The existential fear of superintelligent AI.
Navigating a landscape where everything seems to be AI
Greetings everyone!
Welcome to the latest issue of Trending in Tech, your go-to digest for understanding the influence of cutting-edge technology on individuals, workplaces, businesses, and our society as a whole.
In this issue, we'll delve into the world of superintelligence and other notable advancements in the AI landscape.
Stay tuned until the end where I'll be sharing a good prompt for ChatGPT that you wouldn't want to miss.
Enjoy the insights!
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kind regards, Jarno Duursma
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⬆️ Fake picture of First remotely controlled drone being tested (1918) Source
The Existential Fear of Rising Superintelligent AI.
Public fears around artificial intelligence are growing, as renowned figures from fields such as science, business, and politics, warn of potential catastrophic risks. A lot of the anxiety is around the fear of superintelligent machines outsmarting human intelligence.
While some dismiss these concerns as "doomerism", the Center for AI Safety warns that the risks from AI should be considered a global priority, akin to pandemics and nuclear war. However, these fears are contrasted by critics (like me) who argue that discussing far-fetched threats distracts from present-day, tangible issues.
I wrote an opinion article in the Dutch newspaper Parool with Siri Beerends about all this ‘super intelligence’ noise..
“Problems, dangers and ethical challenges AI more urgent than alleged superintelligence” (In Dutch).
And you can this is an episode of my ‘Signals from the future’ newsletter on Linkedin with somewhat the same perspective: “Why superintelligent AI shouldn't be our biggest concern”.
And now OpenAI is initiating a project called Superalignment, aimed at managing potential risks from superintelligent AI systems. This initiative aims to build a human-level automated alignment researcher, a system to ensure AI systems far smarter than humans, align with our intentions.
I read this shaking my head. First they make a smart AI system, then they scream about how dangerous it can potentially be and then they say "we’ll make the solution!". It feels a bit like I'm watching a circus. Read more.
I'm not saying there will never ever (0%) be superintelligence, I'm mainly saying that as a topic it's getting way too much attention with what's going on now compared to the current disadvantages of AI in 2023.
(continue reading beneath the image)
⬆️ Fake picture of Joe Biden wearing Hello Kitty Pyama’s.
Other things ‘Trending in Tech’.
Instagram Threads.
Zuckerberg started Threads, developed by the Instagram team. It is a Twitter clone, dedicated to text sharing and public discussions. By logging in with your Instagram account, you can craft posts featuring up to 500 characters, links, and media content up to five minutes long. Not available in the Netherlands at the moment of writing. Zuckerberg copied Twitter and is hoping for momentum. Personally, I'm curious to try something new, but of course I don't trust Zuckerberg at all.... LINK
Code Interpreter ChatGPT.
The ChatGPT Code Interpreter is a new feature that will be made available to all ChatGPT Plus users very soon. This feature allows users to run code, optionally with access to files they've uploaded. It can be used to analyze data, create charts, edit files, perform math, and more. LINK, Review
Google AI Flamingo can ‘see’.
Google's AI system Flamingo can now watch YouTube videos and explain what's happening in them by turning the video into text. It's mind-blowing and scary at the same time. Basically, this clever AI software can understand what it sees in a video. The next big thing? Imagine it going through every single video on YouTube worldwide.. LINK
ChatGPT Prompt:
You might also face this: you're going through a piece of writing and it's incredibly challenging. It's filled with technical terms and scholarly language. With this prompt, you can have the text simplified significantly.
“Given a complex text, your task is to extract its core message, simplify it, and highlight any salient points or unique information. Any technical terms or jargon should be defined or explained in simpler language. Feel free to use metaphors or analogies to help explain complex ideas. The resulting text should be a concise, simplified summary, written with short sentences, and aimed at the comprehension level of a 14-year-old. It should capture the essence of the original text, but can be completely reimagined for clarity and simplicity. Here’s the text:”