If AI became conscious, teaching yourself to read again, and how we talk about problems
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If AI became conscious, how would we know? Referring to a new report published by a group of scientists on new theories for evaluating machine intelligence Mariana Lenharo writes, “There are many neuroscience-based theories that describe the biological basis of consciousness. But there is no consensus on which is the ‘right’ one.
To create their framework, the authors therefore used a range of these theories. The idea is that if an AI system functions in a way that matches aspects of many of these theories, then there is a greater likelihood that it is conscious.”
It’s worth the effort to teach yourself to read again. When we read books “[…]We share our minds for that time with the writer’s. There is a slowness, a forced reflection required by the medium that is unique. Books recreate someone else’s thoughts inside our own minds, and maybe it is this one-to-one mapping of someone else’s words, on their own, without external stimuli, that give books their power. Books force us to let someone else’s thoughts inhabit our minds completely.” - Hugh McGuire
Pay attention to how you talk about problems. Some problems have a habit of coming back, “So next time you are in a problem discussion, listen out for clues in the expressions people use. Then think about the elements that are interacting with each other. Do you have a reinforcing process that keeps change accumulating in one direction (e.g. getting progressively worse, or growing bigger and bigger)? or a balancing process that tries to maintain things as they are? What can you change to improve the situation?” - Houda Buolahbel
The myth of a self made man. For better and worse our lives are shaped by when and where we were born. But we are here today and where we go from here matters. “Supposedly each of us has bits of every material present at the dawn of the universe. It makes sense — at least the morning after mushroom chocolates — that our matter will also be present in galaxies/stars/planets/organisms birthed trillions of years from now. Our stories may or may not make the journey, but the emotions they inspire will become instinct, then DNA, and this matter will disperse. So the question is, distinct from the story you and others tell about yourself, how do you make people feel? When people come in contact with you, do they feel insecure or inspired? Do you leave people cold or comforted? Do you bring joy, harmony, love?” - Scott Galloway
The AI revolution started two decades ago. “Today, the user gets to enjoy feeling like a participant in the AI industry, wielding AI tools to solve individual problems. AI, no longer hidden in the guts of the product, is now pushed into the limelight where users can tinker to their heart’s content. The product philosophy of seamlessness and instant gratification (right answer, first time) is facing a challenger: serve wrong answers that are useful and let the user tinker.” - Cassie Kozyrkov
Why 50% of world’s population lives in just 13 countries in Asia. “The collision with the continental crust of the Indo-Australian plate creates a massive mountain range, which then stops the winds, gathers their water, and distributes it in many different rivers, each of which spawned a civilization.” - Tomas Pueyo
Thanks for reading!
Aliyar
P.S. Stay curious