The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence has sparked a mix of excitement and concern. As we stand at this crossroads, it's clear that AI is ushering in a transformative era in human history. Our key challenge is to harness AI's potential benefits while safeguarding against its risks. Society is caught between admiration and apprehension, hoping for a predictable future grounded in reason.
I find comfort in likening AI's rise to past technological breakthroughs. This comparison helps ease our fears by framing these new challenges in a familiar context, allowing us to respond more traditionally. While this approach doesn't eliminate all concerns, it does help manage our fears, particularly about emerging technologies. For instance, understanding how we adapted to the evolution of photography and image manipulation can give us insights into dealing with deepfakes and other AI challenges. However, this comparison could be better; it can't guarantee that new forms of deception won't bring unique societal disruptions, but it offers hope. Another way I consider managing AI-related concerns is by comparing machine errors to human mistakes. For example, when ChatGPT produces odd responses, it's akin to our mental slips. Similarly, errors in facial recognition software can be compared to mistakes by human witnesses. These comparisons are helpful but carry the risk of over-dependence on technology, which could lead to negative consequences, like decreased human skills due to reliance on automation. Despite these risks, AI errors are not fundamentally different from human errors. The advantage of AI is its ability to improve continuously. Once we overcome our bias for human capabilities, I think we'll be more open to relying on technology, even accepting its occasional major mishaps over the more frequent minor errors of human-driven systems. These methods of finding comfort through historical parallels or metaphors are based on the idea that history progresses subtly, often unnoticed by those living through it. They hinge on humanity's ability to adapt to new challenges, even if our success is mixed. While this perspective offers some security by redirecting us to familiar issues, it also risks underestimating the potential for entirely new and unprecedented situations. At the heart of ongoing AI concerns is the alignment problem: the fear that a superintelligent AI might not share our human values, like the value of life or dignity. A superintelligent AI's indifference could be disastrous. For example, an AI designed to tidy a house might eliminate a pet as a source of disorder. Some believe that intelligence inherently includes moral values, but the existence of human sociopaths, who demonstrate a disconnect between intelligence and morality, challenges this optimism. The danger of a superintelligent AI aligns with the fear of it pairing with a human sociopath, accessing unparalleled resources, and posing a unique, profound threat. Beyond the comfort of historical parallels, this scenario represents a potential existential risk unlike anything we've faced before. Reflecting on Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, depicted as a proto-robot, offers an interesting parallel. Hobbes saw the state as a machine, representing human characteristics but with far greater capabilities. This metaphor implies that as we improve in decision-making, so should our governing systems. However, the Leviathan also suggests that humans need a higher authority for peaceful coexistence, potentially leading us to lose control over our destiny. Modern democracies have evolved, incorporating the principles of the Leviathan into governance. While usually hidden, these mechanisms become apparent in crises, showing that Leviathan's concept still influences us, evolved but unchanged. This doesn't exaggerate the state's algorithmic nature but acknowledges it as a structure that encapsulates human reasoning within a rules-based framework. This perspective highlights the disconnect between human values and the operations of powerful entities like states and corporations, which often show signs of dysfunction. While calling for more democracy is expected, increasing participation in a flawed system isn't enough. The deeper issue is aligning human values with these powerful mechanisms. Extending this viewpoint to AI alignment issues, states, and corporations illustrate the fears of machines escaping human control. These scenarios reflect our concerns about AI, where we risk becoming too reliant or unable to contain their proliferation. We should recognize historical precedents in our interactions with powerful machines but also be aware that these precedents indicate only a temporary harmony. The misalignment of states and corporations with the interests of ordinary people mirrors the potential misalignment with a hypothetical superintelligence. The critical challenge is how we coexist with machines and manage the interactions between various machines, including state mechanisms, corporations, and AI, which raises concerns like automated weaponry and extensive surveillance. In this era, we're not just facing a single complex alignment problem but multiple ones. Reflecting on historical events, like human judgment averting disasters during the Cold War, underscores the uncertainty of a future steered by machine guidance. I caution against the risks of "artificial persons gone wrong," where combining state mechanisms and AI could lead to catastrophic outcomes. Considering the state as a machine challenges the certainty of our societal structures and suggests alternative forms of organization and governance. While states derive legitimacy from the people, their management often needs to respond more effectively to public needs. The more significant challenge, however, lies with the indifference of an unaligned AI to human concerns. While addressing AI-induced catastrophes, I also emphasize the compromised nature of human decision-making. Aligning the metaphorical machines in our societal and political systems is a more immediate concern than the speculative dangers of advanced AI.
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AuthorRoozbeh, born in Tehran - Iran (March 1984) Archives
December 2024
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