I know we've been over this, but it's important…
From Jon Renner via email:
rik,
I'm not sure that this is a new thing at all. When distant ancestors
began hunting in groups, individuals were subsumed in the group ... and
hunting improved. When one ox was used to turn different families'
dirt, agriculture improved and the cleverest hunter/gatherers were
included in the larger group ... and many other things improved.
Including fortunes of the guy who "owned" the ox.
And when society started educating the masses, the scribes that were
at one time the only people that could read had to find different ways to put bread on the
table ... tables that they generally didn't know how to make
themselves. They were either absorbed with different roles or went
hungry in other different roles.
I do think that AI is on a different level than even the agricultural or
industrial revolutions though, and it seems to me that we're approaching
a real step change or paradigm shift ... and I think that even the
wildest predictions about what's coming next may be inadequate.
Will the underclass of the global population become even larger ... or even
almost 99.99% of the population ... while the tiny population at the top
evolve into something completely "other?" Or will we really capture
enough energy from the sun that machines can do whatever everyone wishes
... and find a way to eliminate the Seven Deadly Sins, living forever in
peace and harmony? Or will something completely different happen? Not
a clue here.
And still, I love a good apple pie. And if a pie looks good and smells
good I'm very likely to take at least one bite. Even if the apples
contain pesticides and micro-plastics, and the butter in the crust will
surely clog my arteries. We live in hope.
Jon
Once again, thank you, Jon.
From Jon Renner via email:
rik,
I'm not sure that this is a new thing at all. When distant ancestors
began hunting in groups, individuals were subsumed in the group ... and
hunting improved. When one ox was used to turn different families'
dirt, agriculture improved and the cleverest hunter/gatherers were
included in the larger group ... and many other things improved.
Including fortunes of the guy who "owned" the ox.
And when society started educating the masses, the scribes that were
at one time the only people that could read had to find different ways to put bread on the
table ... tables that they generally didn't know how to make
themselves. They were either absorbed with different roles or went
hungry in other different roles.
I do think that AI is on a different level than even the agricultural or
industrial revolutions though, and it seems to me that we're approaching
a real step change or paradigm shift ... and I think that even the
wildest predictions about what's coming next may be inadequate.
Will the underclass of the global population become even larger ... or even
almost 99.99% of the population ... while the tiny population at the top
evolve into something completely "other?" Or will we really capture
enough energy from the sun that machines can do whatever everyone wishes
... and find a way to eliminate the Seven Deadly Sins, living forever in
peace and harmony? Or will something completely different happen? Not
a clue here.
And still, I love a good apple pie. And if a pie looks good and smells
good I'm very likely to take at least one bite. Even if the apples
contain pesticides and micro-plastics, and the butter in the crust will
surely clog my arteries. We live in hope.
Jon
Once again, thank you, Jon.