They'd probably have to be more convincing, since convincing a human being out of a position they already hold is usually a more difficult task than convincing them to hold the position in the first place.
If I have a superhuman answering machine on one side. A tool that just lists a number of answers to my query, just like a superhuman Google. And on the other side I have the same tool in agent mode. Then why would I be more convinced by the agent mode output?
An agent has an incentive to trick me. While the same algorithm, minus the agency module, will just output unbiased answers to my queries.
If the answers between the tool and agent mode differ, then I naturally believe the tool mode output.
If for example the agent mode was going to drivel something about acausal trade and the tool mode would just output some post by Eliezer Yudkowsky explaining why I shouldn't let the AI out of the box, then how could the agent mode possible be more convincing? Especially since putting the answering algorithm into agent mode shouldn't improve the answers.
why would I be more convinced by the agent mode output?
You wouldn't, necessarily. Nor did I suggest that you would.
I also agree that if (AI in "agent mode") does not have any advantages over ("tool mode" plus human agent), then there's no reason to expect its output to be superior, though that's completely tangential to the comment you replied to.
That said, it's not clear to me that (AI in "agent mode") necessarily lacks advantages over ("tool mode" plus human agent).
Why does SI/LW focus so much on AI-FOOM disaster, with apparently much less concern for things like
Why, for example, is lukeprog's strategy sequence titled "AI Risk and Opportunity", instead of "The Singularity, Risks and Opportunities"? Doesn't it seem strange to assume that both the risks and opportunities must be AI related, before the analysis even begins? Given our current state of knowledge, I don't see how we can make such conclusions with any confidence even after a thorough analysis.
SI/LW sometimes gives the impression of being a doomsday cult, and it would help if we didn't concentrate so much on a particular doomsday scenario. (Are there any doomsday cults that say "doom is probably coming, we're not sure how but here are some likely possibilities"?)