Submitted by wastedtime32 t3_1134aem in singularity
just-a-dreamer- t1_j8nwxey wrote
In one word the Singularity is EVOLUTION. The height of evolution.
In the big picuture the human race doubled their economic/number outupt every 5.000 years as hunters and gatherers.
In the agricultural age we doubled our numbers/output every 900 years.
In the industrial age productivity doubled every 40-50 years and global population 50-70 years.
In the modern age global GDP doubles every 15-20 years while the world population rose from 1.5 billion im 1900 to 8 billion in 2023.
The evolution of humanity gets faster and faster. We are more in numbers, live longer and on average at an increasing material standard of living.
AI is the last invention of humanity that is needed for ultimate abundance in the physical world. Once an AI is created that surpasses all capabilities of a human being, every need and want a human can have can be taken care of.
wastedtime32 OP t1_j8nyh3g wrote
And then whatđ. This is schizophrenic. What meaning will life have when we have no needs to fulfill? The only way one can hold this prospective is if you are completely soulless and entirely devoid of any ethics or morality. That is what makes us human, and we want to throw it away, in favor of what exactly?
DrMasonator t1_j8o4bb2 wrote
To preface - that has nothing to do with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia involves episodes of psychosis and hysteria (which I donât believe my guy u/just-a-dreamer- was experiencing). The coolest part about life is that you can assign whatever meaning you want to it. You shouldnât want that meaning to be handed to you in silver platter.
I would argue right now youâre upset in part because it HAS been handed to you your whole life and you now find yourself grasping for a reason to keep it that way. You (probably) believe that your meaning comes from the path of working, raising a family, having some friends along the way, and then dying near loved ones somewhere around the age of 80 after a life of hard work. Maybe youâre super into service too, maybe thatâs where you find your meaning.
In the end, none of that matters. The only reason it ever mattered to you was because you were told that it matters - be it through instinct or your peers and teachers. There is not necessarily a logical reason we must have the meaning granted to us be out final goal. Maybe, per chance, you enjoy collecting cards. Maybe that is what gives you meaning, collecting the best cards you can find. If thatâs the case, thatâs awesome! Some might judge you for it or call you strange, but who cares!? You found your own meaning. When the whole world is your playground, might as well make the best of it, no? I know some people like working, and they can continue doing so in a post scarcity world. I know many people who donât like working - note their time is free to do whatever!
Itâs that change in perspective which is essential to understand why this is a good thing. Weâre not soulless or devoid of ethics or morality, weâre just normal people who want something better.
wastedtime32 OP t1_j8oz15b wrote
Fair assessment, but no I was not conditioned to value those things. Quite the opposite. I have grown to become a deontological thinker. To âthink like a mountainâ as Leopold put it. I see the interconnectedness of all things (scientifically not mystically) and have not been convinced (yet) that we as humans have the capacity to overwill the premise of nature. I like progress. But tactical, logical, and beneficiary progress. Financial incentive is at the very heart of the push for AI right now, thereâs no way around it. I am not convinced that the desire for this particular future is not corrupted by the arbitrary notions of our current societal structures. The idea that this is natural progress comes from the assumption that progress as a product of market competition parallels the inevitable progress of species. I donât think this is true. We have the capacity as humans to be self aware. This is a gift that could mean we collectively decide to moderate our progress for the benefit of all people.
I guess what Iâm getting at is, as long as these innovations are coming from massive private tech firms, I donât trust their motives. The idea that this system weâve created perfectly distributes money to those who best abide by the natural forces of the world is silly to me. Itâs a coping mechanism for people who want to see certain changes for a certain future, without acknowledging the world as it is today isnât ready to morph into that future.
TheSecretAgenda t1_j8o8cb3 wrote
Hedonism
wastedtime32 OP t1_j8p0nle wrote
Suffering is inevitable. Hedonism is an oxymoron. It is ignorant to the deeper truths of the universe.
CravingNature t1_j8o8t8n wrote
> What meaning will life have when we have no needs to fulfill?
You have no interests other than sustaining your needs?
wastedtime32 OP t1_j8p0wpc wrote
An interest is in and of itself the fulfilling of a need. I am interested in something = I have developed a need to learn about it/explore it.
CravingNature t1_j8rds8k wrote
I don't think you will enjoy the future.
wastedtime32 OP t1_j8rgcfz wrote
Neither do I.
just-a-dreamer- t1_j8o4am4 wrote
Well, we are talking about decades of transformation. The Singularity will probably not arrive before 2040-2050, or even later.
Still, AI does not have to be that "smart" to gradually replace next to all human labor before that point. As of now a humans can perform around 20.000 known tasks and AI is rapidly catching up in every field to replace human labor.
That is human labor in the sense of "working for a living". Yet, just because a human does not work, the output in goods and services remains the same and is still increasing.
The loaf of bread that is produced with 2% of the population toiling in agriculture is even better now than those produced with 80 % of the population once toiling in the fields.
The point of automation is to get rid of the very concept of "working for a living". Still , humans will have plenty of passions they can persue. It will be possible to merge into the digital world at some point for sure.
Puppetofmoral t1_j8o5l3k wrote
There's still time until it will happen. Just imagine what some Leaders in the world can do, with just a fraction of that AI Power. I say there's a good chance we, our generation, will see the next great war before the singularity.
wastedtime32 OP t1_j8ozv1l wrote
I know. Thatâs one of the major reasons I am scared.
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