3 ms·

Here's a question: Why do we even need human-level intelligence? We already have it.

by bmitc 3y ago

demurgos 3y ago
Human-level intelligence is a milestone on the way to a super-human one.
echelon 3y ago
We're barely scratching the surface of all the cool and interesting things we could do. There aren't enough humans. Our knowledge and experience take 20 years from birth to become "rudimentary", and from there many more years to become "good". Then after a short bit, all of that passes away. I want us to have enough time that the feeling of opportunity cost goes away. To visit all the places, explore all the hobbies. I want to answer the deep questions of the universe. Turn gravitational lenses into telescopes to map the surfaces of exoplanets. Solve cancer, visit the moon. Turn dreams into experiences, walk through vast expanses of wonder. Instead we're here. I'm alive in the wrong time, and I hate being stuck here with the lot of you. (I kid. This is in jest. But boy do I ever dream...)
- bmitc 3y ago
  > We're barely scratching the surface of all the cool and interesting things we could do. And what are some examples of those things? Right now, AI, i.e., machine learning, is just being used to steal people's data and work only to try and sell them more things. That's 99% of the use cases out there right now.
lazzlazzlazz 3y ago
We don't have enough of it. Depending how you define and measure it, many humans don't even have it. It's extremely expensive to make more of, and it's the single most valuable resource. If this isn't obvious to you, you are providing an answer to your own question.
- password54321 3y ago
  >We don't have enough of it. More like we aren't making efficient use out of it. Many people are just trying make through the rat race or choosing to use their intelligence in games instead of working on interesting problems.
- lewhoo 3y ago
  > We don't have enough of it. Enough for what ?
- bgnn 3y ago
  Well, why do we expect it will be cheaper? Looking at the power required to train LLMs one can argue that it might be more beneficial to invest that money in education of humans :')
  - charcircuit 3y ago
    >Well, why do we expect it will be cheaper? For the same reason one expects a roulette wheel to stop on red. It's a gamble that one hopes pays off.
- bmitc 3y ago
  I don't know what you mean by "this" and what should be obvious. We don't have enough of what for what? And what do we even need it for? We have 8 billion people on Earth, and we're running out of resources to handle all of them, including emotional resources. If we can't handle that, how are we going to handle billions of artificial entities with human-level intelligence? They will require oodles of power and have their own emotional needs. All of this is chasing a poisoned carrot. And currently, all that we've gotten out of artificial intelligence is more targeted ads.
D-Coder 3y ago
Computers can run 24x7, no vacations, no sick time, no unions, no backtalk to the boss, no spilling their coffee on the office carpeting...
- bmitc 3y ago
  So we need it for slavery?
mitthrowaway2 3y ago
Because humans are expensive.
- bmitc 3y ago
  Glad you've at least called it out explicitly while others beat around the bush. I personally view humans, plants, and animals as what they are and not as cost centers.

Here's a question: Why do we even need human-level intelligence? We already have it.

by bmitc 3y ago

Here's a question: Why do we even need human-level intelligence? We already have it.

demurgos 3y ago

Human-level intelligence is a milestone on the way to a super-human one.

echelon 3y ago

We're barely scratching the surface of all the cool and interesting things we could do. There aren't enough humans. Our knowledge and experience take 20 years from birth to become "rudimentary", and from there many more years to become "good". Then after a short bit, all of that passes away. I want us to have enough time that the feeling of opportunity cost goes away. To visit all the places, explore all the hobbies. I want to answer the deep questions of the universe. Turn gravitational lenses into telescopes to map the surfaces of exoplanets. Solve cancer, visit the moon. Turn dreams into experiences, walk through vast expanses of wonder. Instead we're here. I'm alive in the wrong time, and I hate being stuck here with the lot of you. (I kid. This is in jest. But boy do I ever dream...)

bmitc 3y ago
> We're barely scratching the surface of all the cool and interesting things we could do. And what are some examples of those things? Right now, AI, i.e., machine learning, is just being used to steal people's data and work only to try and sell them more things. That's 99% of the use cases out there right now.

lazzlazzlazz 3y ago

We don't have enough of it. Depending how you define and measure it, many humans don't even have it. It's extremely expensive to make more of, and it's the single most valuable resource. If this isn't obvious to you, you are providing an answer to your own question.

password54321 3y ago
>We don't have enough of it. More like we aren't making efficient use out of it. Many people are just trying make through the rat race or choosing to use their intelligence in games instead of working on interesting problems.
lewhoo 3y ago
> We don't have enough of it. Enough for what ?
bgnn 3y ago
Well, why do we expect it will be cheaper? Looking at the power required to train LLMs one can argue that it might be more beneficial to invest that money in education of humans :')
- charcircuit 3y ago
  >Well, why do we expect it will be cheaper? For the same reason one expects a roulette wheel to stop on red. It's a gamble that one hopes pays off.
bmitc 3y ago
I don't know what you mean by "this" and what should be obvious. We don't have enough of what for what? And what do we even need it for? We have 8 billion people on Earth, and we're running out of resources to handle all of them, including emotional resources. If we can't handle that, how are we going to handle billions of artificial entities with human-level intelligence? They will require oodles of power and have their own emotional needs. All of this is chasing a poisoned carrot. And currently, all that we've gotten out of artificial intelligence is more targeted ads.

D-Coder 3y ago

Computers can run 24x7, no vacations, no sick time, no unions, no backtalk to the boss, no spilling their coffee on the office carpeting...

bmitc 3y ago
So we need it for slavery?

mitthrowaway2 3y ago

Because humans are expensive.

bmitc 3y ago
Glad you've at least called it out explicitly while others beat around the bush. I personally view humans, plants, and animals as what they are and not as cost centers.