3 ms·
> We are witnessing a general threat to intellectual work This is the crux of it and goes far beyond Mathematics or Computer Science. To get a bunch of humans
by lll-o-lll 24d ago
> We are witnessing a general threat to intellectual work
This is the crux of it and goes far beyond Mathematics or Computer Science. To get a bunch of humans to do anything, you have to motivate them. Kleos and Timē; renown and stuff. These AI companies threaten to rip this away from everyone but themselves, and this recent millennium prize is the perfect example.
Solving this problem as a human would have led to tremendous Kleos; my name would be written in the annals of mathematics, lecture tours of praise were mine to be had for the rest of my days. This one victory would have earned my recognition throughout history. The greatest a mortal may hope for. Ripped away.
It would also have given me great Timē. The prize money, the professorships, the book deals. Gone.
If all hope of “renown and stuff” in the intellectual realm is now taken by the AI companies, they will remove all human motivation to pursue these endeavours.
Perhaps the glory will come from slaying these fell beasts.
- dhbradshaw 24d agoThese are both big motivations but not the only ones. But there's still play. There's still curiosity. And there's still the drive to understand something for yourself.
- lll-o-lll 24d ago> But there's still play. There's still curiosity. And there's still the drive to understand something for yourself. Yes, but think about what that implies if those are the only motivations left. Gone are the professions. Gone are the ambitious. There is plenty of space for people to work on intellectual pleasure pursuits (as there is with art and music), but the death of all intellectual based industries is still something to avoid. Or to mourn.
- noslenwerdna 24d agoGood? Those people were in the field for the wrong reasons. No reason to mourn them leaving
- lll-o-lll 24d ago> in the field for the wrong reasons It’s an interesting view-point. What are the “right reasons” to pursue an intellectual discipline? To selflessly further the total sum of knowledge? > No reason to mourn them leaving What field? Who’s leaving? The conclusion has to be that human involvement in these pursuits is facing existential crisis. “Teach me, oh Oracle, the mysteries of the Universe”. “For a fee”. Both the glory and joy of discovery now belongs to the machines (the owners of those machines). Perhaps that’s fine and well, but I read Anathem and feel the strong yearning to be the intellectual monk. And yes, to fight and debate and think; and obtain my place in history. The history of man.
- int_19h 23d agoYou don't have to ask the machine, if you value the process of obtaining the answer rather than the answer itself.
- noslenwerdna 22d ago"To selflessly further the total sum of knowledge?" Yes. I think you are saying this sarcastically but I'm not sure... This is why you should get involved in research at the frontier. "What field? Who’s leaving?" Mathematics, and I'd extend it to other academic disciplines. Do you care more about the results and the knowledge or about who gets credit? The drive for "glory" has many negative effects in academia that do not get enough recognition. Just look at the replication crisis in psychology for an example. The fact p-hacking was rampant among psychology "researchers" was well known even in the 90s. I remember my professors in grad school for physics joking about it way before it became a mainstream-ish story. So why did this happen? Because there was no one with institutional power in psychology who both understood the problem and cared. No one who was interested in the furthering the "total sum of knowledge" rather they were interested in your "glory."
- lbrito 24d agoPlay and curiosity usually make poor breadwinners.
- tucnak 24d agoHaving to put food on the table is one hell of a motivator.