Beware the Basilisk
The following is based on an article by Jamais Cascio that appeared in New Scientist on 3 October 2017 (or October 3, 2017, if you prefer).
How many of you have heard of Roko’s Basilisk? Perhaps you’re in luck if you haven’t. What I’m about to tell you may lead to your eternal damnation. If this bothers you, stop reading now.
AI programmer Anthony Levandowski is working towards a superintelligent machine with god-like abilities. So are other groups, so a battle of the gods becomes a possibility. Not good for humans, probably.
And then there’s the Basilisk. Once you accept the possibility of god–like AI, you may be under an obligation to work towards bringing it about, otherwise said AI, once created, may take a dim view of your inaction. So, now that you know about Roko’s Basilisk, you must either help to immanentize the eschaton or be doomed should it come about.
Sorry about that.
1
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
1 comment
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Are you talking about Artificial Intelligence? It is a concern, "Open the pod bay door, Hal" comes to mind. But all of that is based on a personal god that has control over. Persaonally I don't believe in a personal 'god'.
silverotter11
Level 9
Jan 9, 2018
1
Yes, AI is artificial intelligence. How is an omnipotent AI related to the existence of a personal god? Reminds me of a story I once read (forget who the author was) about this AI that someone made and it was asked if there was a god. The reply was "There is now."
Sorry I was multi-tasking and not paying attention to what I was typing. Now I'm not even sure where I was going with the original thought. I do think AI could pose problems for mankind. Yeah, like the idea of a personal god hasn't done enough damage?
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.