shminux comments on Tools versus agents - Less Wrong

24 Post author: Stuart_Armstrong 16 May 2012 01:00PM

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Comment author: shminux 16 May 2012 02:58:30PM -1 points [-]

It looks like you argue that a sufficiently powerful tool is instrumentally indistinguishable from an agent. Can you formulate it as a theorem and outline the steps required to prove it?

Comment author: Stuart_Armstrong 16 May 2012 04:13:06PM 1 point [-]

I don't think the theorem is true. I think there's some daylight between superintelligent tools and agents - just not much. Not nearly as much as, say, between an Oracle and a sovereign AI.

Comment author: shminux 16 May 2012 06:30:45PM 0 points [-]

One thing I am not clear about is whether you are saying that a tool AI spontaneously develops what appears like intentionality or not. It sure seems that that is what you are saying, initially with a human in the feedback loop, until the suggestion to "create an AI with these motivations" is implemented. If so, then why are you saying that "there's some daylight between superintelligent tools and agents"?

Comment author: shminux 16 May 2012 06:17:07PM -1 points [-]

Then formulate a weaker version of the theorem that you think is true.

Comment author: Stuart_Armstrong 17 May 2012 12:34:07PM 2 points [-]

Tool AIs and Agent AIs given the same task will not lead to the same outcomes, nor result in the same routes being taken. However, they are likely dangerous in broadly similar ways, and many warnings and precautions for one of these apply also to the other.