Latest Articles

  • Yuanming Yuan – China, Artificial Intelligence, and the Present Weakness of America
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    Yuanming Yuan – China, Artificial Intelligence, and the Present Weakness of America

    During the Second Opium War, in 1860, a combined force of French and British troops trampled Old Summer Palace (known in Chinese as Yuanming Yuan 圆明园; 圓明園) on their way…

  • AI Value Alignment isn’t a Problem if We Don’t Coexist
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    AI Value Alignment isn’t a Problem if We Don’t Coexist

    The AI value alignment argument goes something like this: As artificial intelligence will continue to approach human-level intelligence Artificial intelligence will generally be driven by a reward function, by a…

  • Substrate Monopoly – The Future of Power in a Virtual and Intelligent World
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    Substrate Monopoly – The Future of Power in a Virtual and Intelligent World

    The substrate monopoly hypothesis: In the remaining part of the 21st century, all competition between the world’s most powerful nations or organizations (whether economic competition, political competition, or military conflict)…

  • Lotus Eaters vs World Eaters – A Fork in the Road in the Transhuman Transition
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    Lotus Eaters vs World Eaters – A Fork in the Road in the Transhuman Transition

    Human nature has always been to gain control over the physical world — both in maximizing its output for our benefit (farming, mining, etc), and in lessening the risks it…

  • Artificial Intelligence Job Loss is a Comparatively Minor Concern
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    Artificial Intelligence Job Loss is a Comparatively Minor Concern

    How can you keep artificial intelligence from taking over your job? In my latest TEDx talk, I explore what I’ve learned (from hundreds of interviews) about job security in the…

  • What Black Mirror’s San Junipero Got Right and Wrong
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    What Black Mirror’s San Junipero Got Right and Wrong

    I’ve been cajoled into watching Netflix’s Black Mirror, and a friend of mine recommended watching the San Junipero episode next. As I mentioned in my last Black Morror reflection, and I…

  • From Man to Deity: Today’s “Augmentation” is Nothing
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    From Man to Deity: Today’s “Augmentation” is Nothing

    1) Augmentation is nothing new Until recently, “augmented reality” seemed to only have a place in video games and science fiction movies. Though at the time of this writing, “AR”…