AI-Written Stereophile Articles

A Google engineer says AI has become sentient. What does that actually mean?

"If we think consciousness is important, it probably is because we're concerned that we're building some kind of system that's living a life of misery or suffering in some way that we're not recognizing," said Vold.

"If that really is what's motivating us, then I think we need to be reflective about the other species in our natural system and see what kind of suffering we may be causing them. There's no reason to prioritize AI over other biological species that we know have a much stronger case of being conscious."

Vold sounds like someone I'd like to share a drink with. All this brouhaha with AI is a result of our hubris, which can harm us (Forbidden Planet is a great lesson) and not a boon (out of the head of Zeus sprung Athena).

Being sentient doesn't imply brilliance or rational intelligence. Take a look around  at what's been going on for about 300,000 years with us. Half of us are still below average IQ.

This reminds me of what an old teacher told me of people he knows who are experts in their fields but outside of their fields of expertise, he sees them as educated idiots. 

Any AI program put in complete control of any program that could harm us, and does, cannot be attributed to the AI itself, but to the stupidity of the people who put it in charge. We've a long way to go before AI can supersede us but a short way to go for it to upend us.

All the best,
Nonoise

WORD

The decline in writing skills is a multi-decade phenomenon.  I was on the staff of an Army school in the 1980s; our students were mostly Army officers with advanced degrees from civilian colleges and universities.  I saw the same problem a few years later with slightly more senior Reserve Component officers, some of whom worked in institutions of higher learning. In both cases, some of them wrote superbly, but a good number had real problems in expressing ideas in a concise, direct, and meaningful manner.  I think the problem is that, to a troubling degree, our education system has shifted away from foundational skills that leave students less capable of clear expression, especially with the written word, and as these younger people enter the work force in increasing numbers, the problem will become even more evident.  Just my two-bits worth … inflation, you know!

A high school friend of mine who went to Harvard and eventually became head of the Clemson psychology department once told me that grade inflation was in his mind much more serious than economic inflation.