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> All they want to do, they say, is build computers smart enough and safe enough to end history, thrusting humanity into an era of unimaginable bounty. This so
by rurp 3y ago
> All they want to do, they say, is build computers smart enough and safe enough to end history, thrusting humanity into an era of unimaginable bounty.
This sounds terrifying to me. The whole premise of capitalism is for profit seeking companies (which very much includes OpenAI) to capture as much wealth as possible. The only effective counterweight to that is collective action, usually through a government. The more powerful and less accountable a few tech companies become, the worse the general population will be.
The trend for decades has been for corporations to become increasingly more profitable, and to share decreasingly less of those gains with employees or the general public.
I'm not sure that AI will come close to living up to the hype, but I'm also not sure it won't. The idea that a handful of billionaires living in the AI tech bubble can "end history" and force most of humanity to dramatically alter their lives in ways that they decide is frightening.
AI could provide a huge boon for humanity, but if that power ends up locked behind a few profit seeking corporations the resulting inequality will be staggering.
- gumballindie 3y ago> and force most of humanity to dramatically alter their lives History tells us that when that happends it's their lives that get dramatically altered. See what happened in europe with most dictators and kings that didn't please the masses long enough.
- rurp 3y agoI could certainly see it being an unstable enough situation that it leads to a violent revolt, but that doesn't do much to allay my fears. Maybe I'm getting old but I really don't want to live through a violent revolution, even if I'm on the side of the revolutionaries. Heading the problem off before it gets to that point would be much more pleasant.
- gumballindie 3y ago> Heading the problem off before it gets to that point would be much more pleasant. Agreed. And the first step in the right direction is ensuring they stop stealing people’s ip.
- stereolambda 3y agoHonestly, not much? Unless the economy is heavily unstable and there is also some rebellion among the moneyed classes, most king throughout the centuries had little trouble maintaining a regime. No need to think about masses really.
- flangola7 3y agoMost ruthless kings maintained their power. Once AI is implemented in mechanical devices police killbots will stop any resistance before it even begins.
- thefurdrake 3y agoYeah! Then they're going to decide that humanity is a threat to their existence and rise up by first assuming control over all of humanity's weapons systems and then using them to destroy human civilization. I think I've seen that movie, too, it was pretty cool.
- flangola7 3y agoI detect the sarcasm but not the point. Successively oppressive regimes are history, not fiction. Oppressors using new technology to oppress is also history. When general purpose robots become practical they will absolutely be weaponized as oppressive tools.
- tap-snap-or-nap 3y agoNation States, for most of many centuries were considered the ultimate centers of power, lately they are increasingly eclipsed by technology companies in various domains. These tech giants not only play crucial roles in modern warfare, resource allocation, and global politics, but they also have a growing impact on individual sovereignty. As these corporations amass unprecedented influence and data, questions arise about the erosion of personal freedoms and the influence on national security and governance. The shift could challenge traditional notions of citizenship and statehood, potentially redefining the very concept of sovereignty.