[ExI] stealth singularity

Thu May 16 17:48:23 UTC 2019

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of William Flynn Wallace
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2019 8:59 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] stealth singularity

  They are just “good” rather than intelligent.  Two different things, often conflated. 

Spike’s postulate: any algorithm we know how to write is not AI, by definition.

>…For the first - explanation please.  Your definition of intelligence…

OK.  Ever since the notion of artificial intelligence was invented (hipsters, when was that?) every time some arbitrary definition of what constitutes intelligence was achieved, the goalposts had to be moved.  Reason: we could look at the code, see there was nothing magic or impossible to explain, so… we had to redefine intelligence as something more.  If we can define exactly what is intelligence, it is no longer intelligence.

BillW, this has been particularly difficult on the chess world, as chess programs got to where they were just as creative, imaginative, artistic and all that as the best humans, in fact… better.  So… apparently chess doesn’t require intelligence.  Consequently… the chess world discovered that…

…we are stupid.

Damn that was an ego buster.

>…For the second - you mean that humans cannot write software that turns into AI?  They will have to do it themselves??

I sure do mean that.  Humans are not collectively smart enough to write software which meets our (ever changing) definition of intelligent software.  Only AI software is smart enough to write AI software.  Just as humans eventually wrote chess software which is better at chess than any of the guys who wrote it, artificial intelligence software can write artificial intelligence software which is more intelligent than itself.

When (or if) this happens, it is the singularity.

The reason why the singularity hasn’t happened (as far as we know) is that humans are not intelligent enough to write even the dumbest artificial intelligence program.  We can’t write AI at all, not even AI which is as stupid as a box of rocks or as dumb as that young representative from NY.  We don’t know how.  If we can’t even get to that level, software is still far too dumb to write a smarter version of itself.  We aren’t smart enough to write software smart enough.  Yet.  

So… on we wait.

As for MS - I hope they include a 'turn the damn thing off' button.

bill w

Thanks for that comment BillW.  

My mother has been a computer user since the 1960s.  She took a minor in computers in her accounting degree in 1972, owned a PDP8 for her accounting business in the 70s.  She has been a PC owner and user since 1982.  Recently her frustration level has increased steadily to the point where she is ready to dump the whole thing in the trash, all because MicroSloth keeps changing things.  In her younger years, that wasn’t a problem, but at age 80… it damn well is a problem.  She wants to use the computer to do her things: home crafts, genealogy, hobbies etc, and wants to learn about those things, not mess with new computer stuff anymore, just use it to get to her favorite hobby sites.

For some time I have been thinking about a FSB feature to add to one’s computer, which would be kind of an operating system shell.  Every time MicroSloth makes any change of any kind, this software would somehow incorporate what it did and translate everything back to work, look and feel exactly the way it did when the user locked it in with the FSB feature.  

Note on the name: it doesn’t need to be FSB.  Picture a cop in a bad neighborhood, hears a noise where it shouldn’t be, sees a perp, draws his weapon and politely suggests FREEZE SLIME BALL!  Well, the wretched bastard better damn well do it, better just exactly stop moving forthwith, or get shot down like a rabid dog.  OK, freeze slime ball = FSB = stop moving forthwith.  Your computer does everything you really need or want, you don’t care to learn any new bells or whistles, you want to stop fooling with the latest software innovation and just use the damn thing for what you want to do with it full stop.  So… freeze slime ball: FSB.

Some of you computer hipsters, please run with the ball on this.  We could help old people and dumb people (two different things, similar difficulties.)   We could make a buttload of money.  Come on guys, let’s get er dun.

spike

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