Demystifying Superintelligence: Engaging the Emotional Mind

Demystifying Superintelligence: Engaging the Emotional Mind

The Elusive Concept of Superintelligence

Sam Harris captures the anxiety around artificial intelligence when he expresses his struggle to generate a fitting emotional response to it. This sentiment resonates particularly with those who find themselves perplexed by the potential loss of control posed by artificial superintelligence. Our imaginations readily picture a human genius like Einstein, but the notion of an artificial superintelligence remains abstract and difficult to grasp for many.

Making the Future Understandable

Discussions surrounding AI and concepts like the singularity often describe futures that seem "unfathomable." They convey vague notions that superintelligent entities will outsmart humans. While these projections are daunting, they often overlook the tangible advancements achievable by superior intelligence. For instance, consider the speeds we can achieve with current cars and aircraft. Technology like the NASA X-43 reaches speeds of 3.27 km/s, but a superintelligence could potentially approach the speed of light, indicating vast opportunities for technological advancements.

Emotional Understanding and Learned Fears

Humans have the capacity to learn new fears. While some fears are inherent, others develop through experience, like the fear of a gun's explosion or a dog's bite. However, some risks aren't tangible to our senses, such as odorless, flammable gases. To make these dangers perceivable, distinct odors are added—an analogy for the need to turn abstract AI fears into emotionally comprehensible threats.

Experiencing fear is a powerful emotional response. Imagine being inside a zoo's lion enclosure. The fear is immediate and visceral. However, no such straightforward narrative currently exists that evokes an appropriate emotional reaction towards AI.

The Appropriate Emotional Response

It's perplexing that discussions on AI rarely match the existential dread they sometimes imply. Concerns over AI-induced job loss evoke emotions like sadness and anger, aligning more naturally with expected emotional responses. Yet, when it comes to AI's existential threats, the discourse often lacks emotional resonance.

Even seasoned experts struggle to balance logical discourse with emotional impact. Many indulge in technical semantics rather than conveying emotional urgency, distancing themselves from audiences who require an emotional connection to concepts they find intangible.

Attempts at Articulation

Some metaphors aim to illustrate the issue, such as referencing Stockfish, a chess engine that demands respect due to its superior game-playing ability. These analogies suggest an unnoticed deference to a superior force, yet fail to expand this feeling into other domains, leaving many unpersuaded and untroubled.

The threat of AI misuse—such as nefarious actors employing technology for coercion and surveillance—while alarming, does not address the core issue of ultimate loss of control. Thus, discussions often veer into competition narratives centered on who should wield such power.

Bias and Denial

The struggle to engage emotionally with superintelligence may be influenced by biases like hubris and denial. Humans often contain inherent pride and disbelief in their potential obsolescence. This cognitive reluctance matches the difficulty in comprehending both death and superintelligence.

Towards Effective Communication

The challenge now is to convey the tangibility of artificial superintelligence in emotionally impactful terms, akin to sudden fear in a lion’s den. Effective communication must overcome the intellectual and emotional divide without necessitating extensive research or narratives dependent on speculative fiction.