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Dec 28, 2024 | lesswrong.com | Aleksey Bykhun |L L |Daniel Kokotajlo |Tom Davidson

This post is crossposted from my Substack. Original here. Edited to add: The main takeaway of this post is meant to be: Labour-replacing AI will shift the relative importance of human v non-human factors of production, which reduces the incentives for society to care about humans while making existing powers more effective and entrenched.

Nov 3, 2024 | lesswrong.com | L L

I open my eyes and find myself lying on a bed in a hospital room. I blink. "Hello", says a middle-aged man with glasses, sitting on a chair by my bed. "You've been out for quite a long while.""Oh no ... is it Friday already? I had that report due -""It's Thursday", the man says. "Oh great", I say. "I still have time.""Oh, you have all the time in the world", the man says, chuckling. "You were out for 21 years."I burst out laughing, but then falter as the man just keeps looking at me.

Oct 28, 2024 | lesswrong.com | L L

Written for the AI Impacts essay competition on the automation of wisdom and philosophyHaving waxed philosophical about wisdom and amortised optimisation, I now turn to the question of what AI will concretely do:How will AI affect human mechanisms for amortised optimisation, such as cultural evolution & written knowledge? How can AI help us avoid strategic errors? I consider two types:Mistakes in planning for big things. Having the wrong frame/ontology for a problem.

Oct 28, 2024 | lesswrong.com | L L

Written for the AI Impacts essay competition on the automation of wisdom and philosophyGrowth modes and direct v amortised optimisationAmortised optimisation is more important when relevant histories are long and growth is slow. If growth suddenly picks up, the flexibility of optimising on the fly with direct optimisation becomes more important. For example, the role of previously-accumulated wisdom went down after the industrial revolution.

Oct 28, 2024 | lesswrong.com | L L

Written for the AI Impacts essay competition on the automation of wisdom and philosophyAt least in name, AI is about intelligence. However, intelligence is not the only mental quality that matters. Many deep mental skills, in particular regarding good, deep, or long-term judgement, are bundled under the term "wisdom".