Overthinking the Future

Episode III

Is a world where superintelligence exists fun?

I recently started thinking about superintelligence, and I'm not sure if I want us to build it. I'm still processing my thoughts, but it's a feeling that started growing as I thought about various future scenarios where superintelligence exists.

This episode's main text ended up being a lot longer than I thought, so instead of making the email super long, I made it a full post on my website. It's the first writing that I'm happy(-ish) with in a while, so go read it!

First I explain what superintelligence is and why I think it's possible to build it. Then, I share my worries, such that when you are done reading the post you will hopefully reply back arguing why I shouldn't be concerned.

You can read the full post here: https://aristot.io/superintelligence-or-no

Internet Nuggets

Mark Zuckerberg is doing an incredible job of improving his public image the past years, making even me reconsider whether he's a purely profit seeking *!$@ or just an eccentric visionary. His openly shared Llama models are currently the best way to use AI language models privately. Most of his early decisions about Facebook were focused on positioning and leverage, not profit. This leaked email from 2015 where he outlines his strategic vision on virtual and augmented reality (VR, AR) made me respect him even more.

Paul Graham posted his results of this "Reading the eyes" test. He got 25/36 while his wife scored 36/36 (!). This thing was much harder than I expected, especially the women eyes. I scored between them. How much do you get?

Chris Anderson, the head of TED held an interview with Demis Hassabis, the CEO of DeepMind. It's been published on YouTube only four days ago. It's a fascinating discussion worth watching.

If you want to read more (fun?) thoughts, let's become friends on X (Twitter) or LinkedIn! Do you know someone who might like this newsletter? Share it to make two people happy today: https://newsletter.aristot.io

P.S. Sorry it took so much longer than 1 week to send out this one, but hey, at least turned into a full post. The frequency I'm sending these out is experimental anyway so I guess it's fine? In my defense, I'm on my first long-ish vacation after two years and it's hard to find time to write while traveling. Proof in the pic below. Let me know what you thought about the piece!

Writing this episode's email on the iPad while Masha was doing the wee-wee at Nara's deer park in Japan.

-Aristotelis

What I'm doing now: https://aristot.io/now

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Superintelligence might be great or...

Overthinking the Future

Is a world where superintelligence exists fun?

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