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The New Prometheus: Google CEO Says AI is More Profound than Electricity or Fire

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

takyon writes:

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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Original Submission

• Re:Oh, we definitely do that Re:Oh, we definitely do that (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.

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• Re:Oh, we definitely do that (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?

  Parent