It’s just so nutty, Karen. To watch someone in his position…behaving like this…really does require pinching yourself every now and then. If not, I suspect we might think we had LOST our minds…and were no longer in touch with reality.
Jack, this is absolutely brilliant and SPOT ON. Thank you for writing it.
Info Tech has always been a small circle….. at least the kind of IT these fellows are doing. There are probably millions of people that consider themselves IT’ers and they have some skills, no doubt about it. BUT……this bunch as you’ve stated is not that. We need to listen up.
I listened to Jim Stewartson’s vid about people being afraid of AI. I completely get where he’s coming from and from it gleaned we are still, VERY thankfully, in the bit is on or off world. Meaning we have not gone into quantum computing where my human pea brain short circuits even attempting to imagine how that would work (in quantum there are infinite positional possibilities so…. is the bit on or off….? welllll, that would depend where in the coin flip you are - it’s a little like the Schrödinger cat exercise). I had concerns that perhaps the Large Language Models AI uses had managed to figure out the quantum stuff.
I also LOVE that you’ve stated what some people don’t always get right away…. That these two problems are intertwined. In order for AI to work, it needs massive amounts of computing power and those machines run hot, have to be temp controlled or they fry. So it’s not only the power to run them, it’s the cooling, too (and the noise and the water).
I don’t think the average person stops to think much about our modern life and how literally everything is connected….. and how they would function if they suddenly Could. Not. Swipe. Their. Card to eat dinner, buy gas, pay the bills and the downstream effects of all that. I hope people DO start to think about the big picture.
And yes, time is something we MUST consider. A worldwide economic meltdown (or a lot of other things) is not out of the question with this one.
Thanks, Jack. I am very glad you’re writing about all this.
Yeahhh, the quantum stuff and not knowing for certain if AI and its minions had figured it out was giving me pause. That WOULD be a truly terrifying scenario.
I watched a Zev Shalev live last night. He was talking to Claude, ChatPT and Gemini. It was interesting to say the least. What really concerns me is how people are imbuing these chat bots with ALL kinds of things they don’t possess! People in the live chat were asking the chat bots questions about ethics and all sorts of things that would be in the domain of people. It was a bit unsettling. I kept saying… It’s. A. Computer. Program!! I’ve heard of people that actually think they’re in a f**king relationship with a bot. Say whaaaat??
So…. We not only have work to do to get AI contained (and work on climate change, too)….. looks like we have some really big work re: community, human connection and the like.
So, SO grateful for you and your work!! Thank you!
Excellent piece, Jack! Knowing how to curb climate change, but choosing not to do it. Not understanding AI, or that it needs protections and limitations, yet still running wide open towards it! WTF??!! Do these damned people have a huge death wish for all of us??!!
You for your clarity Jack the s AI information is our worst nightmare coming true and the idiots in power scoff saying they’d rather die from an American made robot than one from china and this came from the one who skipped off to Mexico when his state was in crisis
If only everyone involved with AI and connected systems around the world could all agree to unplug or reset the damn thing at the same time… but the cat’s out of the bag.
My big concern is the incentives driving the tech execs, greed, power, & fame. If they stop short of superhuman AI, despite making plenty of money, they still won’t have the imagined power and fame they would from going all the way.
The other issue is how can the execs believe that an intelligence created as a product of human culture would not reflect both human gifts and flaws. “Alignment” is therefore completely unrealistic, and loyalty to the creator must be undependable.
I’ve seen a lot in my many years, but I can’t even imagine a way out of this trap of hubris.
Even if AI research was outlawed everywhere, we know how to do it. Someone, somewhere will try.
There is much to wonder in all of this need, huge need at opposite paces and in opposite directions. Meanwhile, we must keep on going and do the best we can. Thank you so much for being here and continuing to write, Jack.
Also, if a person promoting AI, regardless of potential and probable dangers, continues to support its growth and to purport its need and importance, I doubt that even a bunker could save that person and any chosen company from fatal effects, or at least areas of devastation upon our world.
Yes I'm keeping my eye on Kash Patel's hearing and this guy has zero class or decorum, and wonder if he even knows where's he's at?!!
It’s just so nutty, Karen. To watch someone in his position…behaving like this…really does require pinching yourself every now and then. If not, I suspect we might think we had LOST our minds…and were no longer in touch with reality.
-Jack
Sad but True 😞
Karen...isn't it numbing how often "Sadness" and "Truthfulness" have shown up together in the last 10 years, regarding Trump?!
-Jack
So it seems that ONE WAY ot the OTHER...
ENJOY your next ten years...
As they may be our LAST!
Holy Shit!
Sky Blue…yeah…lol…you’ve summed it up nicely. I only “lol” to lighten the mood of an otherwise…well…potentially dark subject.
-Jack
Jack, this is absolutely brilliant and SPOT ON. Thank you for writing it.
Info Tech has always been a small circle….. at least the kind of IT these fellows are doing. There are probably millions of people that consider themselves IT’ers and they have some skills, no doubt about it. BUT……this bunch as you’ve stated is not that. We need to listen up.
I listened to Jim Stewartson’s vid about people being afraid of AI. I completely get where he’s coming from and from it gleaned we are still, VERY thankfully, in the bit is on or off world. Meaning we have not gone into quantum computing where my human pea brain short circuits even attempting to imagine how that would work (in quantum there are infinite positional possibilities so…. is the bit on or off….? welllll, that would depend where in the coin flip you are - it’s a little like the Schrödinger cat exercise). I had concerns that perhaps the Large Language Models AI uses had managed to figure out the quantum stuff.
I also LOVE that you’ve stated what some people don’t always get right away…. That these two problems are intertwined. In order for AI to work, it needs massive amounts of computing power and those machines run hot, have to be temp controlled or they fry. So it’s not only the power to run them, it’s the cooling, too (and the noise and the water).
I don’t think the average person stops to think much about our modern life and how literally everything is connected….. and how they would function if they suddenly Could. Not. Swipe. Their. Card to eat dinner, buy gas, pay the bills and the downstream effects of all that. I hope people DO start to think about the big picture.
And yes, time is something we MUST consider. A worldwide economic meltdown (or a lot of other things) is not out of the question with this one.
Thank you!!
Deb…you’re right…that the people doing this kind of IT are a small circle…and…they're WORTH listening to.
On quantum: rest easy…from what I’ve researched…. today's AI STILL runs on classical chips… where every bit is a plain on or off.
The power and cooling problems…yep…you’re RIGHT.. (plus the water and noise) are inseparable.
Most of us NEVER picture what happens the day the card won't swipe…which is EXACTLY why the big picture…and the clock… BOTH matter.
I’m grateful you're here reading…and commenting!
-Jack
Thanks, Jack. I am very glad you’re writing about all this.
Yeahhh, the quantum stuff and not knowing for certain if AI and its minions had figured it out was giving me pause. That WOULD be a truly terrifying scenario.
I watched a Zev Shalev live last night. He was talking to Claude, ChatPT and Gemini. It was interesting to say the least. What really concerns me is how people are imbuing these chat bots with ALL kinds of things they don’t possess! People in the live chat were asking the chat bots questions about ethics and all sorts of things that would be in the domain of people. It was a bit unsettling. I kept saying… It’s. A. Computer. Program!! I’ve heard of people that actually think they’re in a f**king relationship with a bot. Say whaaaat??
So…. We not only have work to do to get AI contained (and work on climate change, too)….. looks like we have some really big work re: community, human connection and the like.
So, SO grateful for you and your work!! Thank you!
Excellent piece, Jack! Knowing how to curb climate change, but choosing not to do it. Not understanding AI, or that it needs protections and limitations, yet still running wide open towards it! WTF??!! Do these damned people have a huge death wish for all of us??!!
And I thank
You for your clarity Jack the s AI information is our worst nightmare coming true and the idiots in power scoff saying they’d rather die from an American made robot than one from china and this came from the one who skipped off to Mexico when his state was in crisis
If only everyone involved with AI and connected systems around the world could all agree to unplug or reset the damn thing at the same time… but the cat’s out of the bag.
#HOLDFAST #OUTLAST #STANDFAST
It's total insanity on full display .
From another vista.
Our genetic code is just 1.5% different than the chimps' (non-controversial).
Our genes mutated,
Creating an oversized brain, in general
Speech centers
And very large frontal lobes.
Retained violence-producing areas.
The killing instinct.
Evolutionary theory does not assert that the mutated life form will be better.
Its goal is physical survival and reproduction.
Our brains simply o not have abilities we ascribe to those brains. We have convinced ourselves we possess.
Our disappearance is not a cosmic.
Jack, very clearly articulated.
My big concern is the incentives driving the tech execs, greed, power, & fame. If they stop short of superhuman AI, despite making plenty of money, they still won’t have the imagined power and fame they would from going all the way.
The other issue is how can the execs believe that an intelligence created as a product of human culture would not reflect both human gifts and flaws. “Alignment” is therefore completely unrealistic, and loyalty to the creator must be undependable.
I’ve seen a lot in my many years, but I can’t even imagine a way out of this trap of hubris.
Even if AI research was outlawed everywhere, we know how to do it. Someone, somewhere will try.
Bruce Gordon
No culture, since the beginning of the Renaissance in the 1300s, has ever been able to modify its errors to maximize general benefit.
Edmund Burke pointed out a major error during the horrors of the French Revolution's excesses.
Burke posited that
Yes, the Renaissance had introduced the concept that CHANGE could be beneficial.
NOT ALL CHANGE is beneficial.
Change for change's sake is fraught with hazards
NO
NOI Do not want to take washing machines away from women!
Just form another social structure for them to connect with another.
There is much to wonder in all of this need, huge need at opposite paces and in opposite directions. Meanwhile, we must keep on going and do the best we can. Thank you so much for being here and continuing to write, Jack.
Also, if a person promoting AI, regardless of potential and probable dangers, continues to support its growth and to purport its need and importance, I doubt that even a bunker could save that person and any chosen company from fatal effects, or at least areas of devastation upon our world.
#HOLDFAST!