Bear in mind that the people who used steam engines to make money didn't make it by selling the engines: rather, the engines were useful in producing other goods. I don't think that the creators of a cheap substitute for human labor (GAI could be one such example) would be looking to sell it necessarily. They could simply want to develop such a tool in order to produce a wide array of goods at low cost.
I may think that I'm clever enough, for example, to keep it in a box and ask it for stock market predictions now and again. :)
As for the "no free lunch" business, while its true that any real-world GAI could not efficiently solve every induction problem, it wouldn't need to either for it to be quite fearsome. Indeed being able to efficiently solve at least the same set of induction problems that humans solve (particularly if its in silicon and the hardware is relatively cheap) is sufficient to pose a big threat (and be potentially quite useful economically).
Also, there is a non-zero possibility that there already exists a GAI and its creators, decided the safest, most lucrative, and beneficial thing to do is set the GAI on designing drugs: thereby avoiding giving the GAI too much information about the world. The creators could have then set up a biotech company that just so happens to produce a few good drugs now and again. Its kind of like how automated trading came from computer scientists and not the currently employed traders. I do think its unlikely that somebody working in medical research is going to develop GAI least of all because of the job threat. The creators of a GAI are probably going to be full time professionals who are are working on the project.
Now is the very last minute to apply for a Summer 2010 Visiting Fellowship. If you’ve been interested in SIAI for a while, but haven’t quite managed to make contact -- or if you’re just looking for a good way to spend a week or more of your summer -- drop us a line. See what an SIAI summer might do for you and the world.
(SIAI’s Visiting Fellow program brings volunteers to SIAI for anywhere from a week to three months, to learn, teach, and collaborate. Flights and room and board are covered. We’ve been rolling since June of 2009, with good success.)
Apply because:
Apply especially if:
(You don’t need all of the above; some is fine.)
Don’t be intimidated -- SIAI contains most of the smartest people I’ve ever met, but we’re also a very open community. Err on the side of sending in an application; then, at least we’ll know each other. (Applications for fall and beyond are also welcome; we’re taking Fellows on a rolling basis.)
If you’d like a better idea of what SIAI is, and what we’re aimed at, check out:
1. SIAI's Brief Introduction;
2. The Challenge projects;
3. Our 2009 accomplishments;
4. Videos from past Singularity Summits (the 2010 Summit will happen during this summer’s program, Aug 14-15 in SF; visiting Fellows will assist);
5. Comments from our last Call for Visiting Fellows; and/or
6. Bios of the 2009 Summer Fellows.
Or just drop me a line. Our application process is informal -- just send me an email at anna at singinst dot org with: (1) a resume/c.v. or similar information; and (2) a few sentences on why you’re applying. And we’ll figure out where to go from there.
Looking forward to hearing from you.