/ News
Elon Musk and AI: What Does He Mean? (opinion)
I do not plan on touching this subject with the journalist’s style because the story has been out for some time. Instead, let me clarify his points. Let’s face it, his analogy has some shock factor and it did strike a few people in strange ways. Then again, isn’t that what shock value does? Putting it simply, it’s a wakeup call. It’s meant to jar you into thinking about certain things in a new perspective. So let’s go back to what he originally said at the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics department’s Centennial Symposium. He said that,
“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I were to guess like what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence. Increasingly scientists think there should be some regulatory oversight maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like yeah he’s sure he can control the demon. Didn’t work out.”
Now then, I am going to assume that we have all seen a couple of supernatural horror movies before and we all know what happens in this scenario. If you take away the shock value, Elon Musk is saying that dealing with artificial intelligence (AI) has some extreme risks involved. He is saying that making something like this means that we are dealing with an entity that we do not completely understand. We don’t know what it will do and we can only speculate as to what its potential is. With something like a sentient AI, it will have the ability to make decisions without the need for human intervention. This means that we will end up creating an entity that may have total access to the Internet and, if the military has their hands in it, all satellites and missile siloes that are within reach. If it decides to, it could wipe out humanity. I am not saying this will happen, but there’s a probability that it could.
Now then, there is always that one group of people who take things way too far. I’m mentioning names, but they know who they are. These people do not want any restrictions placed on this entity. They want it to have the ability to do whatever it sees fit, whenever it wants. Now then, I am not the type to view things this way. AI is a tool, like any other device or gadget you have lying around. It is meant to improve the quality of life and make everyday tasks simpler. To me, AI is not some omnipotent deity that should be worshipped. It is a construct that could improve life by assisting researchers with whatever tasks they are attempting to complete.
In my honest opinion, I think having an AI like this can be beneficial. It could increase the amount of scientific discoveries made, allowing for new technologies that could improve the quality of life for everyone. Now, I am not going to jump into the lofty-minded bandwagon. There are risks, especially because humans tend to like messing up good things. All it takes is one clever hacker to corrupt the construct and cause havoc on his/her enemies. This is possible.
All in all, Elon Musk isn’t saying AI or anything else is demonic. He’s saying that we need to know what exactly it is that we’re dealing with. This technology is new, it is young. We haven’t fine-tuned our AI understanding enough to make rational conclusions. So before we start making pariahs out of the cautious ones, let’s take some time to obtain a better understanding as to what we’re dealing with.
* hero image used from: http://www.newsledge.com/elon-musk-warning-us-super-careful-ai-8364
Source: http://transhumanity.net/elon-musk-and-ai-what-does-he-mean/
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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