It's really too late to be concerned about frightening effects of technology now that drones are allowed in US airspace.
Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
31–40 of 117 posts
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#32If I read it right, he has stopped working on a form of artificial intelligence because it could potentially (or inevitably) be used to create androids indistinguishable from humans that are carrying nuclear or biological payloads inside of them, presumably to be detonated in a densely populated area. Taking as a given, like he does, that the advancement and spread of technology are inevitable, wouldn't it still be m…
The whole posting appears to lie somewhere between an immature rant and a publicity stunt. A suitcase would both elicit less suspicion and always (?) be easier/cheaper to design/develop/purchase/deploy than a humanoid robot. A hundred years from now, it will probably be trivial to set up X-ray scanners (or whatever they will be using) to secure most urban areas from entering by humanoid robots; much more difficult to…
Let's not get ahead of ourselves by describing ways to counteract current 2012 destructive technologies with technology that "will probably be trivial" to implement in 2112.
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#33I cannot think of a worse argument to stop building revolutionary technology than: "It might all blow up in our faces".
It's going to get built, one way or another, the only way for it not to destroy us is for us to make sure perfect angels design it perfectly, or we proceed cautiously and make things as safe as possible. Like airplanes and spaceships.
If he's worried about androids rising up against their former rulers with their delicate flesh, his worries are about 60 years premature. I will continue to build and improve on the neural networks I build. And when they are intelligent enough to ponder their own existence and defend themselves as humans do, I will fight for their rights as citizens.
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#34What I find really ridiculous about this article is that the author is worried about just a single possible use of a world-changing technology. He is concerned that creating real artificial intelligence will allow for the possibility of someone building androids with nuclear bombs inside masquerading as humans, a very specific and frankly ridiculous idea, taken straight out of the movie Impostor or from Philip K Dick's story of the same name.
In reality, the effects of building truly intelligent machines would be so vast, so utterly unpredictable, that worrying about one single possible use of the technology is absurd. Nothing has prepared us to deal with another fundamentally different intelligence on this planet, especially one that would soon outstrip our own. We don't know if we can keep the AIs as our slaves, or whether we would become their slaves, or merge with them, or we would become extinct like the dinosaurs and they would represent a new phase in human evolution.
For more about the risks related to the rise of true AI read this: http://yudkowsky.net/singularity/ai-risk
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#35Um, remote controlled robot?
Why would I waste time making an AI robot to carry my bomb when for a lot less money and complexity I could just control it remotely.
Does he realize how crazy he sounds? Some people becomes obsessed with an idea, and start thinking that everything in the world is about them.
Have you ever been approached by someone on the street with a super important message to tell you, and they are utterly obsessed with it? That's how he sounds - only more articulate.
I'm don't intend to be insulting when I say he should see a mental health professional.
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#36"They’re in the remote possibility of building intelligent machines that act, and even appear, as humans. If this is achieved, eventually intelligent weapons of mass destruction will be built, without doubt." Worrying about this strikes me as a bit daft when you can already convince actual humans to be your weapons delivery system. It also shows some significant shortsightedness regarding scaling laws which an AI res…
Motion tracking quadcopters that are designed to carry explosive payloads larger than grenades are already being developed.
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#37While I respect the author's decision to leave his reasearch, I am suprised that the reason was due to robot suicide bombers.
We have plenty of humans who are ready to go into a crowded place and detonate an explosive. Some, I'm sure, would like that explosive to be a nuclear weapon.
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#38If I read it right, he has stopped working on a form of artificial intelligence because it could potentially (or inevitably) be used to create androids indistinguishable from humans that are carrying nuclear or biological payloads inside of them, presumably to be detonated in a densely populated area. Taking as a given, like he does, that the advancement and spread of technology are inevitable, wouldn't it still be m…
I read the post a few minutes ago and came to a similar conclusion, or more so that such an abstract and distant possibility would be his reason for exiting the field. Then it just occurred to me that his research could be used to detect the androids. /moralityfail
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#39If I read it right, he has stopped working on a form of artificial intelligence because it could potentially (or inevitably) be used to create androids indistinguishable from humans that are carrying nuclear or biological payloads inside of them, presumably to be detonated in a densely populated area. Taking as a given, like he does, that the advancement and spread of technology are inevitable, wouldn't it still be m…
I read the post a few minutes ago and came to a similar conclusion, or more so that such an abstract and distant possibility would be his reason for exiting the field. Then it just occurred to me that his research could be used to detect the androids. /moralityfail
Re: Why I stopped working on the Bongard Problems
#40If I read it right, he has stopped working on a form of artificial intelligence because it could potentially (or inevitably) be used to create androids indistinguishable from humans that are carrying nuclear or biological payloads inside of them, presumably to be detonated in a densely populated area. Taking as a given, like he does, that the advancement and spread of technology are inevitable, wouldn't it still be m…
Humans don't carry nukes because fissile material is _heavy_. Add onto that the shielding to make sure the person can even carry it without becoming gravely ill very shortly into their delivery and the fact a suitcase nuke or dirty bomb has never been personally delivered is not very surprising. The ridiculous part is that making an android carry this payload doesn't change the nature of the payload. Heavy, fissile m…
There are some much lighter elements you can use. curium-247 would be ideal.
A long half life (so you can store it), the radiation is all alpha particles, which are undetectable remotely, and is safe to handle (no shielding necessary, just cover it). (However the decay products are much more dangerous, so it's not a total panacea, fresh curium would be desired.)
It has a critical mass of about 7Kg, so it's easy to carry.
Of course the hard part is making it.....
You also have to refine it carefully, since all the contaminants are very radioactive. (However mixing other isotopes of curium with it is not a serious problem, so refining it is not incredibly hard.)