#a decade of Life and a singular cause wouldn't work@

[nicollekidman]

oh my god shut uppppppppppp shut up

[mckitterick]

Anyone who doesn't think AI shit was gonna go this way is a fuckin idiot lmao

Dear Anonymous:

I think that, ever since the idea of smart, learning machines first appeared in the zeitgeist, most people just thought of artificial intelligence as a science-fiction concept.

Not in the "realistic narratives exploring possible futures" or "literature of change speculating about how scientific discovery and developments in tech will cause disruptive shifts in the human experience" ways, but instead "fun stories about stuff that'll never actually happen."

Now we're facing real, accelerating, and utterly transformative change to how we live, work, learn, create, and even survive because of machine algorithms that govern almost every aspect of our lives (good or bad). Soon - according to many - we'll be looking into the abyss or nirvana of the Technological Singularity, that point beyond which technology (particularly AI) will transform our lives in ways unimaginable to those of us conscious in this moment just now approaching the event horizon of that can't-turn-back moment.

It's human nature to imagine the future as a linear thread from our experience of life yesterday and something similar (but with slightly changed consumer products) tomorrow.

I mean, for the first million years of human existence, day-to-day life was pretty much exactly as it had been for the ancestors who came before. It wasn't until the big changes wrought by fire, fabric, and farming that daily life started to take on new aspects from generation to generation. But the nascent technological civilization that arose from agriculture wasn't substantially different from tribal life until we began approaching the Industrial Revolution - after that, things changed over hundreds of years instead of the coming hourly transformations we're likely to see as we approach the Singularity in the next decade or so.

So I wouldn't call those who didn't predict the unexpected side-effects and unintentional consequences of AI stupid; I'd say our formal, familial, and religious educational systems are more focused on preparing people to fit in to traditional human civilization than in preparing our minds to be nimble, open, and creative.

Plus change is scary: If we can't trust that what we know and do won't become obsolete, if we can't rely on conventional financial, governmental, cultural, and other support systems, what can we rely on? AI is not soft and fuzzy (well, except quantum computing, but not "soft" in the animal sense), economics are not hard-science mechanics of the universe, and cultural traditions and norms are meaningless to minds that did not evolve as humans or other living things did.

(listen to Frederik Pohl read his brilliant, far-future transhumanist story, "Day Million" in this YouTube video)

The only certainty we can hold about the future is that it'll be different from today. And life in the post-Singularity future will be more different from today's experience than the Cro-Magnon's was from ours.

And that's okay!

All human exploration, philosophy, and art has prepared us for this moment when we stand at the precipice of utter and complete change, when we peer down into the unimaginable that lies beyond the diamond-bright glowing rim of the human experience, as the event horizon rushes closer, bringing us into the Unknown.

It's normal to feel anxious about what might feel like falling into an abyss. Rather, try to imagine the whole new universe that lies beyond, the infinite possibilities we'll enjoy once we are not limited by anything but physics. Imagine how free it'll feel, not having to worry about conventional capitalist demands. Imagine a future where you can do or be anything. That's what lies beyond the blue event horizon.

The first, crucial step in taking us there is artificial intelligence - thinking machines and algorithms that can do everything we can do, plus much more. Better, and faster, and in ways we can only speculate about now.

I do not fear AI. However, I do worry about how existing power structures will first try to control it, then when that fails (because who can control godlike beings?), when they try to warp it to their will. Wresting the comparatively infinite power of AI - when combined with nanotech and biotech - out of the hands of capitalists and authoritarians will be a "disruptive" time, to say the least. But once we reach a new balance, we'll be looking at the closest to utopia we've likely ever seen.

So don't ever feel stupid when encountering the coming transformations of human life - conservative and traditional teaching systems cannot prepare us for what's to come. Whenever you encounter something you don't understand or that scares you, educate yourself. Intentional ignorance leads nowhere but to conflict and suffering.

What'll get us through the turbulent times to come is the power of community, family, and love. What'll make this an adventure rather than a trauma is that human connection, plus self-expression, hunger for understanding, and openness to change.

We've got this.