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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.


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  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Saturday February 03 2018, @04:37PM

    by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Saturday February 03 2018, @04:37PM (#632579) Homepage Journal

    Dystopian Sci-fi (and what you describe is pure fiction and will be for generations, if not centuries or even ever) fantasies like yours where uncaring, inscrutable computer intelligences decide the fate of humanity just feed the egos and raise the profiles of those whose power bases are linked to computing resources.

    Generalized computer intelligence on a par with humans, cephalopods, cats or even lab rats is so far beyond the scope of our current technology and understanding of how consciousness and intelligence function, that it's ridiculous (except in fiction) to entertain such ideas seriously.

    Get a grip.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
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