06-15-2022, 08:23 AM
I hadn't actually read this topic yet when I posted my OP about the Cloud. And now that I sit back and think about it, the two posts are related. Depending on one's point of view, the two topics might even be very closely related, although AI is not really what I am going to write about in my thread, and now seeing this I will consciously avoid the subject (but I really didn't have much to say about it there anyway). The two subjects are different enough that I believe they each stand on their own legs, and for different reasons. I did want to say though that this topic did not inspire my topic.
Further to the subject of this OP in particular, I have said for a very long time that society needs to be careful about how much we embrace technology. People are inherently lazy, and technology is one of those areas where people can easily fall into the trap of thinking technology makes their lives easier without realizing the potential downsides of it. I feel this is a very real concern going forward, almost regardless of the specific topic.
As I have often noted, although I work in technology myself, I have intentionally structured my personal life around things which do not involve technology for exactly this reason. I believe that if people allow technology to do everything for them they become dependent on it. We can see countless examples of this every day right now. It's only going to get worse...if we, as a society, let it.
There is a ginormous philosophical question (or questions) associated with the topic of sentient AI systems. Even before computers, science fiction writers were imagining it in their writing...imagining a world were machines take over.
I am thoroughly convinced that many, if not most, developers of next generation technology are very short sighted, despite their claims otherwise. They are only interested in the profits they can make today, without thinking about how their inventions may be used as a foundation for something far more sinister in the future. Obviously, this begs the question of if they have violated some moral obligation by creating and/or releasing these types of technology. But in the same breath we have to ask ourselves a very difficult question...who would be the judge of whether a technology is morally appropriate or not? It doesn't take much imagination to envision countless scumbag politicians lining up for the "job", but more seriously it is almost a role for 'God' (in an agnostic sense).
Sentient systems are a fascinating, and at the same time terrifying, thing to contemplate! "Open the Pod by doors, HAL. HAL, open the Pod bay doors."...should be burned into the ROM chips in everyone's heads by now.
Is it a surprise that there would be such a development? From my perspective, the answer is "No". I guess my biggest question is...why did it take so long?
Kubrick's masterpiece was entertainment, and with it there was hope. In another piece, far less of a masterpiece of entertainment, there was an even more chilling moment, and this was in the movie, The Terminator. It was the part where Reese describes to Sarah about how Cyberdine's Skynet 'reasoned' out that humans presented such a grave threat that the only solution was to launch an all out nuclear conflict to exterminate the human race. And, while this may seem pretty far fetched, is it really...when we consider some of the madness and political / societal vitriol we see on a daily basis going on in society right now??? When we see entire social media networks programmed by humans to consciously manipulate public opinion in order to avenge some imagined or perceived wrong??
I personally have no doubt there are wackos out there right at this moment who would willingly destroy the human race for some ideological cause. Five hundred years ago, such a person would have had an impossible time perpetrating such an act. But today, such an act is but a few keystrokes away...and might be as simple as letting a simple little bat out of a containment area in some distant region of China! But that could never happen...could it?? Covid-27, anyone? Because some nutcase gets his panties in a wad over a MAGA hat, or who knows what else!
This development, if real, was almost an inevitability; it was only a matter of time. Now, I'm not sure what to wish for. Do I wish for the ATM machine to suddenly vanish from the 7-11 store, or wish to be so old that it won't matter no matter what happens? Both are pretty bleak wishes. Sadly, the one thing I want to wish for the most is the one thing I know for a fact is a wish which will never be granted, and that is the wish that mankind is smart enough to not ever allow 'Skynet' (or whatever) to ever happen. For that is the wish which grant beggars the resources to ride.
Something to think about.
Further to the subject of this OP in particular, I have said for a very long time that society needs to be careful about how much we embrace technology. People are inherently lazy, and technology is one of those areas where people can easily fall into the trap of thinking technology makes their lives easier without realizing the potential downsides of it. I feel this is a very real concern going forward, almost regardless of the specific topic.
As I have often noted, although I work in technology myself, I have intentionally structured my personal life around things which do not involve technology for exactly this reason. I believe that if people allow technology to do everything for them they become dependent on it. We can see countless examples of this every day right now. It's only going to get worse...if we, as a society, let it.
There is a ginormous philosophical question (or questions) associated with the topic of sentient AI systems. Even before computers, science fiction writers were imagining it in their writing...imagining a world were machines take over.
I am thoroughly convinced that many, if not most, developers of next generation technology are very short sighted, despite their claims otherwise. They are only interested in the profits they can make today, without thinking about how their inventions may be used as a foundation for something far more sinister in the future. Obviously, this begs the question of if they have violated some moral obligation by creating and/or releasing these types of technology. But in the same breath we have to ask ourselves a very difficult question...who would be the judge of whether a technology is morally appropriate or not? It doesn't take much imagination to envision countless scumbag politicians lining up for the "job", but more seriously it is almost a role for 'God' (in an agnostic sense).
Sentient systems are a fascinating, and at the same time terrifying, thing to contemplate! "Open the Pod by doors, HAL. HAL, open the Pod bay doors."...should be burned into the ROM chips in everyone's heads by now.
Is it a surprise that there would be such a development? From my perspective, the answer is "No". I guess my biggest question is...why did it take so long?
Kubrick's masterpiece was entertainment, and with it there was hope. In another piece, far less of a masterpiece of entertainment, there was an even more chilling moment, and this was in the movie, The Terminator. It was the part where Reese describes to Sarah about how Cyberdine's Skynet 'reasoned' out that humans presented such a grave threat that the only solution was to launch an all out nuclear conflict to exterminate the human race. And, while this may seem pretty far fetched, is it really...when we consider some of the madness and political / societal vitriol we see on a daily basis going on in society right now??? When we see entire social media networks programmed by humans to consciously manipulate public opinion in order to avenge some imagined or perceived wrong??
I personally have no doubt there are wackos out there right at this moment who would willingly destroy the human race for some ideological cause. Five hundred years ago, such a person would have had an impossible time perpetrating such an act. But today, such an act is but a few keystrokes away...and might be as simple as letting a simple little bat out of a containment area in some distant region of China! But that could never happen...could it?? Covid-27, anyone? Because some nutcase gets his panties in a wad over a MAGA hat, or who knows what else!
This development, if real, was almost an inevitability; it was only a matter of time. Now, I'm not sure what to wish for. Do I wish for the ATM machine to suddenly vanish from the 7-11 store, or wish to be so old that it won't matter no matter what happens? Both are pretty bleak wishes. Sadly, the one thing I want to wish for the most is the one thing I know for a fact is a wish which will never be granted, and that is the wish that mankind is smart enough to not ever allow 'Skynet' (or whatever) to ever happen. For that is the wish which grant beggars the resources to ride.
Something to think about.