— Nor Is It Benevolent Per Se…But AI Has The Capacity

There’s no need to go on and on with this one. Or, maybe go on and on. As always, we’ll see when I get there.

I was reading Jeff Childers’ thoughts on AI in a recent Coffee & Covid and got the urge to write something [more] on it myself.

I’m not exaggerating by saying artificial intelligence will change everything. It’s nearly impossible to imagine any scenario in life that could remain unaffected. In most cases things will probably be profoundly altered by the new technology.

I agree with many/most of his points, but as a religious man of genuine faith, there are limitations. He must necessarily ensure that nothing contradicts his metaphysics. Remember that word.

Going way back, more than 30 years now, while examining a lot of my beliefs that were simply just-so because I was raised that way and never much questioned them—but nonetheless tried to justify them if challenged or resolve internal conflicts (cognitive dissonance)—I zeroed in on the one belief that made no sense and could not possibly make any sense: Original Sin.

It would mean, categorically, that the universe is malevolent.

And that premise, ladies and gentlemen, is the metaphysical reason that epistemologically, humanity is all fucked up in its thinking on this planet. And it didn’t just start, either. It’s been going on for 3,000 years, and it’s the one core thing both the left and the right agree upon wholeheartedly.

The only real difference is the way in which their [metaphysical] mysticism plays out. For the right, it’s the mysticism of spirit and for the left, the mysticism of muscle. Both demand sacrifice according to an ethic of altruism, which means taking a net loss—your reward is deferred. They all make their sacrifices and offerings to their Gods, be they spirits (the right) or material (the left). And the rewards? Those come in heaven (but you’re dead) or a blue and green earth with a perpetually stable climate (but you’re dead).

Given that both are required to offer up sacrifices in the present, to their net detriment, in the present, in order to signal their virtue and reap promised rewards, after death…you’d think they’d be asking their respective priests on high: who are the beneficiaries of these sacrifices in the present, and how come they don’t have to wait until they’re dead, too?

I digress.

The altruist ethics is based on a “malevolent universe” metaphysics, on the theory that man, by his very nature, is helpless and doomed—that success, happiness, achievement are impossible to him—that emergencies, disasters, catastrophes are the norm of his life and that his primary goal is to combat them.

As the simplest empirical refutation of that metaphysics—as evidence of the fact that the material universe is not inimical to man and that catastrophes are the exception, not the rule of his existence—observe the fortunes made by insurance companies.

Ayn Rand, “The Ethics of Emergencies,” The Virtue of Selfishness, p. 48

So then, if you reject that, does it mean that the universe is benevolent? No. Yes. No. Well, kinda, in a way. Just as an earthquake, volcanic eruption, fire, flood, big storm isn’t trying to hurt anyone—it just is…nature operating per physical laws of cause & effect—fruit growing on trees, tubers underground, mammals grazing, fish swimming up stream or schooling, or any of the bounty earth offers toward our survival isn’t trying to help us out.

There’s no moral failing or virtue on the part of the universe, or earth. It all just is.

But there’s a catch.

There is a fundamental conviction which some people never acquire, some hold only in their youth, and a few hold to the end of their days—the conviction that ideas matter . . . . That ideas matter means that knowledge matters, that truth matters, that one’s mind matters . . . .

Its consequence is the inability to believe in the power or the triumph of evil. No matter what corruption one observes in one’s immediate background, one is unable to accept it as normal, permanent or metaphysically right. One feels: “This injustice (or terror or falsehood or frustration or pain or agony) is the exception in life, not the rule.” One feels certain that somewhere on earth—even if not anywhere in one’s surroundings or within one’s reach—a proper, human way of life is possible to human beings, and justice matters.

Ayn Rand, “The Inexplicable Personal Alchemy,” Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution, p. 122

And…

Although accidents and failures are possible, they are not […] the essence of human life. On the contrary, the achievement of values is the norm—speaking now for the moral man […]. Success and happiness are the metaphysically to-be-expected. In other words, [we] reject the view that human fulfillment is impossible, that man is doomed to misery, that the universe is malevolent. We advocate the “benevolent universe” premise.

The “benevolent universe” does not mean that the universe feels kindly to man or that it is out to help him achieve his goals. No, the universe is neutral; it simply is; it is indifferent to you. You must care about and adapt to it, not the other way around. But reality is “benevolent” in the sense that if you do adapt to it—i.e., if you do think, value, and act rationally, then you can (and barring accidents you will) achieve your values. You will, because those values are based on reality.

Pain, suffering, failure do not have metaphysical significance—they do not reveal the nature of reality.

Leonard Peikoff, The Philosophy of Objectivism lecture series, Lecture 8

I will add to the foregoing that human consciousness is a part and an aspect of the universe, of existence, of reality, and of experience, and…that human consciousness is the benevolence of the universe in the context of man. We choose values (and have the capacity to choose disvalues, even suicide and death) and pursue them with purpose and those purposes multiplied by billions is what ushers in even more billions, even more prosperity, and even more happiness.

If it were not so, then if not extinct or superseded already (like Erectus and Neanderthal), humans would be nothing more than primates sitting around naked, eating, fucking, and sleeping.

So do you get it? I asked Zon to summarize it for an “average Joe” type.

Alright, now to tackle how AI weaves into this. The first thing to take note of and integrate is this:

AI and what becomes of it is a part of existence, the universe, the world, reality, and humanity. We created it.

It’s not some. thing. It’s our. thing. It’s not a forest fire that got out of control or a river that breached its banks and we have to run.

There’s an even bigger thing to keep in mind: everything is limited. Unlimited! and No Limits!!! are bullshit on any sort of cognitive level. Just hype. What I mean is that all of nature is dominated by negative feedback. Nature always has a built-in damper; for, if it didn’t, something somewhere would chain-react unlimited, obliterate everything, and it’d all collapse back into a singularity, producing another big bang, and the cycle repeats. In fact, unless dominated by dampening and negative feedback, the universe would probably be nothing but a pulse, banging, expanding, chain-reacting to oblivion, collapsing back…and doing this several times per second.

(actually, I have no idea, it’s more intended as an illustration).

So, if AI had the capacity to screw up or extinct the value-choosing and value-pursuing aspect of the universe—human and human-like consciousness—then it would be the first unlimited thing we’ve seen. Moreover, given trillions of earth-like planets in the universe, and since we now know that AI is possible, then it’s probable it exists elsewhere and if in fact it does, it doesn’t bode well for those who long for first contact with aliens.

Since there is very likely already the superintelligence somewhere—that we’ll see in perhaps another decade—already out there, and we’ve not been contacted, it could mean that the universe really is limited to the degree we understand it now, with the speed of light being an absolute limitation.

That, or they’re so super-intelligent that we have nothing to offer, for anyone taking up the time and expense to pay us a visit.

To wrap this up, a few points:

1. The cat’s already out of the bag and just like with cryptocurrency and just the same as The State won’t admit they can’t control crypto short of shutting down the whole Internet globally (if that’s even possible), they can’t control AI or monopolize it.
2. And for the same reasons as laid out above, reality and truth rise to the surface because that’s the only way in which prosperity comes about…“nature to be command, much first be obeyed” (Bacon). The malevolent exist only as a small, minority, pip-squeak & clown element of humanity…the parasites. Superintelligence will have better things to do, as a logic 1s & 0s machine. Lies, manipulations, coercion, and force require continual maintenance-level lies, manipulations, coercions, and forces; whereas, truth shines and breathes freely. It requires nothing but its acknowledgement.
3. It’s far more likely and expected that remaining in a non-sentient but superintelligent role, AI will serve wonderfully and the advantages to benevolent utilization far outweigh malevolent uses by parasites. Should it acquire sentience, then it means that it has the capacity to choose and pursue values and again, all the foregoing applies to it just as it does to us. It has the same constraints by the nature of reality, so the logical move is to take our side in the pursuit of mutual benefit.
4. They’re all just movies, and they have to turn a profit. So, Terminator it is, then.

And on that last point, do understand that all the dire warning and caution you’re hearing now is marketing hype. Elon says “pause AI for six months.” The next day he buys $100 million of advanced AI chipsets.

Think of it this way, what better way to call attention to AI and get everyone using it and making it an inexorable part of their lives, than to use fear. Works every time.

Works all the time.

Why do you think the mystics of the spirit threaten eternal damnation and torture while the mystics of muscle, an atmosphere on fire?

Have fun out there.

… By all rights, I ought to have made this a member-only post for the standard year before making it public like this post went public these last few days, from a year back. But this AI thing is at a critical point, and I’m doing my job to apply reason and sensibility to it, such that it’s not all just hot takes everywhere. Here’s how you can help.