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> ...but is it really the best use of resources to throw $1 billion at reinforcement learning without any similar investments into addressing... <important thin

> ...but is it really the best use of resources to throw $1 billion at reinforcement learning without any similar investments into addressing... <important things> The precise same sentiment could be made about his plans to go to Mars- people are starving on Earth. But a Martian "backup civilization" might someday save humanity. Similarly, godlike AGI might be mere decades away and apocalyptically dangerous- predicting scientific advancements is generally impossible, but some people working in the field don't think it's an unreasonable possibility [1]. That humanity, via Musk, has put a billion dollars into worrying about this somewhat plausible existential threat seems reasonable, to me. Musk is not a staid, Bill Gates-style philanthropist optimizing for dollar-for-dollar benefits. He's picked a set of flashy, long-term goals and started manic efforts to promote them. Perhaps it's a character flaw. But given that, I think he's at least chosen well. [1] http://aiimpacts.org/2016-expert-survey-on-progress-in-ai/ http://aiimpacts.org/2016-expert-survey-on-progress-in-ai/

k_lander 9y ago
> ...but is it really the best use of resources to throw $1 billion at reinforcement learning without any similar investments into addressing.. I didn't like this part. Elon Musk may be misguided about the immediate threat of AI but he is free to invest his money in whatever he thinks is important.
icc97 9y ago
Yes, I had very similar thoughts. I think there's room for both. It's great what fast.ai are doing and they'll benefit me more directly, but Elon Musk is pushing at the other end of the scale. I keep feeling like I'm a total Musk fanboy, but lots of his arguments that I've seen make sense: 1. The major one, is that doing things like aiming for Mars provides inspiration for a better future. There's similar quotes from other people involved with NASA. 2. He talks repeatedly about improving the chances of better futures (clean energy, hyperloop), and lowering the chances of bad ones (Bad AI, single-planetary species on planet that has an extinction event) He's put all his money into the things he sees as important, of which bad AI seems to be high on his list.

k_lander 9y ago

> ...but is it really the best use of resources to throw $1 billion at reinforcement learning without any similar investments into addressing.. I didn't like this part. Elon Musk may be misguided about the immediate threat of AI but he is free to invest his money in whatever he thinks is important.

icc97 9y ago

Yes, I had very similar thoughts. I think there's room for both. It's great what fast.ai are doing and they'll benefit me more directly, but Elon Musk is pushing at the other end of the scale. I keep feeling like I'm a total Musk fanboy, but lots of his arguments that I've seen make sense: 1. The major one, is that doing things like aiming for Mars provides inspiration for a better future. There's similar quotes from other people involved with NASA. 2. He talks repeatedly about improving the chances of better futures (clean energy, hyperloop), and lowering the chances of bad ones (Bad AI, single-planetary species on planet that has an extinction event) He's put all his money into the things he sees as important, of which bad AI seems to be high on his list.