Congratulations!… and my condolences.
You exist in exciting times.
Humanity teeters on a precipice- will our worst fears about the future be realized, or our wildest dreams?
Probably somewhere in between, but doubtless not in the way we can quite imagine.
(Summary by Chatgpt) As humanity faces a rapidly changing future shaped by technology and deep societal inequalities, we must redefine what it means to be ‘good.’ In a world where AI and algorithms influence how we interact and think, our focus should shift from merely what technology can do to how it can serve everyone’s well-being. This paper argues that we need to create a society based on consent, where individuals are involved in defining their values and choices. By emphasizing cooperation, informed decision-making, and caring for our planet, we can turn the current challenges of suffering and inequality into opportunities for fulfillment, equity, and sustainability for all.
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What do we see when looking out into the world?
The un-terraforming of Earth and collapse of our planets ecosystems resulting in incalculable levels of suffering is an inevitability if we do not engage in radical change.
The continued concentration of wealth and power into the hands of fewer people and reduction of peoples ability to live independent of large scale systems over which they have almost no control.
Due to the planets over 8 billion human inhabitants, we see more suffering, strife, and slavery, than ever before on Earth. However at the same time thanks the internet and other technologies, we have more informed humans than ever before.
The rise in the abilities of AI that will inevitably lead to large scale changes in how we work, and how we treat media, code, and information.
A.I.
Projecting forward it’s not hard to see that soon AI systems will be able to manipulate information freely and easily. This will mean yes, if you want to watch a movie but every character is replaced by Danny DeVito, you will have it, but also, perhaps you would like to permanently extend the free trial period of your a software suite your using. These capabilities are not far away, and they would likely mean a total breakdown of Digital Rights Management.
We could keep going, extrapolating all the ways that intelligent systems can disrupt or improve our lives but it would be a long list. The development of A.I. tools and especially AGI represent an element of chaos in the future of humanity. We do not know how it will turn out, but it is highly dependent on the initial conditions.
The current incentive structure and leading A.I. organizations do not add confidence to the outlook of the future.
For the past decade society has been shifting under the influence of the primogenitor of our technical society, the recommendation algorithm. We’ve seen increases in radicalization across the board, as well as a serious mental health crisis. Unfortunately the algorithms are not designed for the well being of it’s users, but instead to make money. Keeping people engaged is the goal, and playing with our emotions is one way to do that.
It seems clear; if we do not control the algorithm, it will control us.
The question is what do we want it to do?
愛❤️
What is love? (Baby ai don’t hurt me.)
As love is a rather slippery to define subject, it is not so simple to plug in to an algorithm and create a digital embodiment of love.
Perhaps we could simplify by saying that love is good.
Of course then we must ask, what is good?
Where in epistemology one might track down and try and quantify the good and the bad, I will side step that issue by calling on metaepistemology which would instead ask: How do we determine what is good?
There is a human tendency to cling to a dogmatic view of the world, especially in terms of good and bad. This is a method of avoiding the work of determining good for oneself.
As far as any organism, group, collective, corporation, or country goes, I believe cooperation should be based firmly on the communal idea of good.
What can we agree on?
What systems can we create in order to come together?
I
Here is my vision for the future of Humanity
AI assisted systems for help us constantly align our values
Systems based off of informed consent.
Streamlined bureaucracy.
Commitment to planetary stewardship and protection of unique ecosystems.
Provide all peoples with pathways for food, housing, healthcare, education, and work.