[ExI] Communications a Moore's Law Phenomenon?

[Kelly Anderson]

I've had this thought for some time. But I don't think I've shared it
with anyone, so I thought I'd get it out.

If you look at the general shape of history, you'll see that it has
followed an exponential sort of curve in communications. I know this
has been documented in network bandwidth, but I'm going a little more
general. So a hundred thousand years ago, our ancestors were grunting
intelligently at each other, but may or may not have had efficient
language and grammar to communicate efficiently. Shoot forward to ten
thousand years ago, and they did have awesome verbal skills, but
communicating over distances was limited to things like drumming on
trees. Go to a thousand years ago, and people could write letters, but
there was no formal system for sending them, so far as I'm aware.
Postage stamps were invented in the mid 19th century, for example.
Then recently, we've hit the curve with the telegraph, telephone, fax,
emails, SMS, Instagram, X, facebook... that are on a graph that seems
a bit exponential in terms of bits of information per human and in
terms of the number of humans we're communicating with.

So, if we put this on an exponential curve forward, it seems that at
some point, we won't have enough hours in the day to keep this curve
going. So what happens then? I postulate that AIs will communicate on
our behalf, and that this will reduce the amount of time we actually
spend talking to each other directly. On this list, in fact, I've seen
a number of us post AI missives already. I've done it myself. So, at
some point, we'll be communicating with so many people, so often, that
we won't even know it's happening, except in some sort of vague way...
like a CEO having an executive secretary.

Now, I haven't gone all Ray Kurzweil documenting the speed of
communication, but it seems to fit the law of accelerating returns as
well as anything else.

With the problems noted with kids not being aware of how cars work, or
my own child not knowing how to address and send an envelope until she
was well into her 20s... I can only imagine this "people not being
able to communicate directly" thing only getting worse. I already have
my AI reword my important emails because it's easier.

This one was written without that assistance. Is it because you guys
aren't important enough? Or is it because I deem you so important that
you get the personalized treatment?

-Kelly