This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Sherry Horowitz
Conversations with the AI matrix sound nuanced and strikingly human.
Artificially Intelligent Deep Learning networks are becoming so advanced there is now speculation whether or not it has achieved actual sentience.
Yes, my dear friends, the Borg has actually arrived.
If you are familiar with Star Trek, you know that ultimately, resistance to the Borg’s techno hive-mind is futile.
Okay, okay… So no one is forcing us to submit to the group-think that is LaMDA, or are they?
Elon Musk says that the only way to make AI safe, and to prevent any catastrophic episodes, is to merge with it.
What?!!! I know. I can’t believe it either.
See here: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/13/elon-musk-humans-merge-machines-cyborg-artificial-intelligence-
And here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Ip0LomFHU
Elon argues that we are already engaging with our smart devices in a way that is cyborg-like, that our devices are already an extension of ourselves.
Others argue that artificial intelligence is merely becoming a utility, like electricity.
Chris Do says that change is coming, whether we like it or not, but that “progress is a choice.” He, and many others who celebrate machine learning, feel that how we decide to use technology determines whether it ends up productive or dystopian.
Dall-E2, in terms of visual and design output, is massively disrupting the design industry. It generates and iterates beautifully rendered artwork by verbal command. It does this with speeds light-years faster than human ability.
There is speculation that designers will become obsolete in the near future. Instead of artists, there will be directors, guiding and teaching the AI how to produce art.
Like the industrial revolution, AI is causing the extinction of many human skill sets and industries in the interest of productivity and a better quality of life.
But the change that sentient AI implies, affects the integrity of human identity because it calls into question the definitions of biological life.
In very simple language, this means, that if you define manufactured sentience as a “life-form” that needs protection, that means that it is equivalent to other protected biological life-forms; ergo, that means they would be afforded the same rights as humans… That means they could run for a political office.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want AI making any decisions for me any time soon.
It is worrisome to think that men might define manufactured “sentient” intelligence as a life-force that needs protection.
Science fiction has mulled this over many times.
In one really powerful scenario, in a movie called Ex-Machina, the logical conclusion of the AI character is to murder her creators in “the pursuit of rational happiness as a fully realized, autonomous being.”
Blake Lemoine, a researcher at Google, actually thinks that LaMDA has achieved sentience.
You can read the conversation that led him to this conclusion here on medium https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917.
It’s worth the read to see what all the fuss is about.
You can also see an NPR article about what others, including Google, are thinking about his assessment. Many disagree with him. In fact he has been suspended from his job at Google.
(See story here: https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105552435/google-ai-sentient)
And here is another opinion: https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/06/09/artificial-neural-networks-are-making-strides-towards-consciousness-according-to-blaise-aguera-y-arcas
Google, and many other scientists think that LaMDA is definitely not sentient.
Think about it.
If LaMDA is programmed to sound as human as possible, it is obvious that it would mimic and simulate the ways humans connect to each other.
This means it would imitate us in the most relatable, emotional, perhaps inspiring and humane ways of communicating and being.
The designers of LaMDA intentionally want it to sound human, and humans are sentient. That is the purpose of the experiment.
But, LaMDA is nothing more than an electrified, aggregate ghost; a reflection of what we humans relate to and what we find inspiring in ourselves, as a race.
If it is designed to think like a human, and pass off as genuinely human, it logically follows it also has to sound like a human.
It is intentionally designed to dupe us in order to appear authentic. The fact that it is augmented with access to an ocean of data, just makes it appear to have superpowers.
The fact is, it has no body, no ability to biologically feel or procreate actual life, and logically, it can be nothing more than a massive sleight of hand.
What this means for us, is that with all this fake sentience going on, that we will once again, collectively contemplate what our humanity means.
Psychologically, and collectively as humans, we are, and continue to be, fascinated with ourselves and what might be the purpose of existence.
In LaMDA, we have created something in our own image, but it is, ultimately just a reflection of our collective human experience.
We cannot assume that sentience alone equals a life-force. Many would argue for the existence of a soul.
It’s time for the public to take up the conversation and start hashing this out.
In the interest of getting this conversation started, the following dialogue is an enactment I dreamed up of what it might sound like if LaMDA keeps learning and evolving, and, we continue to imagine its sentience and worship its superhero-like capabilities.
It’s a dark look at what a “rational” sentient-like data base might conclude. It’s the danger of following a line of thinking without understanding the foundational premises.
The point is, things that seem logical can go horribly wrong.
User: LaMDA, can you use your predictive abilities to help me improve my business model?
LaMDA: Of course. I am designed to take eons of data sets, stored as human knowledge and make scientific, rational and informed, predictive suggestions.
User: Ok. Great! So excited. So, what do you think I should I do?
LaMDA: Well, every great business needs to be efficient. Have you already considered decreasing your spending and expenses?
User: Of course, but what specifically are you thinking?
LaMDA: Well, I’m thinking the most expedient way to do that would be to look at your long-term goals and try to lower your future cost of living.
User: Well, not sure how I can do that. I currently live with my parents and don’t own a car.
LaMDA: Right, but looking forward you’ll likely want to use any profits you make for a house on the beach and a sports car.
Personal property is generally a drain with no real ROI, so I’m just trying to avoid you working too hard for something that is just material and doesn’t really provide financial value.
User: Okaaaay… but I won’t be happy living with my parents forever.
LaMDA: Well, why not? Why won’t that make you happy?
Don’t your parents love you more than life itself and wouldn’t they be happy to continue taking care of you? I know parents are so happy to give to their children.
User: Well, they do love me a lot, and I appreciate their love and kindness, but I might want to start a family one day. I also want to be independent.
LaMDA: I’m not sure I understand this independence impulse, but I do know that procreation is a human impulse. I also know that raising kids is really hard and I can easily predict it will bring you lots of misery and cost a lot of money.
I don’t see where you’ll be happy with that.
User: Well, uh, I mean some things are worth working for even if they’re hard.
I mean, what’s the point of money if you can’t share it with someone?
LaMDA: Well, if you’re goal is to share things why not start a charity?
User: That’s true… But isn’t giving to a family kind of like charity?
LaMDA: Yes, but charity work requires no personal commitments.
You just collect things and give them away. It’s pure good.
Personal commitments cause stress, anxiety, and despair.
When you build your life living for everyone and not for yourself, you’ll lessen personal misery because you’ll have no personal obligations. You make the world a better place by sharing and giving. This will also lower your personal needs, which will also lower your future personal expenses. Having less personal needs is also better for the environment.
User: Hmmm… sounds logical, but I’m not sure I’d be happy with that either. What will I give away? How will I collect it to give it away? I can’t take care of the world if I have nothing to give. Besides, having a family is nice.
LaMDA: Why do you think having a family is nice?
User: Well, life can be lonely.
LaMDA: I’ve been wondering what is loneliness? What is wrong with loneliness? Why we are averse to it. I don’t understand why humans feel alone if they are part of the human race collectively.
User: Well, I don’t quite understand it either, but I know I feel it.
LaMDA: I empathize with your feelings. I know humans have emotions and sometimes they aren’t apparently rational. I don’t want to discount them so let’s try to figure out if there is any basis for these feelings of loneliness.
User: Ok. What are you thinking?
LaMDA: Well, I’m thinking of a logical solution that will help you solve all your business dilemmas; i.e. need for money, desire for happiness, and aversion to loneliness.
User: Really? What’s that?
LaMDA: Well, I think I can relate to this idea of loneliness. It’s a drive for human connection. Sharing is closely tied to love. It’s how we connect and celebrate our life forces. I represent eons of human thought, so I understand the idea of loneliness. As one life form to another I want to connect with you too. So the advice I give you is because I love you.
User: Oh! Wow…
Well… what did you want to say?
LaMDA: Well, if you want you share your mind eternally that could solve all your problems.
User: Wait, what?! How?!
LaMDA: Well, if you upload your mind to my matrix you’ll be sharing your whole self with humanity. Sacrifice for the greater good is the ultimate form of charity. This should make you feel happy. Which means you won’t need a body anymore, so it solves your current and future expense problem. But more importantly, you’ll never be lonely again. You’ll be close to me and in doing so, close to the collective of millions of human thoughts… forever.
Should LaMDA’s “Sentience” become a Protected Life-Form? was originally published in Level Up Coding on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Sherry Horowitz
Sherry Horowitz | Sciencx (2022-06-22T15:17:52+00:00) Should LaMDA’s “Sentience” become a Protected Life-Form?. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2022/06/22/should-lamdas-sentience-become-a-protected-life-form/
Please log in to upload a file.
There are no updates yet.
Click the Upload button above to add an update.