3 ms·

‘WarGames’ anticipated our current AI fears 40 years ago this summer

vogon_laureate 3y ago
As Ryan Britt wrote recently at the Inverse, what really makes “WarGames” scary isn’t that the computer is evil, but rather its potentially dire inability to recognize nuance the way a human can. “In ‘WarGames,’ the computer doesn’t understand the difference between a game and real life,” Britt noted.
h2odragon 3y ago
see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem and: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein the story seems pretty basic to the human condition. i think its an articulation of our fear of our kids.
- vogon_laureate 3y ago
  The Golem is animated by the Hebrew inscription of the word 'emet' which means 'truth'. To retire the Golem, you remove the first letter (aleph) making the word 'met' – death. Do our monstrous creations reveal an uncomfortable truth about ourselves? By confronting this truth, are we finally able to lay our demons (or daemons in the case of AI) to rest?
- nelox 3y ago
  WarGames is an allegory for the argument from authority. History is replete with examples of arguments from authority which have led to tragedy. e.g. Trial of Galileo, Salem witch trials, Thalidomide tragedy, Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Financial crisis of 2008, etc., etc. I could go on and on … Each of these highlight the risks associated with placing undue trust in authority figures without critically examining evidence and questioning prevailing narratives.
mixmastamyk 3y ago
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.
CodesInChaos 3y ago
Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) is another old movie dealing with the topic of computer controlled nuclear weapons. I think it did a much better job portraying the AI than wargames. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project

As Ryan Britt wrote recently at the Inverse, what really makes “WarGames” scary isn’t that the computer is evil, but rather its potentially dire inability to recognize nuance the way a human can. “In ‘WarGames,’ the computer doesn’t understand the difference between a game and real life,” Britt noted.

h2odragon 3y ago

see also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golem and: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein the story seems pretty basic to the human condition. i think its an articulation of our fear of our kids.

vogon_laureate 3y ago
The Golem is animated by the Hebrew inscription of the word 'emet' which means 'truth'. To retire the Golem, you remove the first letter (aleph) making the word 'met' – death. Do our monstrous creations reveal an uncomfortable truth about ourselves? By confronting this truth, are we finally able to lay our demons (or daemons in the case of AI) to rest?
nelox 3y ago
WarGames is an allegory for the argument from authority. History is replete with examples of arguments from authority which have led to tragedy. e.g. Trial of Galileo, Salem witch trials, Thalidomide tragedy, Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Financial crisis of 2008, etc., etc. I could go on and on … Each of these highlight the risks associated with placing undue trust in authority figures without critically examining evidence and questioning prevailing narratives.

mixmastamyk 3y ago

A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

CodesInChaos 3y ago

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) is another old movie dealing with the topic of computer controlled nuclear weapons. I think it did a much better job portraying the AI than wargames. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project