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There are two ways that AI threatens humanity. The first is AI as a technology that inserts a layer between a user and common sense, especially when AI fails at

There are two ways that AI threatens humanity. The first is AI as a technology that inserts a layer between a user and common sense, especially when AI fails at the edge cases or is acting according to some bean counters 80/20 algorithm. The second is from General Artificial Intelligence (GAI) and frankly that is very very far off. Deep networks have made a ton of advances over the past ten years, but we've seen this before. New AI technique (usually with some biological analogue) is discovered which makes big leaps over previous generations and then it hits a wall. We're in one of those open periods right now and while we will come out with some amazing technology it's a big leap to think that this directly moves us into GAI. To get to GAI we're going to need new advances in how we make artificial neural network architectures. In effect they're going to need to be plastic and evolvable, and there are ways to get there, but researchers are making so much progress with new techniques that it will take awhile before they need to find new alternatives.

AndrewKemendo 12y ago
You don't go into how AGI would actually threaten humanity. This is because no one actually has a good grasp of how it would. Oh sure, Bostrom/Yudkowski et al. have their theories but there is only the thinnest of literature out there. Why? Because no one knows what AGI will look like. Even AGI researchers cannot come to consensus on what it would look like let alone even tests to verify that it is in fact an AGI. To that end though, the scenarios that are given can be considered compelling, but as with everything it is simply a risk, not a guarantee. Even if it was a guarantee though, it is the only thing we can do as a species - there is no greater thing. "Birthing" a system that is collectively more intelligent than us in my opinion is the logical end goal of humanity and it may well be the last thing we do as a species.

AndrewKemendo 12y ago

You don't go into how AGI would actually threaten humanity. This is because no one actually has a good grasp of how it would. Oh sure, Bostrom/Yudkowski et al. have their theories but there is only the thinnest of literature out there. Why? Because no one knows what AGI will look like. Even AGI researchers cannot come to consensus on what it would look like let alone even tests to verify that it is in fact an AGI. To that end though, the scenarios that are given can be considered compelling, but as with everything it is simply a risk, not a guarantee. Even if it was a guarantee though, it is the only thing we can do as a species - there is no greater thing. "Birthing" a system that is collectively more intelligent than us in my opinion is the logical end goal of humanity and it may well be the last thing we do as a species.