AI? Is it just a hype or something more?

The potential of AI to disrupt various industries and job markets is a topic of extensive debate and research. It's important to recognize that the impact of AI is not monolithic; it ranges from enhancing productivity and safety in workplaces to posing challenges such as job displacement. For instance, advancements in AI have automated tasks that were previously hazardous, thereby improving workplace safety. However, this automation also raises concerns about job security, as roles traditionally performed by humans are increasingly fulfilled by machines. This dichotomy underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of AI's role in our future workforce.

• The Role of Technological Job Displacement in the Future of Work: This article discusses the impact of technological advancements on job displacement. It highlights the alteration of the number, quality, and stability of jobs due to technological advancements, including digitalization, robotics, AI, and advanced computing. These innovations can lead to the automation of unsafe tasks or reduction of hazards but also result in job displacement when human workers are replaced by technology. The article emphasizes that almost half of workers have automation-susceptible jobs and not all displaced workers may find new jobs

• Understanding the impact of automation on workers, jobs, and wages: This source provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of automation on workers, jobs, and wages. It notes that while automation can create new jobs, it can also lead to job displacement, particularly in sectors involving routine tasks. New jobs tend to pay well for highly educated analytical workers but often pay lower wages in personal services sectors. The article also discusses the importance of education and training in adapting to these changes, emphasizing the need for workers to gain more education and training to become more complementary with machines.

• Is artificial intelligence poised to disrupt your industry?: AI is revolutionizing diverse industries like healthcare, law, journalism, aerospace, and manufacturing. This transformation is driven by increased processing power, reduced costs, advancements in cloud computing, and improvements in AI capabilities like voice and pattern recognition. Deloitte anticipates a significant increase in commercial AI applications across product, process, and insight categories, which will necessitate businesses to evaluate their processes, staffing models, data assets, and markets for AI integration.

• How past tech disruptions can help inform the economic impact of AI: GenAI (generative artificial intelligence) systems are expected to substantially impact organizations, economies, and societies, but predicting their exact effects remains challenging. Key lessons from historical technological changes suggest that GenAI will likely boost productivity, with a potential delay in impact. AI is set to cause labor market disruptions by automating tasks and displacing workers, but it will also create new job types and roles across many sectors

These are just four out of the thousands of articles that has been written on the topic of AI as a disruptive technological force especially when ChatGPT got deployed in November 2022. Personally, this sorts of disruptions doesn’t concern me or what I’m not worried about the most - I just think that the disruptive nature of AI is far beyond the reach of our current understanding. Let me explain in the next section.

What worries me more?

Turning our attention to the AI alignment problem, my journey into this field began in October 2022. Fascinated by effective altruism, I stumbled upon a blog post discussing the alignment awards. This piqued my curiosity about the significant investment in developing shutdown mechanisms for robots and ensuring their goal alignment with human values. The complexity of these topics, from goal-directedness to corrigibility, highlights the nascent stage of our understanding of AI alignment. Despite extensive discussions in forums like LessWrong and contributions from leading researchers, a definitive solution to the alignment problem remains elusive. It's a challenge that requires continuous exploration and interdisciplinary collaboration.

On a sidenote: There are bad actors in the world we live in and we should not hand them powerful toys to play with.

(This is the most plausible outcome of open source models being readily accessible - a single psychopath can deal tremendous harm using such powerful technologies. Enabling a disastrous event to occur, this will negate all the benefits that AI tech brings. I will not explain how, as a stupid person might be able to use the theory but nevertheless a tool that is not safe.1)

On another sidenote: We have a big coordination problem.

Currently, a handful of major laboratories, including Hugging Face, dominate the AI landscape. Governments, unfortunately, lag in implementing regulatory frameworks to oversee these entities. A case in point is the EU AI Act, which won't come into effect until 2026 – a delay that leaves current rapid advancements in private AI labs largely unregulated. Meanwhile, various nation-states conduct their own AI research, often lacking the necessary international coordination to mitigate risks, such as running potentially harmful training models. This situation underscores a stark reality: our traditional systems of governance struggle to keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI technology. In an era that demands urgent solutions, the critical discourse around AI is not receiving the attention it warrants. AI technology is unique in its potential to revolutionize not just specific sectors, but the very fabric of our daily lives and societal structures.

It feels like most are sleeping on the problems I mentioned here.

Grasping the essence of artificial intelligence is an inherently complex endeavor. It demands a profound understanding across multiple disciplines, making it a daunting task for many. This complexity often leads to a default position where most people accept prevailing narratives about AI without deeper inquiry. My concern, however, lies in the fact that our scientific grasp on controlling and steering this technology remains in its infancy. As a result, there's a collective tendency to overlook the intricacies of AI. The average individual, confronted with the daunting task of unraveling these complexities, might choose to simply align with the majority consensus. Yet, this approach can lead to a lack of critical engagement with a technology that is rapidly reshaping our world.

I end this post with optimism.

I fully recognize the allure of comfort and the ease with which we can choose to disregard the long-term future of humanity. However, this is a path I consciously choose not to tread. In 2024, just as I did in 2023, I am committed to taking proactive steps towards shaping a better future, both for humanity at large and for the individuals I can impact within my lifetime. How will I do this? I am driven by the belief that if AI has the power to transform our world, it also holds the key to solving the alignment problem. By steering AI in a direction that aligns with our collective values and goals, we can harness its full potential. I am optimistic that the latest advancements in AI will foster environments conducive to these endeavors. My aim is to make a meaningful impact in the realm of AI, potentially helping nurture a movement where more individuals join in tackling the coordination challenges I've highlighted. I believe we can navigate these complexities and steer our future towards a more harmonious and aligned coexistence with AI.

The past week has been spent researching corrigibility. Despite investing so much effort and attention into the problem, it was extremely challenging to come up with a solid theory. I was unfortunately not able to complete any actual written work, as this week is Don Jitsu Grading week. However, there is some hope for progress this Sunday when Grandmaster Don Jacob himself arrives! He will do a seminar on Saturday too so this week is packed!

whitehatStoic

ChatGPT+ on Stoics and Social Responsibilty

Give the Top 10 people that practiced stoicism. Stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy that focuses on self-control, rationality, and living a virtuous life. The following are ten famous people who have been associated with the practice of stoicism…

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

whitehatStoic

DATA is the new GOLD

In today's world, data is becoming the new gold. Just like gold, data is valuable, scarce, and precious. Data has the power to transform businesses, societies, and even governments. Data can be mined, refined, and used to create valuable insights and knowledge that can drive innovation and growth…

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

whitehatStoic

The Process of Individuation

Brief overview of Carl Jung and his contributions to psychology Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who lived from 1875 to 1961. He is best known for his contributions to the field of psychology, particularly his development of analytical psychology. Jung's approach emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind and the role of symbol…

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

whitehatStoic

Benevolent Agents in Multiagent Systems

Listen now (41 min) | Abstract This paper describes an analysis of benevolent agents in multiagent systems (MAS). We first present a definition and motivation for benevolence that is appropriate for MAS. We then describe requirements for the structure and behavior of benevolent agents and construct a simulator, called Mattress In the Road (MIR), that can analyze and verify su…

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

What must be shall be; and that which is a necessity to him that struggles, is little more than choice to him that is willing.

- Seneca the Younger

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Last week, I made a meaningful milestone in my research journey by submitting my entry to AI Alignment awards. While the final product was far from perfect, it was a significant stepping stone and reflection of how far had come since I started this venture. Despite all the challenges I have faced, I felt proud to see that my research proposal had taken shape reflecting what I had set out to do initially. It’s all about my take on the goal misgeneralisation problem that is plaguing the AI world - what I think is the best approach to it - leveraging on Jungian archetypes is what I believe will be a good research direction moving forward for the community. Whether my work turned out to be successful or not, this experience has undoubtedly been very gratifying for me!

The Rob Miles and his team is seeking help in creating the AI safety wikipedia page. But my problem is I have time to explore my mind’s curiosity on a possible solution to the corrigibility problem. I was advised by Mr. Plex of the safety team to follow my gut after I fed it with information - which makes perfect sense. Let’s see.

I need to train a lot of martial arts for the next ten days too! Grandmaster Don Jacob is coming here to Cayman and will do two days of lecture and examination!

whitehatStoic

Help yourself First

There's advice everywhere these days - advice-of-the-day social media posts, advice columns, advice from well-meaning friends and family. And here I am, throwing my two cents in the advice pool. But it's because I strongly believe that everyone needs a reminder: our own lives should come first. As much as we want to help those around us, it's only when …

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

whitehatStoic

Can blockchain technology be used to solve the shutdown problem in AI?

Introduction Conversing with ChatGPT, a generative transformer-based language model, about the potential of blockchain technology to solve corrigibility in artificial intelligence was rather intriguing. It led me to believe that researching this further would be an incredibly worthwhile venture, likely able to be recognised with an AI alignment award. Co…

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

whitehatStoic

Research proposal: Leveraging Jungian archetypes to create values-based models

This is the abstract of my research proposal submitted to AI Alignment Awards. I am publishing this here for community feedback. You can find the complete research proposal here…

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3 years ago · Miguel de Guzman

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Hey Friends! My 2nd Weekly Digest.

A ton of research on artificial intelligence this week. Was able to squeeze some random blogs but overall it was painful immersion to the problem of alignment

Last week’s progress!

Monday - 13Feb2023

• Tribal - Most of our decisions are inferred from what our ancestors passed on to us for generations. Not to be too simplistic but I find that we are very much the same tribes people from the past.

Tuesday - 14Feb2023

• Is transformative AI a threat to professional jobs? - I hope I am wrong in my take on how AI systems can take away information and tech jobs in the future.

Wednesday - 15Feb2023

• The key to a better world - this is my favorite blog for this week. AI systems should be used for uncovering new ideas. Responsible speech is something that we should all engage 24/7.

Thursday - 16Feb2023

• 8 billion Gods - is a revamped version of my classic blog in 2019. With the technological access we have in modern world - we are easily becoming as capable as the Gods of old.

Friday - 17Feb2023

• How gradient descent works in machine learning - Trying to understand the math behind machine learning. ChatGPT is very good as an assistant for learning something new.

Sunday - 19Feb2023

• Pain and meaninglessness - Which one is harder to solve? which one do you prefer to have as a problem? I’d choose pain every second of the day.

Let me know your thoughts on the comments below.

See you again in next week’s rundown! This week though I might produce very little content because of my two research papers on alignment. Wish me luck!

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Hey Friends! my first week doing these summaries so bear with me.

Hope the internet laced world we have is treating you well!

This is a a productive week despite procrastinating too much on my research - getting saved on yesterday where I found that developing a routine stack of meditation-squats-and-a-short-healthy-yet boring-meal-of-boiled-eggs&-a-bullet-coffee has a good way to start a day of writing - but don’t trust me on this as I do not have any research to back this up. I just think that doing things right after waking up is always a great way to fix procrastination.

Last week’s progress!

Monday - 06Feb2023

• The most competitive time for men in history - Andrew Tate and Patrick Bet-David discussing the troubling times all men are in now. I find this clip on point as to how they are describing the dynamics that men have to navigate in the modern times.

Tuesday - 07Feb2023

• ChatGPT might be the most profound philosopher - ever - Creating a summary of some of the most complex ideas in western philosophy is no easy task, yet OpenAI managed to do this with ease. Their current build was able to analyze Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and create a summary full of wisdom within minutes. No matter how many times I have read this book, or how much mental effort I put in to comprehending it, I could never achieve this level of depth and insight that OpenAI's chatbot accomplished so effortlessly. This certainly gave me a newfound appreciation for AI technology!

• I created an audio version of Carl Jung’s wikipedia page on Analytical Psychology.

• Created an audio version of Goal misgeneralisation from a deep learning perspective.

Wednesday - 08Feb2023

• I used ChatGPT to see how far did Jung's theory of archetypes have progressed. After rereading it and a few searches (esp. Robert Johnson’s books / studies) -
  I found out that some ChatGPT’s suggestions like the studies listed were not actually written as factual ones.

Thursday - 09Feb2023

• I used VBA and macros before in my previous jobs but never had finished coding it as fast as ChatGPT explained it. Read my blog here.

Friday - 10Feb2023

• The cosmos and beyond is one of my favorite pieces that I ever wrote.

Saturday - 11Feb2023

• To continue my Q & A blog series, I delve deeper into my ability to remain calm and explain it in great detail.

Sunday - 12Feb2023

• I really wished I had listened to Dr. Hamming’s amazing presentation called You and Your Research. I have listened to this five times now - will probably add another five as it is so good.

• This is another classic post from my previous blog machine. This explains why I live like an ancient stoic.

• This video is a great introduction to what is stoicism. I added this to my blog as a resource material in the future.

Let me know your thoughts on the comments below. See you again in next week’s rundown!

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