Commentary: Ensuring AI obeys Americans

“I’m Yul Brenner, and I’m dead.” Thus, comedian Bill Hicks’ memory of a creepy quit-smoking ad aired after his death in 1985 was only slightly mistaken. .

In 1973, Brenner played a murderous android rather than a human ghost in science fiction maestro Michael Crichton’s directorial debut, Westworld. Like his other series of theme park failures, ‘Westworld’ dealt with the radical proposition that creating fake humans is bad for real humans.

The film was so critically acclaimed that it spawned a sequel and a TV series, but the spin-off “Beyond Westworld” was criticized by CBS after only three episodes, even though five episodes were produced. By now, for whatever reason, viewers were already bored. Until HBO’s revival of “Westworld” in 2016, ratings were doomed.

Much like the serial abused robot slave, this dystopian tale also captivated our imaginations. Viewers wanted more and we got it. It has season 4 and a fifth season is planned.

I had a problem again. Viewers were fed up with the barren development of the series. What was revolutionary a few years ago seems to have ruthlessly grounded last year, partly in the wake of Crichton’s prophetic warnings.

With breathtaking continuity, the specter of real-life ‘Westworld’ has risen to replace the titular show. No matter how positive our view of artificial intelligence may be, our understanding is that the true promise of supertechnology is to make it harder than ever to recognize who is human and who is machine. It cannot be dispelled.

Of course, some people like it. Some believe that they have accepted and reconciled with this apparent inevitability. They seem to forget Crichton’s lifelong advice that the inevitable is the ultimate illusion. Forgotten like the humanoid robots of “Westworld” or the abrupt cancellation of the series itself, today’s awe-inspiring innovations are tomorrow’s trash.

When given a choice, people often turn their backs on what they once thought they couldn’t let go of because they were given that choice. But this time, the AI ​​future we are promised is irreversible.

In fact, machines will soon obliterate us, according to an influential group of so-called AI “doomers.” X.com’s insider chatter revolves around a meme that many AI leaders are giving our race a chance of surviving the advent of full-blown artificial intelligence with coin-tossing odds. Common sense would dictate that this isn’t worth the chance, but what’s strange about 50/50 odds is that it ignores or beats the risk analysis, leaving everyone asking, “Who’s going to say what?” It is to become Atmosphere that seems to disappear.

That is why we should start by recognizing that, judging by our past track record, our destinies and destinies are always in question and always in our hands. Suicide is always one step away from stupid actions or evil decisions. And in the same way life always exists for the living. It is by a mental discipline powerful enough not only to stop suicidal behavior before it begins, but to bend our will to responsibility. Remarkably, no one is panicked by the prospect of Russia or China destroying humanity with AI. They worry about the West. For we have demonstrated here both the great achievements of the successful use of freedom and the nightmarish consequences of its abuse. From that perspective, AI is just a test, the latest (perhaps the biggest) test.

That’s why it’s so important to get off the level of abstract discussions about probabilities and scenarios and ensure that AI is as well-distributed as possible, just like any other technology. Blind tech optimists like this approach because it inspires them to fantasize about flying around like Iron Man. Well-distributed digital technology is important because it helps.

First, and most obviously, when technology is not politically concentrated in the hands of a minority, governments and regimes have a relatively low ability to wield technology against their own citizens. When people make the wrong decisions or take the wrong actions, the consequences are mitigated by what they can do to correct, mitigate, or avoid that action. In addition, locally organized technology strengthens communities and allows groups with great disagreements to pursue their own choices on a sustainable human scale.

But more importantly, proper distribution of technology allows spiritually disciplined people and organizations to exercise authority over it and its use and development. While it is important to ensure that technology does not transcend America beyond recognition and our most basic rights and obligations with it, politics and law control the role of technology in our lives. not the only or best way to do it.

But let’s assume that technology and its development are concentrated only in the regime. In that case, it will be difficult to wield any power over technology unless spiritually disciplined people hold government jobs and are deeply involved in the darker side of political power. This is especially dangerous in America, where a flourishing spiritual life is essential and where theocracy is outlawed.

Applying the best mental and political resources to ensure that the technology circulates properly is the key to the future, whether the novelty of AI today is a week, a year, a decade, or a century. is the best way to avoid becoming an albatross. Whether it’s AI or any other high-tech, as long as you keep the all-important off switch, you don’t have to unplug it.