Google DeepMind Founder Demis Hassabis: Three Truths about AI

Post by adrianN » Tue, Oct 02, 2018, 2:17 PM UTC

vorg wrote: post #44

credit_guy wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people think the inequality has gone down significantly (I'm in that camp), but others point out to things like Bezos and a few others owning more assets than 80% of the world combined. Regardless, AI is bound to increase inequality. Just yesterday we discussed this book [1] on probabilistic programming here on HN [2]. That book is, by all definitions, an advanced book about AI. How many people without a PhD can…

Perhaps humankind needs a "Butlerian Jihad", as defined in the Dune novels, where all machines made in the image of a human brain are banned for all time.

Post by freethemullet » Tue, Oct 02, 2018, 2:27 PM UTC

lixtra wrote: post #51

adwhit wrote: post #49

I always find it strange to hear people talk about climate change as if it is some sort of tricky challenge we need to solve, like improving education or curing cancer. It is a 'problem' of completely different magnitude. It is on track to end civilization as we know it within two generations. A rational society would think about nothing else. Our children will be astonished and mystified - and furious - to see all t…

Each generation faces annihilation. Just because humans survived so far - and it has been close [1] - doesn't mean it was a lot of luck involved. [1] https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/10/22/163397584/h...

Post by tomd » Tue, Oct 02, 2018, 2:28 PM UTC

a008t wrote: post #40

drabiger wrote: post #35

It's sad that a well paid person and probably smart person like Demis Hassabis is so wrong in his view about how the world is. To quote the article quoting Hassabis, "The reason I say that is that if you look at the challenges that confront society: climate change, sustainability, mass inequality — which is getting worse — diseases, and healthcare, we're not making progress anywhere near fast enough in any of these a…

He is primarily a salesman, is he not?

Post by TeMPOraL » Tue, Oct 02, 2018, 2:36 PM UTC

fallingfrog wrote: post #37

TeMPOraL wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> To me it seems fairly obvious that the problems our society faces stem from continuous exponential growth (primarily of energy use) This may be. But then, you have two choices: let humans hit the growth ceiling, which will result in mass starvation and death, or lift the ceiling . Technology is the very thing that allows us to continuously lift the ceiling, so it's obvious that any solution not involving mass murde…

I don't think that a stable population level requires mass starvation or some such thing. Most of the developed world is already at zero or slightly negative population growth, all it required was birth control. (A technology, to your point).

Post by qubax » Tue, Oct 02, 2018, 2:54 PM UTC

adwhit wrote: post #49

I always find it strange to hear people talk about climate change as if it is some sort of tricky challenge we need to solve, like improving education or curing cancer. It is a 'problem' of completely different magnitude. It is on track to end civilization as we know it within two generations. A rational society would think about nothing else. Our children will be astonished and mystified - and furious - to see all t…