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Fearing the Wrong Monsters
Fear is a great motivator. Throughout history, successful leaders have known how to use fear to unite and to manipulate their followers. Usually this fear is of “the other,” a group that looks different, talks different, or worships a different god.
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Posted by Jovana Grbic on 10/31 at 03:04 PM
Mike-- phenominally fascinating read. Very interesting to look at technology and AI, an often-invoked theme in science fiction, from a fearful standpoint. Very well-researched and written. I'm hoping to make the seminar in Irvine, as it sounds like it could present some excellent discussion.
Jovana Grbic
ScriptPhD.com
Posted by CygnusX1 on 10/31 at 03:57 PM
Nice one Mike, (..spits out last of Halloween candy).
You forget to mention the mysterious and all powerful "Illuminati". Am I joking?
>> http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/
Posted by Armand on 10/31 at 08:40 PM
Interesting article Mike.
I recently posted an article called 'Beware the Superman' on my own blog, which explains how fear of Transhumans (combined with the general expense involved with being a cyborg) eventually led to their extinction in my Space Opera.
If anyone reading this would like to check out my blog, it's http://sanctumofvespertine.blogspot.com/. You have to it type directly into the address bar, since it doesn't come up with search engines yet.
Posted by veronica on 11/01 at 01:06 AM
It's so hard to tell whether "Meanwhile, real monsters (eg Cheney) do lurk in the world, intent on gathering illicit power to dominate and subjugate innocent victims" is part of "To wrap this up on a semi-humorous note" or not.
Posted by Mike Treder on 11/01 at 01:13 AM
You're right, Veronica. Cheney and his ilk are no laughing matter.
Posted by haig on 11/11 at 06:42 PM
> "Can you see the similarities between dire warnings about earlier Frankenstein-style monsters and these newer, shinier, computer-generated fiends?"
No, no I can't. Equating the folks who worry about negative consequences of inherently uncontrollable technologies with luddites is unfair. People such as Yudkowsky who warn about these existential risks are also, at the same time, the people working hard to create these technologies. Their worries are justified by science, not irrational fears of novelty like the luddites/conservatives. There is a big difference between being scared of the future and being scared of a scary future.
By your reasoning, the Manhattan Project scientists who warned people of the dangers of wielding atomic energy were no different then the 'Frankenstein-hating' luddites as well.
Posted by Vlad on 11/13 at 05:18 PM
Haig already mentioned Eliezer Yudkowsky, so I'll link to Michael Anissimov's to-the-point explanation of the fears regarding AI: http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/2009/11/hungry-optimizers-with-low-complexity-values/
There will be no "off" button for a super-human AI. If it is misdesigned, we're toast.
Posted by Doug S. on 11/18 at 05:30 AM
Just because technology doesn't usually create monsters doesn't mean that we should deliberately go out and make monsters.
There's a well-known saying: "Computers are incredibly stupid; they do exactly what you tell them to do." Even if it's sending that love letter to the whole office rather than to your significant other. The relevant analogy is not Frankenstein's Monster or the Terminator movie series, but rather the Literal Genie - the one that gives you exactly what you asked for, which turns out to be something that you didn't actually want.
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