0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
If history teaches us anything, it is that automation has not been kind to the human workforce that was replaced.
Cars will be built from start to finish with the only human interaction driving them out of the end of the assembly line.
As Marx would have it, capitalism and communism converge when there is a super-abundance of goods. I guess this could be the state where the whole world is run by benevolent machines and humans just play and can have anything they want. It won't happen soon though!
Some cobblers are sticking to the last.
David, in my humble opinion, the Utopian world you describe will never come to pass. People will be paid just for existing? Where will that money come from? What is a "reasonable" wage.
Nor can I see a situation where humans will accept artificial intelligence controlling them. Not willingly. The only way this could happen is if artificial intelligence were capable of forcing its will on people.
As they say in Scotland, it's awl aboot the economy laddie.
Na, we widnae pit 'i "l" on 'i end o' it: it's aa aboot... (or "it's aw aboot" - I say "aa" instead of "aw" as I'm from the NE).
Yes, I agree that there may come a time where there will need to be a redistribution of wealth. But, it won't come easy. And, in many senses, humanity will loose if we make all of ourselves idle.
What about the movie actors and actresses that work hard. Should they be compensated so that we all can watch the shows on our monster TVs? Surely entertainment won't be 100% animated.
And, for things like energy, food, clothing, cars, etc. People conserve more resources if they have to pay for them, and have a stake in the outcome.
As far as an AI governing, it will be very difficult. I could imagine an AI as a referee in a baseball game, judging if 100MPH pitches are in the strike zone. But, even so, some subjective quality can be good.
The AI will be fed with moral choices.But, for example now there is a hot debate in the USA about Gay & Lesbian marriages. What is universally "right"? What about abortions? Right to die? A lot of political issues can't be decided by a set of algorithms. Of course, we could vote on everything, but not everything can be put out as a referendum, and still the populist choice may not be the correct choice.
You might think a courtroom is about truth. But, part of the reason to have a jury is to incorporate an element of "humanity" in the decisions.
What if the all powerful AI decides that the true problem with society is humans themselves? Somewhat like the Terminator Movies.
C'mon! Awl was a pun (a cobbler's tool - hmm, perhaps I should rephrase that). It doesna work if you say "aw" instead.
Ye widnae be the wee cooper frae Fife then. Eberdeen mair like.(I better cease and desist - TNS is supposed to be English only
Quote from: CliffordK on 07/05/2012 20:33:54The AI will be fed with moral choices.What about abortions? Right to die? A lot of political issues can't be decided by a set of algorithms.These arguments are only hard to settle because of conflicting systems of morality. Religions use faulty systems of morality which can be shown to be faulty and rejected.
The AI will be fed with moral choices.What about abortions? Right to die? A lot of political issues can't be decided by a set of algorithms.
Quote from: CliffordK on 07/05/2012 20:33:54What if the all powerful AI decides that the true problem with society is humans themselves? Somewhat like the Terminator Movies.That would be a false conclusion which cannot be derived from the facts. The job of A.I. will be to look after us and to enforce fairness to ensure that people are protected properly from other people. Most of us don't need to be steered too hard to behave well, so it will be done by the most part through gentle suggestions about how we might behave differently, and not so much that we lose the ability to control our own behaviour. Ultimately, A.I. will do what we want it to do, and we won't let it be too heavy handed.
It just isn't cut and dry. If we place value on our own lives, as well as our childrens and parents lives.... and infants lives... then abortion and suicide becomes a sticky issue with or without religion. When does life, as something that we attribute value to, begin and end? It is a philosophical question that can not be answered by any algorithm.
I personally do not like traffic cameras as often it doesn't make that much difference if one crosses an intersection on a "stale yellow", or exceed the speed limit by a couple of MPH during off-peak hours.
But, I don't want an omniscient machine to start sending me tickets every time I am late for an appointment.
Or... an computer that would decide that I shouldn't look up the formula for nitroglycerin.
David, have you been paying any attention to what is going on in the world these days? People will go, and do go against what is in their best interests every day. Even when one can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that something is true, people will still refuse to believe it. Because their desire to believe what they want is more powerful than any truth to the contrary.
For people to behave in how you describe, they would have to be rational beings above all else. I know very, very few humans who are rational above all else.
You have an amazingly rosy view of humanity. I hope that I am wrong and you are right. I would be thrilled to be proved wrong and you right!