defun 🔸 comments on Discussion Thread: AI Welfare Debate Week

[defun 🔸]

I think the burden of proof lies with those advocating for AI welfare as an EA priority.

So far, I haven’t read compelling arguments to change my default.

[Nathan Young]

What’s your thought on this:

Humans are conscious in whatever way that word is normally used

• Our brains are made of matter

• I think it’s likely we’ll be able to use matter to make other conscious minds

• These minds may be able to replicate far faster than our own

• A huge amount of future consciousness may be non-human

• The wellbeing of huge chunks of funture consciousness are worthy of our concern

[defun 🔸]

I think it’s likely we’ll be able to use matter to make other conscious minds

Can you expand on this? Do you think that a model loaded onto a GPU could be conscious?

And do you think bacteria might be conscious?

[Nathan Young]

I think given a big enough GPU, yes, it seems plausible to me. Our mids are memory stores and performing calculations. What is missing in terms of a GPU?

I think bacteria are unlikely to be conscious due to a lack of processing power.

[defun 🔸]

What is missing in terms of a GPU?

Something unknown.

I think given a big enough GPU, yes, it seems plausible to me. Our mids are memory stores and performing calculations.

Do you think it’s plausible that a GPU rendering graphics is conscious? Or do you think that a GPU can only be conscious when it runs a model that mimics human behavior?

I think bacteria are unlikely to be conscious due to a lack of processing power.

Potential counterargument: microbial intelligence.

[NickLaing]

I agree and I hope we get some strong arguments from those in favor. I would imagine there is already a bunch of stuff written given the recent Open Phil defunding it kerfuffle.