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Intelligence _is_ a superpower.

- We have control over most non-human species because of intelligence.

- We have control over our children because of intelligence. When the kid is more intelligent, it has more of an impact on what happens in the family.

- It is easier to lie, steal, cheat, and get away with it, even when caught, when you have more intelligence than the victim or prosecutor.

- it is easier to survive with very limited resources when you have more intelligence.

The above is true for marginal amounts of difference in intelligence. When there is a big difference (fox vs human), the chance is big that one will look down on, or even kill the other without feeling guilt and while getting away with it. Forvan AI without feelings, guilt isn't even a hurdle.

The real question is... will AI in the foreseeable future obtain general intelligence (in a broad spectrum) that is different in big amounts with our intelligence.

Whether it runs in a datacenter that can be powered off by humans is irrelevant. There are enough workarounds to prevent that the AI dies out (copies itself, impersonating people, blackmail, bribery,...)



>The real question is... will AI in the foreseeable future obtain general intelligence (in a broad spectrum) that is different in big amounts with our intelligence.

But why not: will humans/other species in the foreseeable future obtain superintelligence? Nature has been playing this game for a lot longer than we have. The hardware we have is already proven to be capable of general intelligence. Should we be afraid of a human being born with greater capabilities too?

Life seems like a much greater threat, because it also comes with built-in replication capabilities.


After several thousands of years of human evolution we only became marginally more intelligent at best. The people who built piramids and roads, with limited written down knowledge prove that. After tens of years of evolution, AI became plentiful more intelligent. It is hard to extrapolate but I don't believe the trend is a slowing down one.




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