Comment on Bubble Trouble - An AI bubble threatens Silicon Valley, and all of us.
balssh@lemm.ee 5 days agoWhile I appreciate the detailed reply, I don’t share the same views. I think ultimately we will more or less merge with technology, rather than be on separate paths. I’m more worried about the 1% having overwhelming control of said technology than anything else.
I’m also not very human-centric in my world view. If we are adaptable and smart enough we will prevail, if not, we will perish as countless other species before and after us. That doesn’t mean I don’t hold dear to our achievements over the millennia.
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 4 days ago
That’s exactly what I’m trying to get at above. I understand your position, I’m a fan of transhumanism generally and I too fantasize about the upside potential of technology. But I recognize the risks too. If you’re going to pursue becoming “one with the machine” you have to consider some pretty fundamental and existential philosophy first.
It’s easy to say “yeah put my brain into a computer! that sounds awesome!” until the time comes that you actually have to do it. Then you’re going to have to seriously confront the possibility that what comes out of that machine is not going to be “you” at all. In some pretty serious ways, it is just a mimicry of you, a very convincing simulacrum of what used to be “you” placed over top of a powerful machine.
The problem is, by the time you’ve reached that point where you can even start to seriously consider whether you or I are comfortable making this transition, it’s way too late to put on the brakes. We’ve irrevocably made our decision to replace humanity at that point, and it’s not ever going to stop if we change our minds at the last minute. We’re committed to it as a species, even if as individuals, we choose not to go through with it after all. There’s no turning back, there’s no quaint society of “old humans” living peaceful blissful lives free of technology. It’s literally the end for the human race. And the beginning of something new. We won’t know if that “something new” is actually as awesome as we imagined it would be, until it’s too late to become anything else.
t3rmit3@beehaw.org 4 days ago
Frankly, I think that fears about “continuity of consciousness” is jumping the gun a little as an objection to current AI. Water usage, Capitalism, and asymmetry of information creation/ spread is much more pressing, even in the medium to long term.