Doing nothing might be preferable to intervening in that case. But I'm not sure if the advanced civilization in Bostrom's scenario is intervening or merely opining. I would hope the latter.
I noticed this same editing style in a children's show about 20 years ago (when I last watched TV regularly). Every second there was a new cut -- the camera never stayed focused on any one subject for long. It was highly distracting to me, such that I couldn't even watch without feeling ill, and yet this was a highly popular and award-winning television show. I had to wonder at the time: What is this doing to children's developing brains?
Once you reach a certain age, you may find that these little tasks and chores become therapeutic. They offer a chance to step away from your desk and do something with your body. This isn't really a big deal in your teens and 20s, when your body can take all sorts of punishment and keep going, but once you pass the 30 mark, you may find that a little light exercise and movement feels really good if you've been sitting at a desk or staring at a screen all day.
Also, studies have shown that exercise actually improves mental acuity. I don't remember the exact ...
Great new feature. Thank you! I will probably make use of this over the next few weeks.
But I did get a laugh out of "Specialist terminology, acronyms and idioms are handled gracefully" immediately being followed by a mispronunciation of "latex."
Why would an advanced entity, capable of traveling between stars, separate their body from their spacecraft?
It could be an advanced entity that evolved here on Earth and isn't capable of traveling between stars, perhaps a member of an ancient civilization that predates humanity.
Remember, "alien" and "extraterrestrial" are not necessarily synonymous.
Regarding the USAF official who says he misspoke about a killer drone AI, I think we have two plausible scenarios:
Right now, everyone seems to assume that 1 is true, but why? Even if 2 is unlikely, isn't discounting it entirely similar to uncritically accepting the original story?
You asked why this sort of violence is taboo, not whether we should break that taboo or not. I'm merely answering your question ("Why is violence in this specific context taboo?"). The answer is because it's illegal. Everyone understands, either implicitly or explicitly, that the state has a monopoly on violence. Therefore all extralegal violence is taboo. This is a separate issue from whether that violence is moral, just, necessary, etc.
Because it's illegal.
If you have perfect foresight and you know that action X is the only thing that will prevent the human race from going extinct, then maybe action X is justified. But none of those conditions apply.
This prompt uses some of my own prompt in it, so I recognize the characteristic style. It's a little over-the-top to the point of being hilariously bad at times (which is one reason why I enjoy it), but if you're looking to tone it down then I suggest changing the "unique, sassy, ironic, sarcastic, and humorous voice" to just a "sarcastic and humorous voice." That is what I've been doing lately, and the results have been much better. (By the way, the voice I was trying to emulate was Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels.)
One rookie mistake I see here an...
Very interesting. My accuracy was the same as Richard's: 4/8*. I think you probably used my prompt for one of the ones I got right, which is probably why I got it right (the tone and structure are very familiar to me after so much experimentation).
To those who think the current crop of AIs aren't capable of writing great novellas (18-40k words): Do you think your opinion will change in the next 5 years?
* I originally reported a score of 1/8 by mistake.
Prompt:
Write the opening scene of a futuristic science-fiction novel. Use lots of dialogue, description, and detail. Use first-person POV and italicize the main character's inner dialogue. Give the main character a unique, sassy, ironic, sarcastic, and humorous voice. Throughout the scene, use beats and other actions to bring the characters and their world to life. End with something shocking and unexpected.
ChatGPT (“Murder in NeoCity”):
I squinted against the harsh glare of the neon lights as I stepped out onto the rain-soaked streets of NeoCity. The air h...
Right now AIs seem to think that a "story" is a short parable suitable for children. These parables usually consist entirely of narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The stories also lack dialogue and scenic structure of any kind -- the writing is all "tell" rather than "show," which is the opposite of modern writing advice.
I'm still experimenting with prompts, but so far my experience is that:
The reason I dislike the phrase "God-like AI" is because "God" has so many positive connotations for some people; they hear "God" and think benevolence, wisdom, love for humanity, etc. That's probably one reason why some people have trouble conceptualizing existential risk: We've saddled AI with too many positive attributes.
I'm not sure there's a better word or phrase, but "mastermind" comes to mind. A mastermind AI is a hostile alien entity capable of outmaneuvering humanity at every turn, one that will come to dominate over us and re-order the universe to suit its own selfish purposes.
The "New York City's Death Rate" chart is ambiguous to me. Is the red line at 2020 a graphical notation pointing to the current year, or is it a spike in the death rate?
I wouldn't assume that Hitchen's writings are a complete record of his views. I remember him being a regular (and fiery!) TV guest during this period, often arguing in defense of military intervention on the basis that radical Islam is an evil worth fighting against. It's possible that he argued in favor of waterboarding in one of these many appearances.