AI Dystopia in balance, and context

Before we assume the worst, let’s define the hype

The future will carry plenty from the past. Bladerunner fear-as-rain, maintained neon, the stubborn beauty and bleakness of old ways, immortal things, and Luddite philosophy.

Michael K. Spencer requested an analysis of his dystopian predictions of an AI controlled globe and future.

Let’s start with the assumptions and assertions:

…there’s increasing evidence [that] AI:

1. Accelerates wealth inequality

Yes, just as software has in the Internet and mobile eras. If you’re not struggling to survive, you can do more with less. You don't need to own a factory, just gather some coders and laptops around a kitchen table. Then you capture that advantage first, use old-new money to hyper-charge new monopoly plays and claim “disruption” — even if it means delusions of “revolutionizing urban transportation” by putting neo-hipsters on motorized scooters.

by Viktor Forgacs

Interconnection technology also opens up access. The mere fact that we are able to consider a “global AI” phenomena speaks to the power of the Internet to harness our collective human intelligence — the greatest intelligence we have ever known. Nick Bostrom, the king of well-researched and technical AI dystopia…