RE: Empathy and intelligence- It is possible to be brilliant in some respects without empathy, but it is definitely a handicap not to have it. There are many aspects of intelligence, only some of which are measured by IQ tests. Empathy is one, others are musical and artistic talents and social skills. I question whether it is possible to teach an AI any of these, especially empathy. The latest research I've read indicates that the ability to develop empathy is tied to what have been labeled "mirror neurons". They are missing in people with autism- and, quite possibly, in psychopaths too.
There are many aspects of intelligence, only some of which are measured by IQ tests.
And most of which are not even possessed by humans.
[...] 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.