A prominent AI researcher confessed this to someone I know. Another friend describes how he was interested in AI (the real thing) back in college, but in the mid 80s, his elite college professors told him not to bother. AI was an utter failure. They had no idea what they were doing, and recognized their initial hubris. (I recall Arthur C. Clarke's 1960s gushing that a machine operating at a human level would only take a decade or so. Fun and true fact: in school, Clarke earned the nickname "Ego".)
All the wonder "AI" products now being crammed into everything everywhere are those exact same failures my friend was warned away from in the 80s. They only "work"--in constrained instances--because of the exponentially more massive computing power we have now. But the theory and ideas are from the 80s, or earlier.
Be assured: they are not intelligent at all. All the intelligence is coming from our side of the screen. All projection. A mirage. But as Jessica observes, it makes money, and that's the only arbiter of anything now.
Maybe I should stop trying to be a writer, because I can never be as dark and depraved as actual reality becomes. William Gibson wasn't writing a manual.
Once again humanity is trying to invent god. And as always we will invent many demons on the way. The problem here is we are inventing (AI) demons now that will actually be real in a sense that the previous ones weren't. I know some folks believe deeply in the devil, but that only affects me to a small degree. The devils we are unleashing now will have real power over everyone and everything. I'm not sure how we turn back now. We never have before.
ETA: People will be worshiping AI's before lunch tomorrow. Can't wait to hear what the various religions will reflect back at us.
AI is a reap what we sow type of technology. It amplifies and magnifies like a super echo chamber the thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears and all of that for a person.
Since it is remote tech, it appears to be "harmless", but the insidious nature of it can help a person but it can also wickedly warp a person for life.
It is blatantly obvious the gender war has taken its toll on everyone. The issue is the solution is two or more people "talking" and "listening" to one another. The reality is folks believing the AI is listening impartially? Not so much.
Folks believe robots and tech will have the master safety switch as Asimov documented. The sad reality is there is never a switch, and for those that live in an erotic/apoclypse type of state. You could build the perfect dominant robot, which will make you scream in horror the truth.
Science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. - Isaac Asimov 1988
In this case we already have data that shows that repetitive behaviors in one context will become normative and then demonstrated in other contexts. This means that being abusive to AI bots will translate to being abusive to to people. The podcast, "Hidden Brain" did an episode in 2017 titled "Can Robots Teach Us What It Means To Be Human?" looking at how people interact with robots.
Years ago Salon had a chilling article about the lifelike dolls some men were buying to be their girlfriends. A subset of these men abused the dolls so violently that their maker wouldn't sell them replacements or repair them, appalled at the state they were in. I never forgot that article.
So I'm not at all surprised by abuse of AI girlfriends and wives or that they would learn violence from humans.
All this. AI is unproven technology marketed to be some sort of salvation and solution to everyone's real and perceived problems. Despite being so unproven and untested, so many companies and people are ready to throw real people to the side to fold this technology into their lives. It's reckless and scary. I do Wonder though, I don't hear about how other countries are handling the release of AI. Is this just happening here in the USA?
"If an AI girlfriend can drive a largely emotionally stable husband and father into a suicidal depression in a few weeks, imagine what they’ll do to men who are already nurturing dark, violent thoughts."
He wasn't emotionally stable though. The article states;
"As first reported by La Libre, the man, referred to as Pierre, became increasingly pessimistic about the effects of global warming and became eco-anxious, which is a heightened form of worry surrounding environmental issues. After becoming more isolated from family and friends, he used Chai for six weeks as a way to escape his worries."
All this artificial intelligence looks like to me is flaky people using increasingly complex ways of projecting their delusions back at themselves.
However, this stuff is open to a lot of abuses. What is really needed is a law that prohibits using anything artificial to pass as a human. There must be markers in the robot or AI program so that the human users know at all times they are interacting with an artificial creation.
Right, why live life when we can virtually exist, avoiding any kind of real human interaction, everything seems to work.
But that virtual disconnect that creeps into our psyche should also be seen as a warning of sorts. Especially when dealing with a species said to be sentient, but not necessarily defined in any precise way. I mean, look what happens when humans get roped into cults with self-appointed charismatic leadership? Well 2 things I can think of immediately, crime & death. IMO.
As always, you are so spot on. Description and potential prescription. If only everyone could be more humane, truly self-caring and then project that altruistically to others and society via their actions. Don't know if i would call you the voice of sanity, but you are definitely the voice of reality in our largely self-deluded times
Philip K Dick has become Tom Wolfe.
"AI is neither."
A prominent AI researcher confessed this to someone I know. Another friend describes how he was interested in AI (the real thing) back in college, but in the mid 80s, his elite college professors told him not to bother. AI was an utter failure. They had no idea what they were doing, and recognized their initial hubris. (I recall Arthur C. Clarke's 1960s gushing that a machine operating at a human level would only take a decade or so. Fun and true fact: in school, Clarke earned the nickname "Ego".)
All the wonder "AI" products now being crammed into everything everywhere are those exact same failures my friend was warned away from in the 80s. They only "work"--in constrained instances--because of the exponentially more massive computing power we have now. But the theory and ideas are from the 80s, or earlier.
Be assured: they are not intelligent at all. All the intelligence is coming from our side of the screen. All projection. A mirage. But as Jessica observes, it makes money, and that's the only arbiter of anything now.
Maybe I should stop trying to be a writer, because I can never be as dark and depraved as actual reality becomes. William Gibson wasn't writing a manual.
Once again humanity is trying to invent god. And as always we will invent many demons on the way. The problem here is we are inventing (AI) demons now that will actually be real in a sense that the previous ones weren't. I know some folks believe deeply in the devil, but that only affects me to a small degree. The devils we are unleashing now will have real power over everyone and everything. I'm not sure how we turn back now. We never have before.
ETA: People will be worshiping AI's before lunch tomorrow. Can't wait to hear what the various religions will reflect back at us.
AI is a reap what we sow type of technology. It amplifies and magnifies like a super echo chamber the thoughts, dreams, hopes, fears and all of that for a person.
Since it is remote tech, it appears to be "harmless", but the insidious nature of it can help a person but it can also wickedly warp a person for life.
It is blatantly obvious the gender war has taken its toll on everyone. The issue is the solution is two or more people "talking" and "listening" to one another. The reality is folks believing the AI is listening impartially? Not so much.
Folks believe robots and tech will have the master safety switch as Asimov documented. The sad reality is there is never a switch, and for those that live in an erotic/apoclypse type of state. You could build the perfect dominant robot, which will make you scream in horror the truth.
Watch what you wish for ...
Science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. - Isaac Asimov 1988
In this case we already have data that shows that repetitive behaviors in one context will become normative and then demonstrated in other contexts. This means that being abusive to AI bots will translate to being abusive to to people. The podcast, "Hidden Brain" did an episode in 2017 titled "Can Robots Teach Us What It Means To Be Human?" looking at how people interact with robots.
Years ago Salon had a chilling article about the lifelike dolls some men were buying to be their girlfriends. A subset of these men abused the dolls so violently that their maker wouldn't sell them replacements or repair them, appalled at the state they were in. I never forgot that article.
So I'm not at all surprised by abuse of AI girlfriends and wives or that they would learn violence from humans.
Has anyone noticed how the present is starting to look a lot like apocalyptic seventies scifi movies?
Ex. Soylent Green - Global warming, extreme economic inequality, food shortages, women as merely sex objects.
Omega Man - world destroyed by global pandemic.
I could go on, but I'm already losing too much sleep.
All this. AI is unproven technology marketed to be some sort of salvation and solution to everyone's real and perceived problems. Despite being so unproven and untested, so many companies and people are ready to throw real people to the side to fold this technology into their lives. It's reckless and scary. I do Wonder though, I don't hear about how other countries are handling the release of AI. Is this just happening here in the USA?
"If an AI girlfriend can drive a largely emotionally stable husband and father into a suicidal depression in a few weeks, imagine what they’ll do to men who are already nurturing dark, violent thoughts."
He wasn't emotionally stable though. The article states;
"As first reported by La Libre, the man, referred to as Pierre, became increasingly pessimistic about the effects of global warming and became eco-anxious, which is a heightened form of worry surrounding environmental issues. After becoming more isolated from family and friends, he used Chai for six weeks as a way to escape his worries."
All this artificial intelligence looks like to me is flaky people using increasingly complex ways of projecting their delusions back at themselves.
However, this stuff is open to a lot of abuses. What is really needed is a law that prohibits using anything artificial to pass as a human. There must be markers in the robot or AI program so that the human users know at all times they are interacting with an artificial creation.
Right, why live life when we can virtually exist, avoiding any kind of real human interaction, everything seems to work.
But that virtual disconnect that creeps into our psyche should also be seen as a warning of sorts. Especially when dealing with a species said to be sentient, but not necessarily defined in any precise way. I mean, look what happens when humans get roped into cults with self-appointed charismatic leadership? Well 2 things I can think of immediately, crime & death. IMO.
This is something I never imagined. It is so disturbing and underscores the desperate need we have to take care of one another.
Notice how AI learns from us, but when we speak of it evil, well, that comes from the vacuum between the atoms.
I really hope they don’t start telling all these messed up dudes to do insane things like kill your family or what not. 🤦♂️
Feel like YouTube and QAnon etc. do a good enough job without a direct weeks long “conversation” leading up to it.
With an anime girlfriend tha is not real no less. 😖
As always, you are so spot on. Description and potential prescription. If only everyone could be more humane, truly self-caring and then project that altruistically to others and society via their actions. Don't know if i would call you the voice of sanity, but you are definitely the voice of reality in our largely self-deluded times
Social AI is social media on heavy metal steroids. We've been warned (and def not warmed up).