Since the human brain is not capable of recursive alteration of it's source code, and remains almost identical to the first conscious brains evolved 100,000 years ago, one must wonder if it is a tool capable of (or appropriate for) designing a friendly AI. In a time when the parabolic rate of increase in information far exceeds any possibility for natural selection to produce brains that do not rely on the evolved emotions and motivations you discuss, how can such a brain be expected to program the AI source code appropriately, when that brain is not capable of doing the same for itself? That is, how can that brain be expected to be capable of choosing what actually is "friendly", in light of its evolved state?
The human brain isn't even appropriate for arithmetic. If we can manage making AI with it, it's nothing short of a miracle. But we might be able to do it, just like you could probably unscrew something with a hammer. It's entirely the wrong tool for the job, but if it's the only tool you have, perhaps you can make it work.
I don't see how this is relevant to the article.
I agree with Anonymous: hire the talent. It's been done before, with proven results: the Manhattan project. In 1932, Einstein said: "There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable". Ten years later it was solved, but only by a consortium of the brightest physicists, mathematicians, and engineers. No one person or specialty could do the job. They worked in parallel, like the brain. I suppose it has occurred to those working in AI that if it is what they say, and it is developed in the USA, it will become governme...
âThere is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.â â Albert Einstein, 1932
Ten years later, when all the greatest Western minds had been hired to work together in the Manhattan Project, the problem was solved.
Surely what I am about to write is obvious, and probably old. During World War II, when physicists began to realize the destructive potential of nuclear weapons, Albert Einstein was chosen by his peers to approach President Roosevelt. Einstein was perhaps not the best informed of the group, but he was the best known, and was thought to be able to get Roosevelt's ear, as he did. In response, Roosevelt was able to convene all the greatest Western minds in physics, mathematics, and engineering to work together for a rapid solution to the problem. Clearly, the...
I think it would be cool if there were a mystery story whose sleuth-protagonist made explicit use of stats and probability.
Have you ever tried to get a book published? It's all about numbers, and I don't mean the kind you mention. What do you suppose is the potential audience for such a book? As Bob Unwin points out, the readers of this blog are not in any way indicative of the general public.