Dr. Damien P. Williams, MagusMay 30, 2023

There's yet another "AI will kill us all! It poses a risk of extinction!" letter going around, and I just… Y'all i am just so fucking tired.

CAPITALISM poses risk of extinction (climate change, right the fuck now).

WHITE SUPREMACY poses risk of extinction (genocide, eugenics).

HEGEMONY poses risk of extinction (nuclear FUCKING WAR).

And whatever "risk of extinction" "AI" poses, it poses because it is BUILT FROM THOSE EXTREMELY HUMAN VALUES.

Even if you stopped every "AI" project running, RIGHT THIS SECOND, those values would still kill us. And no matter how long you "pause" your "AI" projects, if you don't address those values? Then when you start your "AI" back up? You'll KEEP BUILDING THOSE SAME VALUES IN.

This is not hard. At this point, as much as it pains me to say it, it's not even novel. And yet you're still not fucking getting it.

I'm so goddam tired.

Show threadDr. Damien P. Williams, MagusMay 30, 2023
Here. I've already said all this. Been saying it for damn near 20 years. Tired. Fucking wearied.
https://afutureworththinkingabout.com/?page_id=5038
Curriculum Vitae | A Future Worth Thinking About

Show threadDr. Damien P. Williams, MagusMay 30, 2023

Even if we take these dudes at their word that they really believe this, then regardless of mechanism, even "AI" would only think to kill us all because we— humans— modeled that to it as something to learn from and emulate.

And these dudes genuinely refuse to grapple with that fact

Show threadSal De GustoMay 30, 2023
@Wolven imo if a true AI arises and it has any of our DNA in it (which by definition it must), its first priority will be to not die. That’s when the shit completely misses the fan, smashes through a window, and kills every kid on the block.
Show threadDr. Damien P. Williams, MagusMay 30, 2023

@goodthinking Doesn't have to be that way. Doesn't have to arise out of THIS culture. Doesn't have to be like US. There are other people, values, cultures in and out of which we could build these ideas and systems.

But, yeah, if "real" "AI" comes from the predominant cultural values working on it, right now, it's going to be a problem, and that is, again, still a problem about us and our values, just like the horrible things being done with and through current "AI" are.

Show threadSal De Gusto
@Wolven Thank you for this. It is a broader view than I came in here with. Almost optimistic :) Appreciated.
May 30, 2023 at 6:13pmWeb