This article both reinforces my sense that AGI is a long ways out, if even possible, and I think explains why the attitude that we’ll look back in if AI bubble bursts hard why people spent so much god damned money on it.
It has this longtermism adjacent feel where it makes very strange albeit “rational” argument about the liklihoid of certain out comes, and then over indexes on net present value to make decisions. Sure if there’s 100’s of trillions of dollars to be made it’s worth spends 100’s of billions of dollars for a 1 percent chance it happens, but it’s still a 1 percent chance.
meshugaas•2h ago
It would be fascinating to see numbers behind how many AI boosters are religious. Feels like a similar central belief. No matter the current state, boosters believe it will get better: essentially they have faith. Critics take it at current face value and don’t believe it can become AGI.
Although, people creating a digital god would be pretty blasphemous. Tough one.
techpineapple•3h ago
It has this longtermism adjacent feel where it makes very strange albeit “rational” argument about the liklihoid of certain out comes, and then over indexes on net present value to make decisions. Sure if there’s 100’s of trillions of dollars to be made it’s worth spends 100’s of billions of dollars for a 1 percent chance it happens, but it’s still a 1 percent chance.