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The discussion was on finding clever uses for AI and the drawbacks to implementing those clever uses. A lot of people like the potential of AI but are concerned about privacy and how people's data will be used.
Here's a reply I posted to someone who had this concern:
I thought your point about increasing the use of AI to the point where nothing is private anymore touches on a deep-seated fear that humans have of being watched. And I started to think about why this is and whether or not this fear can be switched off for the sake of psychological well-being in a society that really is moving toward constant surveillance.
I think that some spiritual beliefs can get us accustomed to the thought of being seen at all times (like belief in an omnipotent God, or belief that we're in a simulation). And that's okay with us, because we assume that a being or beings this powerful would be much more spiritually enlightened than what we see in humanity right now. But when we think of other humans watching us at all times, it's scary. Humans have the option of doing and saying and thinking hurtful things to each other and very often do. This dynamic creates a whole new set of rules than the ones that would be required in a world of perfect knowledge and wisdom.
I think at the bottom of our fears about privacy is a cry for humanity's enlightenment and frustration about what to do in the meantime when we're so far from it. As Sabine Hossenfelder has pointed out in one of her recent videos, humanity has a very serious problem with being able to make smart decisions as a group. So maybe enlightened individuals as opposed to an enlightened humanity is all we can hope for.
I thought your point about increasing the use of AI to the point where nothing is private anymore touches on a deep-seated fear that humans have of being watched. And I started to think about why this is and whether or not this fear can be switched off for the sake of psychological well-being in a society that really is moving toward constant surveillance.
I think that some spiritual beliefs can get us accustomed to the thought of being seen at all times (like belief in an omnipotent God, or belief that we're in a simulation). And that's okay with us, because we assume that a being or beings this powerful would be much more spiritually enlightened than what we see in humanity right now. But when we think of other humans watching us at all times, it's scary. Humans have the option of doing and saying and thinking hurtful things to each other and very often do. This dynamic creates a whole new set of rules than the ones that would be required in a world of perfect knowledge and wisdom.
I think at the bottom of our fears about privacy is a cry for humanity's enlightenment and frustration about what to do in the meantime when we're so far from it. As Sabine Hossenfelder has pointed out in one of her recent videos, humanity has a very serious problem with being able to make smart decisions as a group. So maybe enlightened individuals as opposed to an enlightened humanity is all we can hope for.
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