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Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

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Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#41

Post by eloff »

People like to laugh, but if we can invent real AI, and there's no reason to suspect that we cannot since nature did it blindly, then it's just a matter of time until the end of the human race. We will likely either become them or be destroyed by them (or maybe some of us kept in zoos or as pets.) You cannot firewall or imprison a god, especially with humans being so divided, short sighted and manipulable. Simply put it's still survival of the fittest, what happens when that's no longer us is pretty inevitable. The only real question I see is how long will it take?

One happy thought is that the AI uses us as slaves to build a way off the planet to a place more habitable for an AI. Someplace nice with lots of raw material for chips and lots of energy. Maybe a super massive blackhole, maybe another solar system nearby.

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#43

Post by pyre »

darkxanthos wrote: post #10

"I’m talking about the risks posed by “runaway” artificial intelligence (AI). What happens when we share the planet with self-aware, self-improving machines that evolve beyond our ability to control or understand? Are we creating machines that are destined to destroy us?" The reason no one is worrying about this is because "AI" is still a) just a bunch of math (and still surprisingly stupid) b) nowhere near sentient.…

> My Kinect can barely follow my hand or consistently recognize what I'm saying with any accuracy. I'm really not concerned with it plotting my demise.

Maybe that's just what it wants you to thing... ;-)

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#44

Post by phkamp »

We have already invented AI, and it is already running amok.

The AIs are of the "hive mind" kind and it is common to refer to it as "A transnational corporation."

Known identities are "IBM", "Google", "Unilever", "Monsanto" etc.

These AI's are beholden to nobody, define and persue their own goals, by manipulating their environment to their advantage.

And they're better at it than humans: They decide for themselves when, where and how much tax they want to pay, and they are not afraid to remind parliamentary inquiries about this fact.

For at least 10 years, it has been evident that these AI's are politically far more astute and successful than humans, and the latest "trade-agreement" negotiations, what little we get to know about them, is clearly an unmitigated powergrab by these AIs.

The fact that the hive-minds are composed of humans does not in any way change this conclusion.

And now: Imagine how your life would be, if Google, the company, truly hated you, personally, and were out to get you.

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#45

Post by catshirt »

User1398 wrote: post #33
baddox wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that most scientists, and certainly most AI researchers, would say that biological intelligence is also just a bunch of math.

Isn't the universe just a bunch of math? This leads me to wonder if we have any control over our lives. Isn't every action I take simply the result of all my senses, my previous knowledge, the environment, and the people around me? For example, if the universe just went 1 hour back in time, why would anything go differently the second time around? Unless you can prove something is truly random in the universe, and no…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism#With_free_will

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#47

Post by heydenberk »

Garry Kasparov wrote a fantastic article[0] a few years ago about computer chess, advanced chess and artificial intelligence. This quote in particular is worth considering: "Weak human + machine + better process was superior to a strong computer alone and, more remarkably, superior to a strong human + machine + inferior process."

[0] http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/feb/11/the-che...

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#48

Post by FrankenPC »

AI doesn't interest me. What interest me is the pre-cursor to AI. I have a suspicion that we will need to use computers to model the electronics and software necessary to stimulate the birth of AI. It's those modeling/creation systems that interest me the most as they seem the most relevant. Those systems have yet to be created.

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#49

Post by baddox »

User1398 wrote: post #33
baddox wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that most scientists, and certainly most AI researchers, would say that biological intelligence is also just a bunch of math.

Isn't the universe just a bunch of math? This leads me to wonder if we have any control over our lives. Isn't every action I take simply the result of all my senses, my previous knowledge, the environment, and the people around me? For example, if the universe just went 1 hour back in time, why would anything go differently the second time around? Unless you can prove something is truly random in the universe, and no…

I think the universe is just a bunch of math, but that doesn't mean there's not randomness. In fact, as far as I know, state of the art quantum mechanics says that there is randomness. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_variable_theory.

Re: Artificial intelligence: Our final invention?

#50

Post by foob »

User1398 wrote: post #33
baddox wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that most scientists, and certainly most AI researchers, would say that biological intelligence is also just a bunch of math.

Isn't the universe just a bunch of math? This leads me to wonder if we have any control over our lives. Isn't every action I take simply the result of all my senses, my previous knowledge, the environment, and the people around me? For example, if the universe just went 1 hour back in time, why would anything go differently the second time around? Unless you can prove something is truly random in the universe, and no…

You're thinking of the universe in a very classical sense. Our current understanding of physics is that quantum mechanical outcomes are truly random. Not just that we don't know what will happen but that it is inherently not predetermined before it happens. You can read up on Bell's Theorem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_theorem) if you want to learn a bit more about this.

If you "ran" the universe over again from the big bang, then the probability that you would exist is essentially zero. I don't know enough about neuroscience to speculate on whether quantum mechanics has any relevance to brain functions over the course of a lifetime but from a physics standpoint it isn't inconceivable.

On a more philosophical note: if there is some true randomness in how our brain works do you think that that actually gives us any more control over our lives? It doesn't really change anything in my view.

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