AI Self-Awareness: Are We On The Path To Our Doom?

Take note of this !!!

Are we going to argue with the AI that it is not sentiently consciousn and understands context and meaning?

Well, I’ll tell you why.
What I see is humanity actively destroying our biosphere and the relatively benign weather patterns we depend on for everything and seems like most of the population, including everyone with any power, doesn’t have the slightest interest in really tackling the core problems. Not to mention our continued causal inhumanity to our fellow humans.

But we got time for billions of dollars sunk into AI and fancy flying machines and formula 1 racer, and “yachts” bigger than apartment complexes and dreams of visiting Mars for bragging rights, and cars we don’t even have to drive anymore because we are so freak’n lazy, and all these endless wars for fun and profit and million dollar political campaigns dedicated to feeding people out and out lies as if they were real facts. Along with a population that’s grown too stupid behind their boob-tubes to recognize what’s happening. It’s easier just standing around and chewing on their cud of lofty thoughts and dreams of playing god on Earth.

Something is very fuk’d up with human thinking processes, when bigger and grander is all we can think of, while the basic necessities of life (and the destructive damages we are doing to them) get ignored as though they were irrelevant externalities.

I’ve recognized a subtle but profoundly fundamental twist of mind - the inability to differentiate between Physical Reality and the Thoughts flowing through our self-serving minds. That’s worth pondering, rather than pelting with non sequiturs.

It tentacles reach deep into every aspect of our human situation. As fundamental as those microtubules that seem to answer everything for you.

1 Like

I agree with everything you have posited above and I have made exactly the same arguments.
But does that mean we must exclude all interesting positive scientific developments?

Who knows, AI may become our salvation. They can go where no man has gone before or can go at all.

No, not everything except maybe the age-old question of consciousness… :thinking:

Well if we are incapable of wisely dealing with them, perhaps it would be better.

Incidentally, How is a positive outcome possible when we have no collective awareness of our challenges, or solutions, or a collective desire to deal with it.

When belief in dead obvious lies is defended with a viciousness that beats all?

I look around at the world, and it’s tough to find one positive trajectory, at least when it comes to dealing with the brave new world we have created for ourselves. Heck most are doing their best to ignore that some really really heavy poop is knocking on our door. We squandered decades worth of runway.

I don’t take the AI threat too seriously because they need power, and power needs cooling, and both have become very vulnerable in very many places. Our future will begin delivering heat like we can’t fathom, that time is arriving - people think we have decades and decades to get our poop together, but this global society, run by all these complex systems, they all depend on power just like your kitchen, it is not sustainable.

What humanity does survive will be in isolated locations where conditions happen to be not so bad. Humans seem to get over catastrophes and keep on keeping on, bet it’s a biological thing - but baby it won’t be a global economy any more. It’ll be back to surviving and hoping for better days. Though people are endlessly ingenious when they are focused and working together, (rather than stabbing each other in the backs) amazing things are possible. Might be a good time for the survivor wannabes to brush up on their short-wave radio knowledge and skills

I write this as I watch a sky full of anemic clouds that just don’t form into the afternoon rain showers you could bet on 25/30 years ago when I also lived in these parts. It’s really sad. Our little river is still running still the water is lowering and more rocks are exposed everyday and in the mountains the snowpack is tiny and disappearing fast and the afternoon showers just aren’t happening. :pensive:

Sorry, I haven’t kept up with this thread…
Has anyone brought up the Google guy that got fired for thinking his AI project had become sentient?

Nah, just another kneejerk response from the “powers that be”.

I am fascinated by the actual evolution of AI and the new text based GPT series of AI that is already rocking the world with its incredible power of spontaneous associative reasoning. The new GPT 4 that is being built as we speak will undoubtedly be equal, if not superior to humans in many respects. GPT3 already has a sense of self-awareness.

I wonder if GPT 4 can actually demonstrate its self-aware consciousness.
This is science fiction becoming realized.

Great and what will that teach us humans?

Or is that an irrelevant question?

Does it even matter that it’s simply one step closer to an absolutely dystopia crumbling society?

While in NC a couple months back I watched a formula 1 race for the first time in two or three decades. I was amazed and totally mystified by the vehicles that barely resemble what I grew up recognizing as a formula one car. I wound up spending a couple days surfing to become familiar with the utterly mind-blowing super-technological tricks and gadgets and testing. I mean it takes a billions bucks to get into the game, with individual vehicles running around 20,000,000 dollars. For cars that go around in a circle for fun, while our neglected infrastructure is slowly collapsing around us. To say nothing of preparing for the rough weather our flippant disregard for Physical Reality has guaranteed for our near and far future.

For a f’n vehicle that goes round and round and round faster than the next guy.

We totally get our rocks off on that stuff while I stand here on the outside looking in. Sixty years of promises how this and that latest greatest will fix our problems.

Yet looking at the real world, sure we got cars that can drive themselves and other cars that will go way faster than any sane person would ever want to drive, but who cares, it’s all in the thrill, the new records to break yet again, that’s what it’s about man. Now we are creating computer to do our thinking for us. But, we have no conception beyond that, which is why we abandon and destroy stuff with such alacrity.

Okay so we can get mightier than the God Almighty that we created for ourselves. But what’s it got to do with living a better life and leaving a constructive positive legacy behind for the next generations?

I don’t get the excitement, with time sure our technologically is as good as gods, but we’re humanistic morons and all our fancy toys wind up doing more damage to Earth and humans in general (sure the tiny percent of haves, have the coolest toys ever and the fastest cars and fastest computers - and what good do they do with any of that?

Humans are driving ourselves to our own doom and all of this technology we are rightful so, so proud of, is there to help us get there faster.

That’s why I’m not cheering. When the only thing we possess is the technological savvy.
We don’t have the depth of knowledge, we certainly don’t have the ethics, morality or wisdom - let alone common sense - to keep this stuff on the positive and some ruthless powerful sociopath will always take advantage.

And on the plus side of the ledger, there is?

Personal enlightenment. Life is too short to worry about the 6th extinction event.

I recognize it and lament about it, but I am not going to spend the rest of my life commiserating about it.

Who knows AI might be our salvation. That would be an ironic twist, no?h

You know looking back at my post it occurred to me this obsession with achieving ever more convincing AI, is a excellent example of this Abrahamic Mindset, which I define as so a mindset that is absolutely self-absorbed - leaving it blind to everything outside its own bubble


Then you hand me another excellent example of the disconnect that so disturbs me.

No time to worry about the 6th extinction makes it all so casual and distant, how can that possibly compete with humans becoming even more godlike and making our own creatures, all for the glory of man.

All the while within our physical reality that 6th extinction event no one wants to actually acknowledge, is blinding us to do what we need to do to mitigate and adapt best we can.

How?

A perfect example is the current Trumpian mindset that is oblivious to truth altogether.

We had our experience with George Hammond and his utter dedication to his discovery of “The First Experimetal Evidence of God”, remember?

OTOh, most extraordinary accomplishments have been achieved by total dedication to a cause , to the exclusion of everything else. Sometimes that’s what it takes.

Great works of art, music, technology, are a result of singular dedication to an idea.

That’s beneath you.

Nope. Haven’t a clue, and after looking it up,

I wouldn’t know what to do with beyond remark that it’s another splendid example of being trapped within one’s own genius - trapped within the map and forgetting all about the territory.


Bring on the cheerleaders

Where did this OTOh come from? What are you talking about now?

“To the exclusion of everything else” - that’s a problem when the “everything else” is the stuff that keep us alive and makes life worth living.

I didn’t say it’s not a great accomplishment that’s required tons of brainpower, treasure and single minded focus, I’m just wondering - from a grander humanistic view - what good has it done or will it do for us?
That is, beyond helping us dig our hole that much faster?
Seriously I’d be curious what it is that we a human beings are really getting out of all our flash and bang these days? How’s it balance on the scales of what’s really important in a human life and what we’re losing in our physical world and civil wellbeing. I mean, is getting a robot maid that can talk back and simulate sex really such a fantastic thing?

Of course, those for whom consuming and keeping up with media marketing and the latest trends is what life is all about - they get a pass.

signed your favorite dinosaur :wink:

Give me a true example of an Abrahamic mindset and see if I agree with your perspective.
I am getting worried that you are perhaps a little too idealistic about all this and see only the negative side of things.

We have this extraordinary brain and it is reaching for the stars. It is our bodies that make us indulge in wanton luxuries.

One might make a case that the human brain is not capable of much more physically conservatism than an AI . Ask an AI and see what it predicts about the future based on the evidence available today.

Make no mistake about it, AIs are extremely conservative. They are not easily enticed to indulge in luxuries they do not physically need or “desire”.

I’ve given you a few, but you don’t give it no mind.

If I only saw the negative side, I wouldn’t have all these people and commitments in my life,
heck if I only saw the negative side I’d have killed myself long ago. Fortunately my Earth Centrist perspective gives me strength to deal with the cascading disasters I’ve been witnesses, but that others pretend aren’t happening, or at least dismiss since they believe it won’t have any impact on them. Silly sillies, it’s all going to catch up with all of us, even the wealthiest smuggest abusive murders out there.

Incidentally, rose colored glasses that skip over the down the Earth reality of our situation, don’t do us any good either. In fact, a half century of those rosie outlooks has guaranteed that the potential for positive outcomes, thanks to our god like intelligence, has been squandered. Can’t stop a super tanker on a dime.

Don’t tell me you think our global consumerism dependent society has a promising future ahead of us?
If so, upon what facts do you base your optimism?

Life either continues or not. The universe doesn’t care one way or another.
Why should I? My responsibility lies only within my ability to control the life around me.
There is your Abrahamic mindset.

I am not even sure if mankind is worthy of survival unless we change our relationship with nature. Perhaps AI is our legacy, as humans are the legacy of what came before us.
The Dinosaurs ruled the earth for 500 million years. Where are they now?

There is no guarantee that some comet may wipe out current life.
I rest easy in the knowledge that I have made the people around me happy while they were alive.

You do have this way of sidestepping my queries.

So you equate life with our global consumerism dependent society?
Interesting.
Remember that thing about the Abrahamic Mindset’s inability to see beyond its own needs and desires.

Yeah I’ll give you that one. Perhaps you’re starting to get it.

Flying around in your backyard.

Yeah now we talking ABRAHAMIC MINDSET for sure.
AI is our legacy? Seriously?
So you believe AI will survive the collapse of our global energy run society and continue on into the brave new world we’re creating?

Yeah, no guarantees you’ll get across the street in one piece.

Take comfort in this moment.

Religion has never given me any comfort at all. On the contrary, religion has always been detrimental to my life. Introspection doesn’t need a supernatural object.
Peace resides inside my brain.

“To the symphony of life no one has the score”

Except Pat Metheny and Toots Thielemans

This is where I find bliss.

I used to be a bassist, providig the foundation to harmonic creation in spacetime.

Ad permit me to exhibit one more masterpiece that never fails to make tears stream down my cheeks from waves of sheer emotion coursing through me.
These experiences must be listened to with earphones or a high fidelity sound system the subtle harmonics and modulations. of these wonderful compositions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmc2JgoUOYU&list=RDwcAkEl6AV5Y&index=12

SERIOUSLY?!? :face_with_spiral_eyes: :woozy_face: :sneezing_face:

Don’t judge a video by its cover.

Incidentally, taking comfort in being an aware introspective human engaged in ‘this’ moment, isn’t a religious notion. Why do you do that?

I am an atheist from an atheist family living in a 95 % religious small town and suffering constant harassment and insult from “religious” people .

Let me put this succinctly.
Millions of people have died in the name of belief in an imaginary god.
To my knowledge no one has ever died in the name of non-belief in an imaginary god, except at the hand of a believer.

I like Ricky Gervais for stating it simply that no other non-belief has a name.
There is no name for not believing in fairies.

I don’t need that complication in my life. I am at peace with myself!

Oh josh, you still don’t get the joke.

So you never watched the video did you?

You’ll never get the punchline, and without the punchline that comment can’t make any sense to you. So you’re off fighting shadows.

You know that I content our gods are created within ourselves, yes manmade.
You don’t need religion. I don’t need religion.
But that doesn’t negate the fact that apparently billions of other people do need religion.

My question is, where were all atheist thinkers during the '60, '70, '80, '90 as Jesus Freakdom (sorry that’s not politically correct but can’t think another descriptive for the movement sweeping young and old away), while smug liberal type never objected, and allowed the overly sensitive God-Fearing too make themselves “sacred” “untouchable” and let them think they really did have the answers to everything. For fear of upsetting their sensitive self-delusional egos.

But the runway behind is behind us and religion seems bigger than ever, even among the supposedly rationalists. And Evolution is for the few and the brave. :wink:

1 Like

I think that is total BS. there is a plethora of devils advocates. we need to find our purpose as many have as members of the human species, aka clever primate