[ExI] AI for the Pentagon (was: Re: ai in education)

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Ben Zaiboc via extropy-chat
...

>...We seem to have wandered from the original question, and premises.

>...The US military want an AI system to perform automated, detailed mass surveillance of american citizens and autonomous targeting of and firing on designated targets...What the pentagon are asking for is terrifying, and I think the people at Anthropic realised that.

-- 
Ben
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Ben that is what we have been told the pentagon is asking for.  Another possibility is that the system the pentagon was asking for could be used for mass surveillance, which Anthropic reported as the basis of disagreement.  It might be that Anthropic recognized the military system in the spec COULD BE used for mass surveillance, and wanted guard rails against that illegal use.  

I am in full agreement that any extraordinary power in the hands of any government will be abused and will be used for political purposes.  Example: the FISA court, established under the Patriot Act, enabled an end run around the constitution's fourth amendment.  Under certain circumstances, the CIA could carry out covert surveillance.

One of our more astute observers on this forum, Samantha Adkins (where is she these days?  (anyone here have Samantha's contact info?)) pointed out that it isn't if, but when.  That power would eventually be abused, specifically for political purposes.  She was right.  It was.  Operation Crossfire Hurricane.  The FBI falsified evidence to get a covert surveillance warrant on its political opponent.  They got caught.  If anyone here can contact Samantha, do invite her to drop in, take a bow.

Controlling the golden dome will require processing speed far in advance of what humans can do, but it doesn't require all the skills that humans do so very well.

Fun aside on all this: in the Bay area are a number of financially comfortable communities where they have money for advanced law enforcement equipment.  Digital cameras capable of reading plates and identifying models of cars, day or night.  Two local communities have been using some kind of system to watch all the traffic, read the plates, archive everything.  It is up near the Apple mothership.  Consequence: they catch the bad guys.  Consequence: the bad guys go elsewhere.  Civil libertarians argue that this constitutes mass surveillance without warrants, which violates the amendment 4 right to prevent government from carrying out mass surveillance.  Others argue that A4 is not applicable at the state and local level, but rather only restricts the federal government.  Hmmm.  In any case, those two communities have stopped collecting data.  Or so they say.

Ben it will be interesting to hear your take on the paragraph above, since the Brits are way farther along in digital surveillance than we yanks are.  BillK also might comment.

spike