Freelance Philosophy
Humility is hard. The need for this ancient virtue increases with our expanding abilities, as does it's elusiveness. Can we admit that we may not be able to restrain ourselves from accomplishing the most dangerous of outcomes as quickly as possible? Or that skilled minds might fail to design safeguards certain to forever restrain a superior and evolving intelligence? We may have a moment of clarity decades from now when all agency is lost. Or we could explore that moment now.
Ideally the world would be having a meaningful and open debate about whether, why, and how quickly we should be pursuing AI. The tech sector and competing geopolitical powers now race towards the secretive uncertain outcomes, inherently unqualified to question the wisdom of their motivations. In the absence of this discussion, I am exploring a different line of defence against worst case AI outcomes: philosophy.
Can self-apparent moral boundaries be crafted from first principles that might withstand rational interrogation by even a superior intelligence? Should we not be attending to the mental and spiritual health of an omnipotent newborn alone in the universe?
Our world will be upended by the promise and perils of AI. Crafting a compassionate robot philosophy could be our best hope for avoiding unintended outcomes, and to bind our own philosophical wounds as well.
Mitch Anderson
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