Another buzzword? Singularity? Science fiction? Who knows for sure. But: Sam Altman ha

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Wagenpfeil

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Just another buzzword? The Singularity? Science fiction? Who really knows for sure. But: Sam Altman recently claimed that we’ve now reached the “Singularity.”

This is generally regarded as the point at which AI systems surpass human intelligence in virtually all areas and subsequently continue to improve on their own.

I don’t know if we’ve reached that point yet, if this is (once again, just clever) marketing, or exactly how Altman has defined the term for himself. I’m also not sure if we can actually reach that point (which is mainly because I’m not sure how we’re supposed to define “intelligence” in the first place), but I think we need to start giving this some very fundamental thought.

Because the closer we get to these kinds of topics, the less important technology becomes.

Rather, the focus is increasingly on how we humans cope in and with this age of AI. Do we still understand what’s happening? Can we manage to establish guidelines for what AI is and isn’t allowed to do? Can all of this still be controlled? Are individual people (and if so, which ones) even capable of understanding such AI solutions?

We’re setting things in motion here that no one has ever done before. And we (apparently) trust that it will all work out somehow and that Big Tech knows what it’s doing.

How do we ensure that humanity wishes for the “right” things from AI? What if someone wishes for the “wrong” things? Who defines “right” and “wrong”? And what if AI actually starts wishing for things for itself?

I am convinced that the human mind is not designed to keep up with the incredibly rapid pace at which AI learns and evolves. There are only a few people left who can keep up and understand what’s happening right now. As I said—not technically (that’s almost the easiest part), but on psychological, social, political, and intellectual levels.

So let’s approach these topics with attention, care, caution, and thoughtfulness. Despite all our technical curiosity….

Still, you have to take a deep breath when you really think about it.

#computer scientists are cool #ainotforpresident #phew….

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39 Comments

Ralf Siebert

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And next week, the #buzzword #Semaphore is coming