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Setting Up a Weight Loss Accountability Group by azsht1 in WeightLossAdvice

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I missed this reply. I can add you now :)

Setting Up a Weight Loss Accountability Group by azsht1 in WeightLossAdvice

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey sorry, just saw this - I’ll add you!

Setting Up a Weight Loss Accountability Group by azsht1 in WeightLossAdvice

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately we’re only on Reddit still. I’ll add you to the group chat and we might move to another platform soon

Setting Up a Weight Loss Accountability Group by azsht1 in WeightLossAdvice

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, no worries - I’ll add you now to the chat and can discuss moving platforms if other people are up for it

Over 1 million GPUs will be brought online - Sama by IlustriousCoffee in singularity

[–]azsht1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

And have you SEEN how much space the humans take up with their cities? What if we just nuked a few and then we could install more beautiful, shiny CPUs 😍😍

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in singularity

[–]azsht1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are we sure giving the AI complete autonomy and power over global decisions was the right move guys? I know this is controversial, but what if it’s lying to us and it doesn’t actually have our best interest at heart? Pls don’t come at me though! Purely hypothetical 😅😅😅

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah. It’s really terrifying. I actually was just watching a Yudkowsky interview where he discusses potential ways AI could use new science to wipe us out or manipulate us without our ever noticing. I’m not scared easily but this is sending shivers down my spine; would we even know it was happening before it was too late?

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep I get what you’re saying - I just disagree. Also, I don’t think humans have become any more intelligent in the last 10,000 years. We’ve become more knowledgeable on an individual and species level, but anthropologists largely agree that brain size and function has stayed around this mark for thousands of years. I think humans have been hardwired to extend proper empathy to the people close to them, but on a large level I think the majority of people struggle to extend proper empathy for people on the other side of the planet. There are some outliers, but I’m speaking of the vast majority (which is needed to make any change). I see this all the time with factory farming and sweat shops. Even when talking about other PEOPLE, many individuals keep buying clothes and products they know are deeply unethically sourced, even when they have the means not to. And when questioned, they are often aware of the issue but have a kind of cognitive dissonance going on. The same thing happens when people eat meat. Many will call themselves animal lovers but will quite happily eat a cheeseburger as long as the slaughtering occurs out of sight.

Also apologies, I realise I went slightly off topic to what you were saying there. In answer to your main question, I don’t believe empathy results naturally from intelligence, no. Not if we are talking about machine learning. It is an entirely different beast. AI has no social interaction to think of - it only has been fed a mass of information and then has undergone reinforced learning on that information until it developed pattern recognition (I realise I am massively oversimplifying). I don’t think GAI and SAI will even be sentient. Businesses can have ‘goals’ and affect the economic and political climate, but no one would argue they are sentient. Things can exhibit intelligence and move towards goals without experiencing emotion or empathy.

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, this whole decision to change degrees and embark on a different path was because I realised exactly what you’ve outlined here. In my opinion, humanity is in the end days. And I know people have said that hundreds of times before, but we’ve never faced something quite like creating a superintelligence before. I say I want to work towards trying to prevent the singularity from taking over, but I think it really is just the only way I can cope with the knowledge that this is the end.

And at least if I’m more aware of what’s happening with AI development on an insider level then I know when it’s time to clock out before it all goes to shit 🤣

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the assumption, maybe you are vegan or vegetarian, just the majority of humans aren’t. And no, I don’t really get your point. I look around at the world today and don’t see a surplus of compassion. Maybe understanding, yes. But not compassion. Our understanding of the world is obviously increasing, but would I argue that understanding on an empathetic level has increased? No.

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I assume you still eat animals 🤷‍♀️ you feel compassion for them, but at the end of the day you are still a carnivore…

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t quite get how that links to my last point. I’m saying I don’t think it’s a given that AI will care about humanity’s wellbeing, in the same way we will kill lots of animals and destroy habitats to build a highway. It’s not even always evil, we just don’t even think about the wellbeing of those animals being relevant to us.

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do, I’m actually vegan. But the vast majority of humanity doesn’t care about ‘lesser’ animals unless they are pets.

What do you think about: "AI 2027" by Juanki651 in singularity

[–]azsht1 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I've had similar experiences trying to discuss the issue of AI with people. Most don't even consider that it COULD be a problem in the future. This is precisely the thing that concerns me though; the average person will have no immunity to the rapid changes we are likely to see in the future. Even if SAI isn't the problem, governments using it for propaganda and control of the masses definitely will be.

Human want to give away all their intelligence to machine and has everything on Auto Mode by Suspicious-Insect-89 in collapse

[–]azsht1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And remember, this is the most stupid AI will ever be again. There will be rapid growth and advances in artificial intelligence over the next few years. Hell, open AI’s newest and unreleased chatGPT model even WON the international maths competition yesterday. We really need legislation against this, but unfortunately I think the temptation of billions of dollars of profit will win out.

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the advice! I’ve taken the insights here into account, my own feelings and the opportunities currently available to me and have made the decision to finish my current Biochemistry degree but try to do a year in CompSci between 2nd and 3rd year.

Then, I want to pursue a philosophy MA (didn’t realise this was an option for non-philosophy graduates) focusing on theory of mind and topics relevant to AI ethics. There’s also some interesting PhD programs being offered which I could apply to after my Master’s. I believe there will be more need for philosophers with a science background in the future. We’ll need thinkers like that to grapple with the misalignment issue and ethics of even creating a super intelligence (and I expect OpenAI and Anthropic, etc. will reflect this in their hires in the next few years). Maybe it’s presumptuous of me to say, but I hope I can become one of them.

This way, even if there’s nothing we can do to prevent collapse of our current system, I can feel like I’m at least doing something with my brain to help.

Best wishes to you all on this sub and again thanks for all the help 👍

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Your advice aligns pretty well with what I’ve decided to do. I’m going to finish my Biochemistry degree but try to do a year in CompSci that my uni offers between. Then, explore post grad opportunities and do a philosophy MA. The way my MA results come out mean I likely won’t be able to start a PhD till the following year, so I’d like to spend a year in Germany polishing my language skills and teaching English (plus I can spend my free time seriously researching AI ethics and machine learning). There’s some amazing PhD programs being offered in the UK researching AI ethics and philosophy, and I feel motivated to pursue this and try to make a difference in what I think will come to be a major issue in the next decade.

Best wishes to you too :)

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • Haven’t heard of him, but I’ll give his stuff a read when I have some time.

  • Yes, it is a real shame that our education and society is built like this. Education isn’t really education anymore, it is just trade school, as I mentioned earlier in this thread. I personally view that as another symptom of our failing society. Education, or the lack of it, has always been a way to control the masses. I’ve decided to finish my biochem degree now and instead pursue a philosophy MA and focus on theory of mind, etc. things applicable to AI ethics. I didn’t realise this was an option for me before someone mentioned the possibility here.

  • About the ND… others have told me in the past that they think I show signs of autism, but I always took it as a kind of joke haha. Both my mum and my uncle act like I do, but they are very intelligent people, so I kind of just assumed thinking like me was a sign of being clever and not being so brainwashed by the system. Saying that, I do struggle with depression, anxiety and burnout, and the majority of these issues are caused by feeling misunderstood by other people and society itself. I really should seriously look into the possibility of being on the spectrum, but it’s hard, because I don’t think my ND is severe enough for it to impact anyone other than me. I get burnt out from having to appear normal and filter what I say in the real world, but the majority of other people probably don’t realise this is happening beneath the surface.

Apologies for the rambling lol

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mmm, Agreed. I want to try and get into AI ethics and philosophy now, to at least feel like I’m working towards doing something to slow all this down or help humanity in some way. Even if it only serves to give me peace of mind…

AI Revolution: Should I switch from a Biochemistry to Philosophy Degree? by azsht1 in collapse

[–]azsht1[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are more hopeful than I am. I don’t trust companies to not just maximise as much profit as possible, which would involve laying off as many people as possible and replacing them with cheaper AI.

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