This idea is proposed by people with little idea of the value of testing - and little knowledge of the limitations of provable correctness - I presume.
In fact, who has supposedly proposed this idea? What did they actually say?
Also, you are now talking about performing "test runs". Is that doing testing, now?
This idea is proposed by people with little idea of the value of testing[...]
The usefulness of testing is beside the point. The argument is that testing would be dangerous.
Also, you are now talking about performing "test runs". Is that doing testing, now?
By "testing" I meant "running the code to see if it works", which includes unit testing individual components, integration or functional testing on the program as a whole, or the simple measure of running the program and seeing if it does what it's supposed to. By "...
[...] SIAI's Scary Idea goes way beyond the mere statement that there are risks as well as benefits associated with advanced AGI, and that AGI is a potential existential risk.
[...] Although an intense interest in rationalism is one of the hallmarks of the SIAI community, still I have not yet seen a clear logical argument for the Scary Idea laid out anywhere. (If I'm wrong, please send me the link, and I'll revise this post accordingly. Be aware that I've already at least skimmed everything Eliezer Yudkowsky has written on related topics.)
So if one wants a clear argument for the Scary Idea, one basically has to construct it oneself.
[...] If you put the above points all together, you come up with a heuristic argument for the Scary Idea. Roughly, the argument goes something like: If someone builds an advanced AGI without a provably Friendly architecture, probably it will have a hard takeoff, and then probably this will lead to a superhuman AGI system with an architecture drawn from the vast majority of mind-architectures that are not sufficiently harmonious with the complex, fragile human value system to make humans happy and keep humans around.
The line of argument makes sense, if you accept the premises.
But, I don't.
Ben Goertzel: The Singularity Institute's Scary Idea (and Why I Don't Buy It), October 29 2010. Thanks to XiXiDu for the pointer.