4 ms·

Because you can’t stop people, companies and/or countries from creating AI with those motivations.

by bottlepalm 3y ago

jacquesm 3y ago
I'm not worried about the AI, I'm worried about the people and companies that have it.
- mitthrowaway2 3y ago
  The above sentiment is posted many times on every such thread, it would be greatly enriched with am explanation of why you're not worried about the AI. Because worrying about B is not a rationale for not worrying about A.
  - tpm 3y ago
    Because the AI controlled by humans is a tool, a technology, that can be used in various ways. Are you worried about knives in general or are you worried about a knife in the hands of a particular person in a particular moment?
    - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
      Okay, but that assumes that control of AI is as trivially easy as controlling a knife. Given that this is one of the key unknowns, assuming that the AI never does anything that its controller doesn't intend is begging the question. That aside, I can also think of many cases where I would feel less safe around a machine that had nobody in control of it, than one being adeptly controlled by an operator.
      - tpm 3y ago
        One important thing is that nobody has shown an actual existing AI to be not controllable, nor a way to create one. Until then it's an imaginary, non-existing risk. Of course as a fear and anxiety-based society we can also worry about those, but I think we should worry more about existing risks.
  - j_maffe 3y ago
    Besides the other comment which is quite correct, we're going to suffer from B far before we will suffer from A.
    - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
      That is a valid reason to worry about B, but not a valid reason not to worry about A!
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    AI doesn't act by itself and worst case you could unplug the bloody thing (SF notwithstanding). But the guys with the guns are the same guys with the guns that have been in charge for as long as there are guns (with some rare exceptions) and I really don't think the existence of AI will change human nature. So AI will be used as a weapon long before it will be a standalone threat. And I like to focus on the things that are more immediate because that's where the threat is most likely to materialize and have effect on me.
    - dragonwriter 3y ago
      > AI doesn't act by itself It can be made to quite easily. > and worst case you could unplug the bloody thing Not necessarily. > But the guys with the guns are the same guys with the guns Well, unless they are autonomous AI drones with guns (or missiles), in which case they are different “guys” with guns.
      - jacquesm 3y ago
        Sure, I've seen those movies. But today it's the guys with the guns/drones/grenades/missiles. I'm worried about stable dictatorships far more than I am about AGI taking over the world and offing humanity because stable dictatorships are already using every weapon they can lay their hands on to control the population and AGI might just tip the scale to the point where they become eternal. And regular AI (the kind that we have today, because AGI is simply not yet a thing that has been achieved afaik) is more than dangerous enough in that context.
        mitthrowaway2 3y ago
        > But today There's no question that this is a tomorrow-focused concern, just like climate change or Kessler syndrome, et cetera. And today's concerns are important too. Nobody is dismissing them. But tomorrow comes quite quickly these days. You're allowed to be concerned about both.
        jacquesm 3y ago

Because you can’t stop people, companies and/or countries from creating AI with those motivations.

jacquesm 3y ago

I'm not worried about the AI, I'm worried about the people and companies that have it.

mitthrowaway2 3y ago
The above sentiment is posted many times on every such thread, it would be greatly enriched with am explanation of why you're not worried about the AI. Because worrying about B is not a rationale for not worrying about A.
- tpm 3y ago
  Because the AI controlled by humans is a tool, a technology, that can be used in various ways. Are you worried about knives in general or are you worried about a knife in the hands of a particular person in a particular moment?
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    Okay, but that assumes that control of AI is as trivially easy as controlling a knife. Given that this is one of the key unknowns, assuming that the AI never does anything that its controller doesn't intend is begging the question. That aside, I can also think of many cases where I would feel less safe around a machine that had nobody in control of it, than one being adeptly controlled by an operator.
    - tpm 3y ago
      One important thing is that nobody has shown an actual existing AI to be not controllable, nor a way to create one. Until then it's an imaginary, non-existing risk. Of course as a fear and anxiety-based society we can also worry about those, but I think we should worry more about existing risks.
- j_maffe 3y ago
  Besides the other comment which is quite correct, we're going to suffer from B far before we will suffer from A.
  - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
    That is a valid reason to worry about B, but not a valid reason not to worry about A!
- jacquesm 3y ago
  AI doesn't act by itself and worst case you could unplug the bloody thing (SF notwithstanding). But the guys with the guns are the same guys with the guns that have been in charge for as long as there are guns (with some rare exceptions) and I really don't think the existence of AI will change human nature. So AI will be used as a weapon long before it will be a standalone threat. And I like to focus on the things that are more immediate because that's where the threat is most likely to materialize and have effect on me.
  - dragonwriter 3y ago
    > AI doesn't act by itself It can be made to quite easily. > and worst case you could unplug the bloody thing Not necessarily. > But the guys with the guns are the same guys with the guns Well, unless they are autonomous AI drones with guns (or missiles), in which case they are different “guys” with guns.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      Sure, I've seen those movies. But today it's the guys with the guns/drones/grenades/missiles. I'm worried about stable dictatorships far more than I am about AGI taking over the world and offing humanity because stable dictatorships are already using every weapon they can lay their hands on to control the population and AGI might just tip the scale to the point where they become eternal. And regular AI (the kind that we have today, because AGI is simply not yet a thing that has been achieved afaik) is more than dangerous enough in that context.
      - mitthrowaway2 3y ago
        > But today There's no question that this is a tomorrow-focused concern, just like climate change or Kessler syndrome, et cetera. And today's concerns are important too. Nobody is dismissing them. But tomorrow comes quite quickly these days. You're allowed to be concerned about both.
        jacquesm 3y ago