Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Saturday February 03 2018, @09:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the modern-day-punishment dept.

Fire good. AI better:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says artificial intelligence is going to have a bigger impact on the world than some of the most ubiquitous innovations in history. "AI is one of the most important things humanity is working on. It is more profound than, I dunno, electricity or fire," says Pichai, speaking at a town hall event in San Francisco in January.

A number of very notable tech leaders have made bold statements about the potential of artificial intelligence. Tesla boss Elon Musks says AI is more dangerous than North Korea. Famous physicist Stephen Hawking says AI could be the "worst event in the history of our civilization." And Y Combinator President Sam Altman likens AI to nuclear fission.

Even in such company, Pichai's comment seems remarkable. Interviewer and Recode executive editor Kara Swisher stopped Pichai when he made the comment. "Fire? Fire is pretty good," she retorts. Pichai sticks by his assertion. "Well, it kills people, too," Pichai says of fire. "We have learned to harness fire for the benefits of humanity but we had to overcome its downsides too. So my point is, AI is really important, but we have to be concerned about it."

Also at CNN and Gizmodo.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Saturday February 03 2018, @11:59AM (4 children)

    by fyngyrz (6567) on Saturday February 03 2018, @11:59AM (#632490) Journal

    When you build a ludicrously complex system you don't understand, feed it a bunch of numbers and then obey its output, that's not artificial intelligence, it's just modern superstition.

    So, you're talking about children, then.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 03 2018, @01:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 03 2018, @01:37PM (#632515)

    > ... and then obey its output, ...

    Well, my mother (88) certainly fed me a bunch of numbers, letters, and a lot of good food. But she's not ready to obey my output yet (except in a few specialized domains like figuring the tip at a restaurant).

  • (Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday February 04 2018, @02:28AM (2 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Sunday February 04 2018, @02:28AM (#632752) Journal
    Children may be complex systems that we did not create, but they are not reducible to a calculator. In fact, they don't calculate at all. Sure, most of them can be taught to do it, but they're very slow and error prone even then.

    That's why we invented computers in the first place. As long as you understand what you're asking them, they can give very good answers, very quickly.

    But when you don't know what you're asking then the answer is, for all intents and purposes, gibberish as well.

    GIGO.

    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
    • (Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Sunday February 04 2018, @12:13PM (1 child)

      by fyngyrz (6567) on Sunday February 04 2018, @12:13PM (#632885) Journal

      Children may be complex systems that we did not create, but they are not reducible to a calculator. In fact, they don't calculate at all. Sure, most of them can be taught to do it, but they're very slow and error prone even then.

      No, no. I didn't specify young children.

      To belabor the point, the point is: we don't understand, and cannot predict, humans. And while you are right that humans are not reducible to calculators, that only drives the point home even further: You cannot predict what a human will do. Humans are indeed ludicrously complex active systems we have very little control over that we do indeed obey and depend upon the output of; we apply reason to that to some degree (well, some of us do) but the same can be said of LDNLS [fyngyrz.com], and no doubt, AI when (or if) it ever gets here.

      • (Score: 2) by Arik on Sunday February 04 2018, @07:33PM

        by Arik (4543) on Sunday February 04 2018, @07:33PM (#632998) Journal
        Humans are unpredictable.

        The oracle of rat-bones is similarly unpredictable.

        Therefore the rat-bone oracle is AI?
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?