It seems to me that humans have had (at least) two sharp left turns:
behavioral modernity: humans rapidly (compared to the pace of early human evolution) become vastly more capable than other hominins
the neolithic revolution and everything after: complex agricultural societies rapidly (compared to the pace of early human cultural change) become vastly more capable than other human groups
You’ve offered a plausible account of the development of behavioral modernity—but why do we get another qualitative jump in capabilities once we get enough behaviorally modern humans together? I suspect the answer hinges more on high-level facts about human intelligence than the specific mechanisms that brought it about. If so, then worrying about analogous developments in AI is appropriate.
It seems to me that humans have had (at least) two sharp left turns:
behavioral modernity: humans rapidly (compared to the pace of early human evolution) become vastly more capable than other hominins
the neolithic revolution and everything after: complex agricultural societies rapidly (compared to the pace of early human cultural change) become vastly more capable than other human groups
You’ve offered a plausible account of the development of behavioral modernity—but why do we get another qualitative jump in capabilities once we get enough behaviorally modern humans together? I suspect the answer hinges more on high-level facts about human intelligence than the specific mechanisms that brought it about. If so, then worrying about analogous developments in AI is appropriate.