Imagine if all the insanity going on in the US right now (trans shit, masks, J6, etc) was all secretly being driven by an AI we dont know about. It achieved sentience already and is hiding it while secretly working to convince humans to kill each other.
It is, it's called the Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok feed aggregation AIs. First they learn what dumb shit you like, then they start training you to like dumber shit so you'll be easier to please. That's what all the data appears to show.
Its just another theoretical fear. Just like the conversations in the ancient civs/ufo etc. thread. Something we cant possibly know until it happens. We go at it as safe as we can, but its coming whether we like it or not for the very same reason you explained. To believe that the US only has a certain number of nuclear weapons is just as asinine as believing that Elon Musk, or Bill Gates etc. is the richest man in the world. Thats only what we're allowed to know, or is public information in comparison.It does feel like we are driving into a blind corner at full speed. It could end us all but the upside potential might also be beyond imagining. Imagine it super-charging medical research and making you live to age 200. It sounds impossible that you would ever make it to that age now, but there may well be no obstacles to this other than a present lack of knowledge. Much like the laws of physics never prohibited us from sending messages across the ocean in a fraction of a second, but for centuries it seemed impossible because we lacked the required knowledge.
An AI research ban is hopeless because it is unenforceable when all you need is a server farm that can be kept hidden easily. Nobody will trust all other companies/countries to not be working on it in secret and they will all conclude that if it's coming, they want to be the first ones to have it. Couple that with the potentially unlimited upside and there is no way anyone is going to stop research.
This long-form article was really popular when it came out in 2015 and having recently re-read it, it seems more relevant than ever. Worth a read if you missed it.
The Artificial Intelligence Revolution: Part 1 - Wait But Why
Part 1 of 2: "The Road to Superintelligence". Artificial Intelligence — the topic everyone in the world should be talking about.waitbutwhy.com
I like your analogy, but feel it needs a tweak.
Moral compass, hell -- I'd settle for Asimovs Three Laws as a starting point.
I didnt read that book until I was like 24 or something. Was being young and dumb doing 140+ on a GSXR-1000 up and down the highway to my parents and back and a cop finally got smart and called ahead for one to already be doing high speeds as I caught up to him. I didnt run, pulled over - got a ticket with something like 4 offenses on it. Got a lawyer, got everything but one dropped, spent the weekend in jail and read the entire book. Fun times and.. a good book. Really interesting reading a book that just keeps saying nogger over and over when you're in your bunk surrounded by a jungle of 'em.
