Challenges Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a system where everyone gets regular cash payments, no strings attached. It’s seen as a way to help people in an AI-driven economy where jobs might disappear. But there are worries. For example, if landlords know everyone has extra money, they might raise…
Nick Bostrom addresses concerns about biased influence on the extrapolation base in his discussions on indirect normativity (IN – i.e., an approach where the AI deduces ideal values or states of affairs rather than running with current values and states of affairs) esp. coherent extrapolated volition (CEV) and value alignment in his magnum opus Superintelligence….
Firstly, values are important because they are the fundamental principles that guide decisions and actions in humans. They shape our understanding of right and wrong, and they influence how we interact with the world around us. In the context of AI, values are particularly important because they determine how AI systems will behave, what goals…
… and the Long First Turn (of the new game). We’re not just designing AI to behave nicely in our human sandbox—but in case the sandbox turns out to be part of a much larger galactic metropolis, we’d better make sure the AI doesn’t start flinging galactic sand in anyone’s eye. We may at some…
No one in their right mind can deny the struggle to survive animates natural selection. Though it’s a bit misleading to say that ‘survival is paramount – and that every strategy serves that goal’: survival plays a crucial role in evolution, but it is not the ultimate goal. As emphasised by Charles Darwin’s theory of…
Note: this is by no means exhaustive. it’s focus is on western philosophy. I’ll expand and categorise more later… The earliest precursors to indirect normativity can be traced back to early philosophical discussions on how to ground moral decision-making in processes or frameworks rather than specific, static directives. While Nick Bostrom’s work on indirect normativity…
