I think we could try to build AGI, but I am skeptical it could be anything useful or helpful (a broad alignment problem) because of vague or inapt success criteria, and because of the lack of embodiment of AGI (so it won’t get beat up on by the world generally or have emotional/affective learning). Because of these problems, I think we shouldn’t try (1).
Further, I am trying this line of argument out to see if it will encourage (3) (not building AGI), because these concerns cast doubt on the value of AGI to us (and thus the incentives to build it).
This takes on additional potency if we embrace the shift to thinking about “should” and not just “can” in scientific and technological development generally. So that brings us to the questions I think we should be asking, which is how to encourage a properly responsible approach to AI, rather than shifting credences on the Future Funds’ propositions about.
Does that make sense?
I can plausibly see such sensors for physical pain but not for emotional pain. Emotional pain is the far more potent teacher of what is valuable and what is not, what is important and what is not. Intelligence needs direction of this sort for learning.
So, can you build embodied AGI with emotional responses built in—that last like emotions and so are suitable teachers like emotions? Building in empathy (both for happiness and suffering) and the pain of disapproval to AGI would be crucial.