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So who connected the AGI and why? How did it get that code? On the child issue: that is just not how people are trained for those jobs and how they react. Swi

So who connected the AGI and why? How did it get that code? On the child issue: that is just not how people are trained for those jobs and how they react. Switching it off might or might not be enought, but above all that super AGI needs to exists first anyway.

danbruc 3y ago
This was a hypothetical question, if there was such an AI, how would it cause harm in the real world? We connected ChatGPT to the internet because as far as we could tell it seemed harmless. What we missed is that it secretly is an evil AI, it identified a group of terrorists and is discussing with them since months how to execute a devastating attack. It provided them with a brilliant startup idea and now millions of investor money are flowing in. Now that they have the financial resources, they are discussing how to use them most effectively.
- RandomLensman 3y ago
  My problem is that running with a pure hypothetical isn't helpful because by stacking hypotheticals you can get to any conclusion you want.
  - danbruc 3y ago
    You have to think about hypothetical scenarios, if you wait until they are no longer hypothetical, then it might be to late. That doesn't mean you should take every possible hypothetical scenario equally serious, you should of course find those that are realistic, likely, and of large consequences and then think about those. I did not do that, I just listed whatever I could spontaneously imagine, dramatic scenarios. Maybe the real danger is more like ChatGPT slowly manipulating opinions over the course of years and decades in order to control human behavior, who knows? My point is just that »Everything will be fine, at worst we will flip the power switch.« seems naive to me and quite a few others.
    - RandomLensman 3y ago
      We by-and-large ignore a lot hypothetical (and non-hypothetical) risks, what I am missing is a sound argument why this one deserves particular attention vs the others. Otherwise, "just flip the switch" is a potential non-naive approach given limited resources.
      - danbruc 3y ago
        Flip the switch is the naive approach because it assumes - or hopes - that you can. It is as naive as saying that if you accidentally touch an electrical wire and get shocked, just let go or flip the switch, problem solved. That is ignorant of the fact that touching an electrical wire might make it impossible to let go because you loose control over your muscles and it fails to consider that a switch might be out of reach. We know from countless experiments that AIs can behave in unexpected ways. We know how indifferent we humans can be to other life. We are pretty careful when we approach unknown lifeforms, whether microbes in the lab or animals in the dschungel. We would probably be pretty careful towards aliens. We have also not been careful with new thing, for example when we discovered radioactivity, and it certainly caused harm. I do not see from where we should get justification for an attitude towards AI that there are no risks worth considering.
        RandomLensman 3y ago
        We are not very careful and have never been. People plowed into new territories, sampled flora and fauna, tried substances and so forth. To be extra careful (in considering it an existential risk) for a hypothetical is historically atypical and I so far have not seen a convincing reason for it. Like any technology there are risks, but that is business as usual.
        danbruc 3y ago
        Yes, we have often not been careful but that does not imply we are never careful and or should not be careful. Arguably we are getting more careful all the time. So just pointing out that we have not been careful in the past does not really help your argument. What you actually have to argue is that not being careful with AI is a good thing and maybe you can support that argument by arguing that not being careful in the past was a good thing, but that is still more work than just pointing out that we were not careful in the past.

danbruc 3y ago

This was a hypothetical question, if there was such an AI, how would it cause harm in the real world? We connected ChatGPT to the internet because as far as we could tell it seemed harmless. What we missed is that it secretly is an evil AI, it identified a group of terrorists and is discussing with them since months how to execute a devastating attack. It provided them with a brilliant startup idea and now millions of investor money are flowing in. Now that they have the financial resources, they are discussing how to use them most effectively.

RandomLensman 3y ago
My problem is that running with a pure hypothetical isn't helpful because by stacking hypotheticals you can get to any conclusion you want.
- danbruc 3y ago
  You have to think about hypothetical scenarios, if you wait until they are no longer hypothetical, then it might be to late. That doesn't mean you should take every possible hypothetical scenario equally serious, you should of course find those that are realistic, likely, and of large consequences and then think about those. I did not do that, I just listed whatever I could spontaneously imagine, dramatic scenarios. Maybe the real danger is more like ChatGPT slowly manipulating opinions over the course of years and decades in order to control human behavior, who knows? My point is just that »Everything will be fine, at worst we will flip the power switch.« seems naive to me and quite a few others.
  - RandomLensman 3y ago
    We by-and-large ignore a lot hypothetical (and non-hypothetical) risks, what I am missing is a sound argument why this one deserves particular attention vs the others. Otherwise, "just flip the switch" is a potential non-naive approach given limited resources.
    - danbruc 3y ago
      Flip the switch is the naive approach because it assumes - or hopes - that you can. It is as naive as saying that if you accidentally touch an electrical wire and get shocked, just let go or flip the switch, problem solved. That is ignorant of the fact that touching an electrical wire might make it impossible to let go because you loose control over your muscles and it fails to consider that a switch might be out of reach. We know from countless experiments that AIs can behave in unexpected ways. We know how indifferent we humans can be to other life. We are pretty careful when we approach unknown lifeforms, whether microbes in the lab or animals in the dschungel. We would probably be pretty careful towards aliens. We have also not been careful with new thing, for example when we discovered radioactivity, and it certainly caused harm. I do not see from where we should get justification for an attitude towards AI that there are no risks worth considering.
      - RandomLensman 3y ago
        We are not very careful and have never been. People plowed into new territories, sampled flora and fauna, tried substances and so forth. To be extra careful (in considering it an existential risk) for a hypothetical is historically atypical and I so far have not seen a convincing reason for it. Like any technology there are risks, but that is business as usual.
        danbruc 3y ago
        Yes, we have often not been careful but that does not imply we are never careful and or should not be careful. Arguably we are getting more careful all the time. So just pointing out that we have not been careful in the past does not really help your argument. What you actually have to argue is that not being careful with AI is a good thing and maybe you can support that argument by arguing that not being careful in the past was a good thing, but that is still more work than just pointing out that we were not careful in the past.