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A shorter term doom scenario could be our cognitive irrelevance. It's just one step beyond the current "powerful assistant" paradigm. It doesn't even require A

A shorter term doom scenario could be our cognitive irrelevance. It's just one step beyond the current "powerful assistant" paradigm. It doesn't even require AGI, just a whole set of verticals where AI outperforms us. The consequence would be that almost anything becomes pointless as all you need to do is ask. Nothing is impressive, nothing is worthwhile doing. Nothing is worthwhile sharing because anybody could've done the same thing by just asking.

api 3y ago
We are already cognitively irrelevant without the assistance of books, pens, paper, and to a great extent computers. Most of what we do is far beyond what can be held wholly in a single human mind or passed on exclusively verbally. A lot of it from vehicles to architecture to electronics couldn’t even be attempted without CAD and simulation. Without automation we would be unable to even feed and clothe the current population. We are already way past the point where a naked human is enough. AI will let us tackle problems that are even further beyond us like fusion, incredibly high density cheap batteries, high temperature superconductors, fully coherent theories of cosmology, and many other things we are not intelligent enough to do without augmentation. There are of course huge risks around AI like all other technologies. Most of them revolve around people using AI to do bad things more cheaply and at a larger scale. But the same is true of computers, cars, etc.
ddkn435 3y ago
Ever heard of culture and art? ...Life is not just about work for innovation... Edit: Oh and then there is also the whole social interaction thing and love and romance...
- c_crank 3y ago
  LLMs do have a very real threat of putting a lot of artists out of work. Their power of image generation is extensive and growing.
  - oh_sigh 3y ago
    Humans can still create art with no profit motive. In fact, I would wager that is how most art is created today. I don't care if computers are better at writing stories than I am. There are already ten million people out there better at writing stories than I am.
    - vacuity 3y ago
      You're not really responding to the parent. Yes, people can and will create art with no profit motive, but some people are considered really good at creating art and make their living off of it. In the yesteryear before the Internet, selling artworks was effectively the same as selling other products; you get a physical item that you keep. Now there are all sorts of issues with copyright, and while I don't support all aspects of the copyright system, I also don't think that artists should be thrown to the curb. You would probably care if you wrote professionally and computers were threatening your livelihood.

api 3y ago

We are already cognitively irrelevant without the assistance of books, pens, paper, and to a great extent computers. Most of what we do is far beyond what can be held wholly in a single human mind or passed on exclusively verbally. A lot of it from vehicles to architecture to electronics couldn’t even be attempted without CAD and simulation. Without automation we would be unable to even feed and clothe the current population. We are already way past the point where a naked human is enough. AI will let us tackle problems that are even further beyond us like fusion, incredibly high density cheap batteries, high temperature superconductors, fully coherent theories of cosmology, and many other things we are not intelligent enough to do without augmentation. There are of course huge risks around AI like all other technologies. Most of them revolve around people using AI to do bad things more cheaply and at a larger scale. But the same is true of computers, cars, etc.

ddkn435 3y ago

Ever heard of culture and art? ...Life is not just about work for innovation... Edit: Oh and then there is also the whole social interaction thing and love and romance...

c_crank 3y ago
LLMs do have a very real threat of putting a lot of artists out of work. Their power of image generation is extensive and growing.
- oh_sigh 3y ago
  Humans can still create art with no profit motive. In fact, I would wager that is how most art is created today. I don't care if computers are better at writing stories than I am. There are already ten million people out there better at writing stories than I am.
  - vacuity 3y ago
    You're not really responding to the parent. Yes, people can and will create art with no profit motive, but some people are considered really good at creating art and make their living off of it. In the yesteryear before the Internet, selling artworks was effectively the same as selling other products; you get a physical item that you keep. Now there are all sorts of issues with copyright, and while I don't support all aspects of the copyright system, I also don't think that artists should be thrown to the curb. You would probably care if you wrote professionally and computers were threatening your livelihood.