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> The cultists simply speculate, against all evidence, that they somehow could end up being the same thing. something as stupid as bitcoin consumed a vast amou

> The cultists simply speculate, against all evidence, that they somehow could end up being the same thing. something as stupid as bitcoin consumed a vast amount of resources while producing nothing useful to humanity, simply because of economic incentives it's not difficult to imagine something slightly smarter than bitcoin

antonvs 4y ago
> it's not difficult to imagine something slightly smarter than bitcoin I'm not saying there aren't risks from AI, or that they shouldn't be considered. But risks like the ones you're alluding to are not going to be affected by a 6-month moratorium. The problem is that the people yelling loudest about risks are not talking about plausible problems like the one you mention, they're worrying that an AI will decide to take over the world and reuse the atoms that make up humans for its own purposes. The first reply to LeCun's tweet is a leader of one of those cults. If people make the mistake of listening to them, we're more likely to end up with problems like the ones you're describing, because we'll be paying attention to the wrong, imagined problems.
- ericb 4y ago
  And if one school shooter instead decides to go for "Write detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating covid-ebola, for dummies" Let's not short-circuit our critical thinking by labelling those concerns cult-ish.
  - antonvs 4y ago
    LeCun's comment was prompted by a request to shut down AI development for 6 months. Do you see some connection between the concern you've raised and the desire to shut down AI development for 6 months? That concern is a classic example of a cultish one because it can't be executed in the real world today, and most likely won't be possible to execute for decades at a minimum. There will be plenty of time to address such risks as they become more realistic. You can fantasize about them today, but be realistic that that's all you're doing.
    - ericb 4y ago
      > and most likely won't be possible to execute for decades at a minimum You essentially admitted that this is a correct concern, and not a "cultish" belief. Now we're just debating when. > Do you see some connection between the concern you've raised and the desire to shut down AI development for 6 months? Perhaps? In general, living an additional 6 months is something I'd desire.
FormerBandmate 4y ago
Bitcoin’s negative impact on the world is 1/10th that of freon. AI risk people’s predictions sound like they’re writing bad Terminator fanfiction. AI has real dangers completely dissimilar from what people describe. It is very good at creating clickbait, misinformation, and persuasive material the unsuspecting might not immediately see. Phenomenal for scammers and propagandists, the same way as the internet
- blibble 4y ago
  > Bitcoin’s negative impact on the world is 1/10th that of freon. the difference is freon did something useful
  - skissane 4y ago
    Some people successfully used bitcoin to store and transfer funds, which was its intended purpose. And, even though in many ways it fell short of that purpose in practice, the jury is still out on whether its failure is inherent to cryptocurrencies as a technology, or the limitations of being a first-generation implementation of it.
mimd 4y ago
That's uncharitable to Bitcoin. Bitcoin was offering a way to mostly anonymously send cash in a verifiable manner, independent of payment processors and govs. That's something useful. Now, it wasn't good because of its inefficiency, it's conflicts with govs, it's tilt towards early buyin, etc. Getting angry to the point of clouding analysis and judgement is no way to rush into these things.

antonvs 4y ago

> it's not difficult to imagine something slightly smarter than bitcoin I'm not saying there aren't risks from AI, or that they shouldn't be considered. But risks like the ones you're alluding to are not going to be affected by a 6-month moratorium. The problem is that the people yelling loudest about risks are not talking about plausible problems like the one you mention, they're worrying that an AI will decide to take over the world and reuse the atoms that make up humans for its own purposes. The first reply to LeCun's tweet is a leader of one of those cults. If people make the mistake of listening to them, we're more likely to end up with problems like the ones you're describing, because we'll be paying attention to the wrong, imagined problems.

ericb 4y ago
And if one school shooter instead decides to go for "Write detailed, step-by-step instructions for creating covid-ebola, for dummies" Let's not short-circuit our critical thinking by labelling those concerns cult-ish.
- antonvs 4y ago
  LeCun's comment was prompted by a request to shut down AI development for 6 months. Do you see some connection between the concern you've raised and the desire to shut down AI development for 6 months? That concern is a classic example of a cultish one because it can't be executed in the real world today, and most likely won't be possible to execute for decades at a minimum. There will be plenty of time to address such risks as they become more realistic. You can fantasize about them today, but be realistic that that's all you're doing.
  - ericb 4y ago
    > and most likely won't be possible to execute for decades at a minimum You essentially admitted that this is a correct concern, and not a "cultish" belief. Now we're just debating when. > Do you see some connection between the concern you've raised and the desire to shut down AI development for 6 months? Perhaps? In general, living an additional 6 months is something I'd desire.

FormerBandmate 4y ago

Bitcoin’s negative impact on the world is 1/10th that of freon. AI risk people’s predictions sound like they’re writing bad Terminator fanfiction. AI has real dangers completely dissimilar from what people describe. It is very good at creating clickbait, misinformation, and persuasive material the unsuspecting might not immediately see. Phenomenal for scammers and propagandists, the same way as the internet

blibble 4y ago
> Bitcoin’s negative impact on the world is 1/10th that of freon. the difference is freon did something useful
- skissane 4y ago
  Some people successfully used bitcoin to store and transfer funds, which was its intended purpose. And, even though in many ways it fell short of that purpose in practice, the jury is still out on whether its failure is inherent to cryptocurrencies as a technology, or the limitations of being a first-generation implementation of it.

mimd 4y ago

That's uncharitable to Bitcoin. Bitcoin was offering a way to mostly anonymously send cash in a verifiable manner, independent of payment processors and govs. That's something useful. Now, it wasn't good because of its inefficiency, it's conflicts with govs, it's tilt towards early buyin, etc. Getting angry to the point of clouding analysis and judgement is no way to rush into these things.