[Link] Robots Program People

Gunnar_Zarncke

On Scott Adams' Blog: Robots Program People:

It won’t be long before all new drugs are discovered by robots. This start-up is an example of that trend.

And it won’t be long before IBM’s Watson can diagnose and prescribe treatments better than any human doctor.

Put those two trends together and robots will be programming humans with drugs. Drugs are the user interface to our moistware.

[...]

Someday, for sure, machines will be programming humans. And that day will probably be in your lifetime. But don’t be afraid because the robots will someday have a drug that will make you feel totally okay with being their pet.

I think this is quite relevant as that is actually quite likely and has lots of failure modes from UFAI to Moloch.

The post also has some discussion of whether the machines are actually actors in this ("You are thinking that humans program the machines, and the machines just do their job.") and does some insightful comparisons on that.

On Scott Adams' Blog: Robots Program People:

It won’t be long before all new drugs are discovered by robots. This start-up is an example of that trend.

And it won’t be long before IBM’s Watson can diagnose and prescribe treatments better than any human doctor.

Put those two trends together and robots will be programming humans with drugs. Drugs are the user interface to our moistware.

[...]

Someday, for sure, machines will be programming humans. And that day will probably be in your lifetime. But don’t be afraid because the robots will someday have a drug that will make you feel totally okay with being their pet.

I think this is quite relevant as that is actually quite likely and has lots of failure modes from UFAI to Moloch.

Industrial pollutants profoundly change the functioning of our biochemistry...are cracking towers, chemical synthesis plants or combustion engines "programming humans"? The volitional part of undergoing a medical treatment or taking a certain drug rests entirely with the doctor and the patient, even when sophisticated diagnostics/drug synthesis software is involved.

Is Adams making some point that isn't weakened by Watson's lack of agency that I'm missing?

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[Link] Robots Program People

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[Link] Robots Program People

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