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we will use the term AI instead of robot I use the term "robot" because these things need a physical component, especially if they are going to be manufacturin

we will use the term AI instead of robot I use the term "robot" because these things need a physical component, especially if they are going to be manufacturing other physical components that contain themselves. AI is attached to atoms no matter what. Atoms are expensive. As soon as expense is involved, economic scarcity is involved. As soon as scarcity is involved, competition is involved. the only thing that matters to an AI is how "smart" it is - how efficient its algorithms are and how fast those algorithms run What is this "algorithm" thing? A newborn baby, I strongly suspect, contains very few algorithms. If an AI figures out an algorithm that allows for a more efficient thought process, what's to stop the AI from modifying itself to use that algorithm Nothing. And once you have billions of robots [see above] modifying themselves, duplicating themselves, etc, you are going to start running low on resources. Once one of them learns to...instead of making itself "better" [in our opinion]...make itself competitive, the race to higher intelligence will end, as with humans.

pchristensen 19y ago
A newborn baby, I strongly suspect, contains very few algorithms. Few, but they are meta-meta-meta algorithms like "Try something. If it makes me happy, do it more. If not, do it less." Then it builds up more advanced rules and patterns to act on later. Incidentally, humans have much less "firmware" (like the kitten hating the dog) than other animals. That's why our young are vulnerable for so much longer, but also why we do so much more as a species - we learn our environment rather than being pre-programmed for it. Having a kid and watching it grow is very instructive for anyone interested in the only successful experiment in creating human-level intelligence.
ericb 19y ago
> A newborn baby, I strongly suspect, contains very few algorithms. I would say "very few" is going way too far. There is essentially language recognition (Broca and Wernicke's areas), pattern recognition, and a large body of instincts and social skills (via pre-programmed behaviors and mirror neurons) built-in already.
- Panoramix 19y ago
  But it contains millions at the cellular level.

pchristensen 19y ago

A newborn baby, I strongly suspect, contains very few algorithms. Few, but they are meta-meta-meta algorithms like "Try something. If it makes me happy, do it more. If not, do it less." Then it builds up more advanced rules and patterns to act on later. Incidentally, humans have much less "firmware" (like the kitten hating the dog) than other animals. That's why our young are vulnerable for so much longer, but also why we do so much more as a species - we learn our environment rather than being pre-programmed for it. Having a kid and watching it grow is very instructive for anyone interested in the only successful experiment in creating human-level intelligence.

ericb 19y ago

> A newborn baby, I strongly suspect, contains very few algorithms. I would say "very few" is going way too far. There is essentially language recognition (Broca and Wernicke's areas), pattern recognition, and a large body of instincts and social skills (via pre-programmed behaviors and mirror neurons) built-in already.

Panoramix 19y ago
But it contains millions at the cellular level.