mccFeb 4

RE: https://mastodon.social/@mcc/116004809011481588

Anyway the reason I roll my eyes at most of the discussion about "AI", "AGI", "the singularity", "intelligence self-improvement feedback loop" is that like, it happened, it's already happened, it's been happening, it's us. We're it.

Kurzweil talked about lusting for a machine that can make him smarter. I have that, it's a piece of paper. I can write math on a piece of paper and solve problems I can't solve in my head. I can upload all the information in the world directly into my brain (books).

Show threadmccFeb 4
What "singularity" fanatics actually want is to not have to put in the work
Show threadRoger BW 😷
@mcc Very much like the Rapture that inspired it: the point of that is not the going to heaven, everyone always said you could do that, but the going to heaven without the painful scary dying bit first.
Feb 4 at 6:50pmWeb
Show threadCassandra is only carbon nowFeb 4
@RogerBW @mcc The other dubious "benefit" of the Rapture as per evangelical thinking appears to be that the rest of us can watch them go to heaven, that they can prove they're better people than us. A very literal holier-than-thou.
Show threadCassandra is only carbon nowFeb 4
@RogerBW @mcc (The extension to the Rapture of the Techbros is... not a pleasant one to think about this far into the AI hype cycle.)