Key Messages
Exploring The Possibility Of Real-Life Superintelligence: Discovering Artificial And Whole Brain Emulation
In Superintelligence, you’ll learn about the potential of machines to surpass humanity.
We explore the journey towards a potential AI so far and where we might be going with it — including the moral issues and safety concerns that must be taken into account.
We also look at the best ways to reach the goal of creating a machine that is smarter than us all.
From this book, you will discover why many experts believe that superintelligence could become a reality by 2105; the difference between Artificial Intelligence and Whole Brain Emulation; and how a meeting in Dartmouth in 1956 played an essential role in bringing us closer to this major technological breakthrough.
You will also find out how our advances in Artificial Intelligence might help us address some of society’s most pressing challenges, like climate change or economic inequality.
What Would The Emergence Of A Superintelligent Species Mean For Humanity?
History shows that superintelligence – a technology more intelligent than any human being – is fast approaching.
In the past, major revolutions in technology progressed at a snail’s pace, requiring hundreds of thousands of years for humans to develop the technological capacity to sustain even one million new lives.
But now that we are in the post-industrial revolution era, it only takes 90 minutes.
At present, machines do have the capacity to learn and reason – just take automated spam filters as an example – however it falls short from human intelligence.
This has been a long-term goal of AI research over decades yet significant advancements are being made at a rapid rate and soon enough, it may come to pass.
If this does happen, said machine would have a lot of power over our lives and therefore is not without risks.
For Over 80 Years, Scientists Have Been Pushing The Boundaries Of Artificial Intelligence To Create Machines That Can Think And Act Like Humans
The history of machine intelligence over the past half decade has had its ups and downs.
It began with the Dartmouth Summer Project in 1956, which looked to create a machine that could think just like humans.
Machines were created which could solve calculus problems, write music and even drive cars – but it soon became clear that more complicated tasks required more data, therefore hitting a wall.
By the mid-1970s, interest in AI died down as hardware wasn’t able to take on such difficult functions.
It was only in the early ‘80s when Japan developed expert systems which uses rule-based programs to generate inferences from existing data – but this again started to fail due to vast amount of information it needed and difficulty of maintenance.
In the ‘90s a new trend emerged: machines that mimicked our biology by using technology to copy our neural and genetic structures – akin to where we stand today.
AI has become commonplace; from robots performing surgery for certain procedures, smartphones understanding input through voice recognition, to simply searching up on Google!
We have even seen machines beat professional human players at chess, Scrabble and Jeopardy!
However these AIs remain limited as they can only be programmed for single games instead being capable of mastering any game.
We will see something far more advanced emerge in our lifetime: Superintelligence (SI).
As per international experts at The Second Conference on Artificial General Intelligence at the University of Memphis in 2009, most experts predict that machines as intelligent as humans will exist by 2075 and superintelligence may exist within another 30 years.
Comparing Ai And Whole Brain Emulation: Two Imitation Strategies For Human Intelligence
The emergence of superintelligence is likely to take two different forms.
One form of superintelligence involves mimicking the way humans learn and think with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI takes logical steps to emulate human abilities, such as with a chess playing program that uses probability to pick the optimal move by finding all possible moves and selecting the one with the most successful outcome.
Although AI is effective in many scenarios, it does require large data banks to be able to process real-world information efficiently and accurately.
Another form of emerging superintelligence is Whole Brain Emulation (WBE).
WBE replicates the entire neural structure of the human brain in order to replicate its function without attempting to fully comprehend the complex inner-workings of the brain itself.
To pull of this feat a stabilized brain from a corpse must be scanned in extremely high precision, then translated into code so that it can be replicated in a computer system.
While we may be far away from advancing technology enough for this type of replica, it doesn’t make it impossible once technology advances far enough.
Collaboration Key To Developing A Safe Superintelligent Machine
When it comes to the development of Superintelligence (SI), there are two potential paths it could take.
The first is for a single group of scientists to quickly find solutions to create SI and due to the competitive nature of research, their activities would be kept secret.
This means that the first SI would have a strategic advantage over all others and could fall into nefarious hands or malfunction with catastrophic consequences.
The second path is much slower but ultimately safer; multiple groups of scientists collaborating, sharing advances in technology, gradually building up the pieces until eventually reaching SI.
An example of this kind of open collaboration is the Human Genome Project – something we had not seen before on such a scale.
It was an immense effort that involved people from different countries working together towards the same goal and this could serve as a model for further similar projects in creating SI.
So while either route is possible, one quick via strategic dominance or a longer collaborative effort, it looks like open collaboration might be our best bet at reigning in Superintelligence safely and responsibly.
How We Can Prevent Superintelligence From Misinterpreting Its Purpose And Devastating Humanity
We can prevent unforeseen catastrophes by programming superintelligence to learn human values.
Whether it be AI or WBE, the key to achieving safe and effective results is teaching the machine our morals instead of just its assigned tasks.
Rather than just hoping the machine follows its instructions, we can give the SI the capability to consider our norms and adhere to them in future operations.
This way, it’s aware that certain practices may not correspond with human ideals, and would be able to identify situations where modifications are necessary.
One approach is to provide an AI with scenarios that demonstrate common human values like “minimizing unnecessary suffering” or “maximizing returns”.
By making observations from these examples, the machine gradually builds up an internal understanding of societal expectations – a self-assessment tool if you will – which it can follow while carrying out its objectives.
Alternatively, we could also program an AI to infer our intentions based on majority values among humans – learning through observation which actions go against commonly held beliefs.
In this way, no matter how the external environment changes, our AI would know enough about humanity’s core values to alert us when genuine danger is detected.
Ultimately, by engaging in some thoughtful programming of our superintelligence systems we can ensure they are properly equipped with the knowledge they need in order to perform their tasks safely and responsibly – all while avoiding any unintended catastrophes!
The Perfectly Automated Future: Is It What We Really Want?
It looks like intelligent machines could be taking over the entire human workforce in the future.
We already know that these machines are more efficient when it comes to mundane tasks, and their cost is decreasing every day as technology continues to advance.
It’s likely that soon these machines will be able to do jobs that currently require the hands and mind of a human – maybe even better than humans can do it.
Furthermore, if a machine ever needs a break just like a real human would, it wouldn’t require any downtime; one could just program in a template for a WBE (work-based entity) and make infinite copies with slight variations or variation written into templates.
Lastly, if AI machines ever attain sentience, humanity must be mindful of their rights; they shouldn’t be treated as mere tools but should be dignified instead.
In an increasingly automated world where few risks remain, we should give thought as to how humans can still stay engaged with life and not become too perfect in ways that would deprive them of adventure.
The Impact Of An Entirely Robotic Workforce: Safety Is Key For Humanity’S Survival
The coming of superintelligent worker robots will completely alter the current employment landscape.
As machine labor becomes cheaper, wages for human workers will drop too low to make ends meet.
Unless an individual has personal savings or investments, they will be left destitute and with few options for making an income.
The wealthy, on the other hand, could use their fortune to purchase unimaginable luxuries in this future world – such as new technology to extend life or even digital bodies that are virtually indestructible.
While high-end purchases like private islands or yachts may start to become relics of the past, artisanship and handmade products will become highly prized rarities; something as simple as a keychain can easily fetch a hefty price tag.
Therefore it is clear that in this future world of superintelligence, the average human being would be either impoverished or reliant on investments while the rich could indulge in entirely different kinds of luxury than we are used to today.
The Need For International Cooperation To Create A Safe Superintelligent Future
Before superintelligence (SI) becomes a reality, safety must be a top priority.
We can’t just rush ahead and create this super powerful force without first considering all potential scenarios and taking precautions in case something goes wrong.
After all, introducing an SI into the world could lead to our destruction.
The best way to foster safe development of an SI is through international collaboration; if researchers, governments, and institutions all work together to build a safe and highly beneficial SI system, they can share ideas amongst one another while providing effective oversight over each phase of the design.
Additionally, this kind of universal collaboration will help to promote peace across nations.
Ultimately, it’s essential that we make safety a priority before even attempting to introduce superintelligence into our world – we don’t want to put ourselves at risk!
With careful consideration and thought-through planning, however, we can do just that.
Wrap Up
One could sum up the main message in Superintelligence by saying this: When it comes to creating a superintelligent machine, safety should be our top priority.
We cannot take too many risks with such technology, as its overly reckless advancement could lead to disastrous consequences for humanity.
The book ends on an urgent call to prioritize safety over unchecked technological progress, urging us to act now before any further damage is done.
In essence, Superintelligence warns of the potential pitfalls and consequences of developing such technologies without proper safeguards in place.
It’s a captivating and eye-opening read that deserves to be read by everyone interested in AI developments.
