Isn’t it possible that calling for a complete stop to AI development actually counterfactually speeds up AI development?
The scenario I’m thinking of is something like:
There’s a growing anti-AI movement calling for a complete stop
A lot of people in that movement are ignorant about AI, and about the nature AI risks
It’s therefore easy for pro-AI people to dismiss these concerns, because the reasons given for the stop are in fact wrong/bad
Any other, well-grounded calls for AI slowdown aren’t given the time of day, because they are assumed to be the same as the others
Rather than thoughtful debate, the discourse turns into just attacking the other group
I’m not sure how exactly you’re proposing to advocate for a complete stop, but my worry would be that coming across as alarmist and not being able to give compelling specific reasons that AI poses a serious existential threat would poison the well.
I think it’s great that you’re trying to act seriously on your beliefs, Greg, but I am worried about a dynamic like this.
Isn’t it possible that calling for a complete stop to AI development actually counterfactually speeds up AI development?
The scenario I’m thinking of is something like:
There’s a growing anti-AI movement calling for a complete stop
A lot of people in that movement are ignorant about AI, and about the nature AI risks
It’s therefore easy for pro-AI people to dismiss these concerns, because the reasons given for the stop are in fact wrong/bad
Any other, well-grounded calls for AI slowdown aren’t given the time of day, because they are assumed to be the same as the others
Rather than thoughtful debate, the discourse turns into just attacking the other group
I’m not sure how exactly you’re proposing to advocate for a complete stop, but my worry would be that coming across as alarmist and not being able to give compelling specific reasons that AI poses a serious existential threat would poison the well.
I think it’s great that you’re trying to act seriously on your beliefs, Greg, but I am worried about a dynamic like this.
Well I’ve articulated what I think are compelling, specific reasons, that AI poses a serious existential threat in my new post: AGI rising: why we are in a new era of acute risk and increasing public awareness, and what to do now. Hope this can positively impact the public discourse toward informed debate. (And action!)
Yes, thank you for that! I’m probably going to write an object level comment there.