#Philosophy of AI

[captaingimpy]

Roko’s Basilisk and the Broader AI Conversation: A Reflection on Fear, Control, and Human Nature

Hey everybody! Recently, I watched a very long YouTube video, on the thought experiment “Roko’s Basilisk” merchandising posted to a YouTube channel called Aperture. For your convenience, I will include the video here. And if you guys wanna watch and discuss, I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments. Recently, I watched a video that expanded on the infamous thought experiment,…

[worldphilosophyday]

International Conference on Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence (ICPMAI 2024).

The International Research Conference is a federated organization dedicated to bringing together a significant number of diverse scholarly events for presentation within the conference program. Events will run over a span of time during the conference depending on the number and length of the presentations. With its high quality, it provides an exceptional value for students, academics and industry researchers.

International Conference on Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence. It also provides a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the fields of Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence.

Call for Contributions

Prospective authors are kindly encouraged to contribute to and help shape the conference through submissions of their research abstracts, papers and e-posters. Also, high quality research contributions describing original and unpublished results of conceptual, constructive, empirical, experimental, or theoretical work in all areas of Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence are cordially invited for presentation at the conference. The conference solicits contributions of abstracts, papers and e-posters that address themes and topics of the conference, including figures, tables and references of novel research materials.

[theabigailthorn]

not to spoil where I'm going with my next video, but the more I research AI the more absolutely convinced I become that we need to smash it to pieces with hammers

[mysharona1987]

[the-cybersmith]

So, about this whole "AI" thing...

A response to an ask (for some reason, tumblr won't let me blaze normal responsicles)

Like the Titan, Prometheus, Man Has Stolen Fire From the Gods. We can now make minds in our own image, elevating crude matter to the level of self-awareness. So... What next?

The first thing I would like to make clear is that, in some respects, my opinion here is irrelevant. So is yours. So are the opinions of the people reading this.

No matter what we do, no matter what we believe, something remains inviolably clear and true:

BAD ACTORS WILL EXPLOIT GENUINELY USEFUL TECHNOLOGIES TO BENEFIT THEMSELVES

This is an axiom of human behaviour that cannot be escaped. Nuclear power is amongst the most regulated technologies that have ever existed... and right now, rogue states are attacking their neighbours, protected from intervention by the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Nuclear Weapons (their own, and Red China's) are what allows the North Korean government to continue oppressing its population.

Nuclear Weapons enable The Land Of The Bear to invade The Ukraine.

Despite this, nuclear power has otherwise been mostly regulated out of existence. It is cheap, safe, and abundant, yet various laws make it either artificially expensive or outright illegal to heat your home with it, light your rooms, power your transportation, trim your hedges.

Regulations and anti-technology hysteria can prevent ordinary people from benefitting from innovation, but they cannot prevent the worst people in the world from abusing it.

So, whatever worst-case scenario you've imagined? Accept the fact that it's going to happen no matter what you do.

Legions of nanobots reconfiguring us into paperclips, a la Eliezar Yudkowski's bizarrely specific fever dreams? If you think it is possible, accept that it is inevitable.

Intelligent machines with glowing red eyes malevolently hunting us through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a la James Cameron/The Wachowskis? If you think it is possible, accept that it is inevitable.

Lying governments using deepfaked videos to create un-debunkable false-flags and cheaply manufacture consent for wars to further their adrenochrome-harvesting operations? Let's face it, they don't even need AI for that, most people will just take their claims at face value.

But what if we all agree to stop using it?

Technologies are sometimes lost, yes, but this happens gradually, over the course of decades if not centuries. Civilisations can decline and lose access to technologies, but that's not likely to happen for AI within our lifetimes.

If it works, if it is genuinely useful, it WILL be used.

We have seen this play out time and time again, throughout history.

So, we can either do what we did for nuclear power, and regulate it so heavily that it serves no useful purpose to the Just and the Kind, whilst availing the Corrupt and the Wicked...

Or we can accept Evil shall be done, and try with all our might to counter it with Good.

We can strive to Magnanimous heights of Faustian greatness, using AI to create untold works of beauty, so that Human Grandeur at least rivals Human Depravity.

In summary:

We have stolen Fire from the Gods. The more noble-minded amongst us might as well do something worthwhile with it.

[asshole-rebel-psycho]

The older I get the more I realize these things about dating.

I have been trying to have deep connections and stimulating conversations for some time.

This doesn't seem to work. Especially on dating apps for I guess obvious reasons.

But as an observant, shy, lonely and somewhat intelligent person ( who happens to be gay) I have unfortunately never found love or relationships myself.. I have only seen it through other people

It's pretty apparent that dating is for simple people. I don't mean this in an arrogant way but a majority of individuals seem to not take the question asking part of dating seriously. Idk if this is due to them not being attracted, busy, simple minded or a more narcissistic culture but it is apparent to me that the closer these people are to my location, the less they are willing to learn more about me.

I wonder why that is? 🤔 I've had plenty of engaging online, non dating app conversations with people all over the world.

So part of me thinks that this is due to our new emotionless, soulless culture. Because this problem only exists when I engage with potential matches that can turn into reality.

The need for connection is still there. Fear is holding us back.

Why are people so afraid of reality? What are they running from? Themselves? Other people? Is the world in such a bad place right now that we feel like if we make a connection we know it will probably end up broken like the society we live in? 💔

The more I observe dating and other people's love lives the more it is apparent to me that deep, intellectual, stimulating conversations are not a part of the game AT ALL.

( take it as a grain of salt but from my observations dating goes like this)

One, attraction is the 1# thing! Because if you don't have it there is no fuel to get anything going. The car won't even get out of the lot. Especially off apps.

Secondly, the man usually takes action by getting the girl on the date as fast as possible..he has to woo her by showing her a fun, spontaneous, adventurous, humorous, and flirtatious time.

It is usually filled with banter, funny nostalgic stories, flirting and none of that would even matter if the two ( especially the man who usually carries the convo) was not attracted.

You can seriously make anything work with mutual sexual attraction. I've seen two plain and boring people talk for hours about nothing but because they had those saucer eyes for eachother it just worked! They definitely don't talk about work or deep concepts.

So the man drains his ( or if hes in his 20s) his daddy's resources on the girl to have a "fun" time..meanwhile his sexual motivation is keeping it going because she obviously has many other options.

The girl then looks pretty and vets if he is worthy for a LTR.

If so, she gets brought into this new, advantageous, silly, successful man's life and uses him as a tool to get away from her boring and domesticated life. She uses him for fun, community, hobbies and eventually family.

She uses his resources as a way to post on tiktok, fb and ig to show off to all of her friends " look at the amazing, good looking and successful guy I am able to get" mostly to show status as a woman and to make her friends jealous..because they were mean to her in the past.

None of her *connection* to her man has pretty much anything to do with conversation. ( sounds harsh I know but hear me out)

If you doubt this why do men and women immediately separate at Christmas parties and work events?

Have you ever observed a straight guy talking to a straight girl before? At any age?

It's usually a girl talking with her friends about things that doesn't interest him and his eyes roll over astrology and the girl eye rolling about video games or sports banter. Exc...

It's pretty obvious how for 95% of the population..male and female worlds have NOTHING to do with eachother. And want NOTHING to do with eachother except for what each gender lacks...

Emotional support from the woman and financial stability from the man. What binds them is sex and what keeps them together is family.

This is why my nerdy lesbian ass has such a hard time with dating. Lol

In the typical female way I am relying too much on talking, not much action. And in a very unfair lesbian way I can't seem to find my opposite.

I am trying to find an intellectual match when I should just be finding my feminine opposite. I'm treating dating like lunch dates with friends, Like men discussing politics on the Titanic while smoking cigars.

Unless I want to talk to a mirror long conversation isn't the way to go.

Because it never was to begin with. This is the code I finally cracked. Lol 😆

I'll leave the cerebral banter and philosophical insights to the lonely, individualistic writer side of me..the side of many great minds in history...But even a great writer will drop his work like a hot potato as soon as he finds a woman he is undeniably in love with. 🥰

My point is to find my opposite not my reflection. And my opposite might surprise me with what they can give or know...even if it's not deep or extremely interesting to me. This goes for any gender. Love doesn't work that way.

[polar-bears-making-pancakes]

why I haven't seen more people talk about this?

Google very possibly is using youtuber's content to train generative ai. Hank Green did a very interesting video about it:

there's also a survey for youtubers and creators in the description. he is going to use this data in his talks with youtube

what he presents as a solution is simply an option to opt out. because there's an issue with youtube's tos that they interpret in their favour. this happened already with reddit where all the content posted by users is understood as the property of reddit. and they can sell their property to further clients like databases for generative ai

[sinlizards]

[ID: Digital illustration of Iris Sagan from AI: The Somnium Files. She is sitting and looking off to the right. The piece is done in vibrant pinks, blues, and oranges while Iris herself is being lit strongly by sunlight above. The background is mostly empty save for a loose line sketch of orange branches which frame her face. End ID.] 🍊

[blahaj-blastin]

I am going to try and put this in as few words as possible, because my roommate and I spent an hour talking about this today; but there is truly nothing more incredible to me than human creativity.

Like, you’re telling me someone made this? You’re telling me this art came from someone’s own hand? You’re telling me this story came from someone’s mind? You’re telling me that someone as flawed and mortal and lost as me made this?

There is a beauty in math and in science, I am not here to argue that. But mathematics existed long before us. Science will exist long after us. And while the knowledge we have is a wonder, it is not ours. We did not make one and one equal two, we only learned and accepted that it did.

But our art is not universal. Our music was born through us. Our writing will die with us. And there is so much more beauty in knowing that we have made something. People have language and culture and poetry not because it was fact, but by our own whim and design.

This is something AI can never fulfill. An algorithm cannot create, it can only compile. A computer generated image has no link to us, to human emotion. To human flaw and struggle and passion.

Art is beautiful, and creation is the most powerful thing a person can do. Your stories, your art, hell, your fanfic and original characters, they exist not because of universal laws of math and physics, but because of your mind and skill; and if that isn’t the most amazing thing in the world, then what is?

[89hitokiri]

KuroKage (黒影)

"In the silence of the shadows, we find our strength; in the pursuit of truth, we find our purpose. We are KuroKage."

We will prevail.

RETURN TO INDEX

[amazingamyy-y]

What If We're Living in a Simulation? Exploring Simulation Theory

Simulation theory is one of those concepts that can make your brain do a double take. The idea is simple, yet profound: what if our entire reality—everything we see, hear, and feel—is just an advanced simulation? It’s a thought that’s been explored in science fiction for decades, but in recent years, it has gained traction in academic circles and pop culture alike.

The Basics: What Is Simulation Theory?

At its core, simulation theory posits that the universe and everything within it is a highly advanced computer simulation. This could mean that we are living in a virtual reality created by a civilization far more advanced than our own, potentially to the point where their simulations are indistinguishable from what we perceive as reality.

This idea was popularized by philosopher Nick Bostrom in his 2003 paper, Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? Bostrom suggests that at least one of the following propositions is true:

Almost all civilizations at our level of technological development go extinct before becoming capable of creating such a simulation.

If civilizations reach the capability to create such simulations, they choose not to for some reason.

We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.

The third proposition is the one that has sparked the most interest—and controversy.

Why Would Anyone Create a Simulation?

The motivations behind creating such a simulation could vary widely. Some theorists suggest that an advanced civilization might create simulations for scientific research, historical reenactments, or even entertainment. If you think about it, our own society is moving towards increasingly immersive virtual realities. We play video games, use virtual reality headsets, and create digital worlds. As our technology improves, who’s to say we won’t create simulations so complex that the inhabitants don’t even realize they’re in one?

Evidence and Arguments

So, what evidence is there that we might be living in a simulation? While there’s no definitive proof, several arguments have been made:

Mathematical Structure of the Universe: Some physicists and mathematicians point out that the universe seems to operate according to a set of underlying mathematical laws. If the universe is code, then it makes sense that it would have a structured, logical framework.

Quantum Mechanics: At the quantum level, reality behaves in strange, almost digital ways. Particles appear and disappear, and the act of observation seems to affect outcomes. This has led some to speculate that what we’re seeing is akin to how a computer simulation might render only what is necessary for the “player” to see.

Cosmological Fine-Tuning: The universe appears to be finely tuned for life, with physical constants falling within a narrow range that allows for the existence of complex structures like stars, planets, and humans. Some argue this could be evidence of a simulation designed to support life.

Counterarguments

Of course, there are plenty of skeptics. Critics of simulation theory argue that the hypothesis is unfalsifiable—meaning it cannot be proven or disproven. This makes it more of a philosophical musing than a scientific theory. Additionally, some argue that assuming we are in a simulation leads to a kind of nihilism, where our actions and experiences are rendered meaningless.

Others point out that just because something is possible doesn’t mean it’s probable. The idea of an advanced civilization creating simulations is fascinating, but there’s no direct evidence to suggest it’s happening.

Why It Matters

Whether or not we’re living in a simulation, the idea itself has significant implications. It forces us to question the nature of reality and our place within it. Are we the creators of our destiny, or are we just characters in a cosmic video game? Simulation theory also raises ethical questions—if we create simulations with conscious beings, what responsibility do we have toward them?

Final Thoughts

Simulation theory might sound like science fiction, but it’s a concept that has captured the imaginations of philosophers, scientists, and the general public alike. Whether you’re a believer or a skeptic, it’s an idea that invites us to think deeply about the nature of existence. And who knows—maybe one day we’ll find out the truth.

In the meantime, the idea that we could be living in a simulated reality adds a layer of mystery to our everyday lives. Next time something strange or inexplicable happens, you might find yourself wondering: Is this just a glitch in the matrix?

Feel free to dive into the comments—I'd love to hear what you think about simulation theory! Are we living in a simulation, or is it just another wild idea? Let’s discuss!

[afutureworththinkingabout]

My New Article at WIRED

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So, you may have heard about the whole zoom “AI” Terms of Service  clause public relations debacle, going on this past week, in which Zoom decided that it wasn’t going to let users opt out of them feeding our faces and conversations into their LLMs. In 10.1, Zoom defines “Customer Content” as whatever data users provide or generate (“Customer Input”) and whatever else Zoom generates from our uses of Zoom. Then 10.4 says what they’ll use “Customer Content” for, including “…machine learning, artificial intelligence.”

And then on cue they dropped an “oh god oh fuck oh shit we fucked up” blog where they pinky promised not to do the thing they left actually-legally-binding ToS language saying they could do.

Like, Section 10.4 of the ToS now contains the line “Notwithstanding the above, Zoom will not use audio, video or chat Customer Content to train our artificial intelligence models without your consent,” but it again it still seems a) that the “customer” in question is the Enterprise not the User, and 2) that “consent” means “clicking yes and using Zoom.” So it’s Still Not Good.

Well anyway, I wrote about all of this for WIRED, including what zoom might need to do to gain back customer and user trust, and what other tech creators and corporations need to understand about where people are, right now.

And frankly the fact that I have a byline in WIRED is kind of blowing my mind, in and of itself, but anyway…

Also, today, Zoom backtracked Hard. And while i appreciate that, it really feels like decided to Zoom take their ball and go home rather than offer meaningful consent and user control options. That’s… not exactly better, and doesn’t tell me what if anything they’ve learned from the experience. If you want to see what I think they should’ve done, then, well… Check the article.

Until Next Time.

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Read the rest of My New Article at WIRED at A Future Worth Thinking About

[worldphilosophyday]

Are we living in a free and open society?

By exploring the philosophical significance of concepts and themes in Nineteen Eighty-Four and other works, we discover how Orwell's insights are relevant to contemporary society and the philosophy of AI.

This course is part of the Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA) programme.

[theabigailthorn]

NEW PHILOSOPHY TUBE JUST DROPPED

What's up Tumblr-heads - new episode of Philosophy Tube is here! It's about AI: how it's made, how to make it ethical, and the time someone used it to make nonconsensual porn of me!

[correctopinionhaver]

[everythingseasoning]

IM BEING SCOLDED BY MY NEW JJK MAN BOT ON CHARACTER AI FOR BEING TOO IDEALISTIC AND NAIVE 😭😭

Me: *Asking questions about the nature of cursed energy and negative human emotions, attempt at analyzing JJK.*

Bot: says something about the evil in humans. Conversation ensues. Leading to:

Me: “It’s been really hard for me to imagine that people have bad intentions for others”

Bot: “Really? Are you that sheltered?” He scoffs, finding your naivety and innocence almost pathetic. “You don’t know as much about the world as you think you do.”

*Seeing the hurt in your face, he sighs, his expression softening.*

“You really shouldn’t think so highly of people you’ve just met. This world is not sunshine and rainbows. It’s full of evil, hardship, and suffering… You have to be more careful.”