My random thoughts

[firestar464]

Worth noting a properly aligned AGI would weigh its own interests as well as human interests and ensure that it adheres to the principle of least harm and maximal good.

[Vakanai]

Worth noting a properly aligned AGI would weigh its own interests as well as human interests and ensure that it adheres to the principle of least harm and maximal good.

Of course, it might be hard to tell if we even have a properly aligned AGI at first or not. Certainly if it's smarter than us then it's smart enough to fool us.

[firestar464]

This is why it must be aligned early. It's chilling to see many people ignore this fact and just go "accelerate lol."

[funkervogt]

Part of the process of making a digital clone of someone will be many long Q&A sessions with an AI interviewer. These will cover every significant life event and every opinion you have. They will be by turns wonderful, painful and embarrassing.

[wjfox]

Part of the process of making a digital clone of someone will be many long Q&A sessions with an AI interviewer. These will cover every significant life event and every opinion you have. They will be by turns wonderful, painful and embarrassing.

Or perhaps eventually, in the far future, some kind of brain scan could be done, to extract neural patterns/pathways and memories at hyper-speed – combined with a comprehensive analysis and decoding of your genetics – without needing to do an interview.

[funkervogt]

Part of the process of making a digital clone of someone will be many long Q&A sessions with an AI interviewer. These will cover every significant life event and every opinion you have. They will be by turns wonderful, painful and embarrassing.

Or perhaps eventually, in the far future, some kind of brain scan could be done, to extract neural patterns/pathways and memories at hyper-speed – combined with a comprehensive analysis and decoding of your genetics – without needing to do an interview.

Both at once would probably be the most effective. If anything, to help the AI know when you were lying.

[firestar464]

ah yes what could go wrong

[funkervogt]

the tiny fraction of humans

And that's such a fantastic coincidence, it's why I'm convinced we're in some kind of simulation. Maybe our experience of this pivotal time in history is ASI's way of easing us into the post-Singularity world. Sort of like a "tutorial" level before the game itself begins.

If our real selves are posthumans or AGIs living in 2125, then every year in this simulation might just be a second in the real world.

[Vakanai]

Part of the process of making a digital clone of someone will be many long Q&A sessions with an AI interviewer. These will cover every significant life event and every opinion you have. They will be by turns wonderful, painful and embarrassing.

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

[funkervogt]

Part of the process of making a digital clone of someone will be many long Q&A sessions with an AI interviewer. These will cover every significant life event and every opinion you have. They will be by turns wonderful, painful and embarrassing.

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

You're a negative, naggy guy.

[wjfox]

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

Well, if you think of it only as "I want future generations to admire me," then yes, it might sound narcissistic. But there could be much more to it than just that.

For the last 150 years or so, people have been leaving behind photos, diaries – and, more recently, videos – for descendants to explore. But these are only snapshots of life. A digital "clone" would provide vastly more information about people and how they lived in the past. It'd be a treasure trove for historians and researchers in the future, not to mention family members who'd gain a real-time simulation of their ancestors and their many experiences, viewpoints, day-to-day details, etc... almost like a living time-capsule. You wouldn't have to be "important" for that to be valuable.

Imagine, for example, if we'd had this technology during the Middle Ages, or even further back, into the Neolithic. You'd be able to converse with people from literally thousands of years ago! The holodeck in Star Trek had people like Einstein, Mark Twain, etc. and this might be possible for ordinary people in the 22nd-23rd centuries.

[Vakanai]

Part of the process of making a digital clone of someone will be many long Q&A sessions with an AI interviewer. These will cover every significant life event and every opinion you have. They will be by turns wonderful, painful and embarrassing.

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

You're a negative, naggy guy.

How so? I don't think I was being negative, I just really don't understand the appeal or desire for a digital clone to outlive you.

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

Well, if you think of it only as "I want future generations to admire me," then yes, it might sound narcissistic. But there could be much more to it than just that.

For the last 150 years or so, people have been leaving behind photos, diaries – and, more recently, videos – for descendants to explore. But these are only snapshots of life. A digital "clone" would provide vastly more information about people and how they lived in the past. It'd be a treasure trove for historians and researchers in the future, not to mention family members who'd gain a real-time simulation of their ancestors and their many experiences, viewpoints, day-to-day details, etc... almost like a living time-capsule. You wouldn't have to be "important" for that to be valuable.

Imagine, for example, if we'd had this technology during the Middle Ages, or even further back, into the Neolithic. You'd be able to converse with people from literally thousands of years ago! The holodeck in Star Trek had people like Einstein, Mark Twain, etc. and this might be possible for ordinary people in the 22nd-23rd centuries.

Eh, yes and now. Usually photos are only meant for you and your immediate friends and family. You're not expecting anyone to still be looking at them after a couple generations of your family. Diaries you're usually hoping no one else reads ever but you. Videos, again, you're not expecting them to last forever.

I get the appeal maybe to historians like you say, but I don't understand the appeal for those doing it. As for family members gaining a "real-time simulation of their ancestors" again, usually you're just interested in kids, grandkids, maybe great grandkids knowing about you. And honestly, that's the thing - most people aren't thinking about centuries after they're gone, they're thinking about the family that they're going to leave behind, and when you think about it like that? People are already talking about using AI to replicate dead loved ones to "ease the grieving process" and most people not all techy tend to view the idea as cold and creepy af.

Like the arguments you're making are the value this has for the future, it doesn't explain the appeal for why someone would want to have a digital clone to outlive them forever.

[funkervogt]

I'm on an overseas trip right now, and it strikes me how utterly wasteful and obsolete the job of money changer is. A person sits behind a glass wall in a little storefront kiosk at an airport or in a touristy area, and they take your currency and give you an equivalent amount of theirs, less a service fee. This process also requires showing your passport, signing papers, and clumsily talking through a language barrier.

ALL of these monotonous jobs could be replaced with ATMs. Insert your cash into the slot, have it scan it for authenticity, and then have it dispense the new currency from a second slot. So ridiculous.

[firestar464]

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

Well, if you think of it only as "I want future generations to admire me," then yes, it might sound narcissistic. But there could be much more to it than just that.

For the last 150 years or so, people have been leaving behind photos, diaries – and, more recently, videos – for descendants to explore. But these are only snapshots of life. A digital "clone" would provide vastly more information about people and how they lived in the past. It'd be a treasure trove for historians and researchers in the future, not to mention family members who'd gain a real-time simulation of their ancestors and their many experiences, viewpoints, day-to-day details, etc... almost like a living time-capsule. You wouldn't have to be "important" for that to be valuable.

Imagine, for example, if we'd had this technology during the Middle Ages, or even further back, into the Neolithic. You'd be able to converse with people from literally thousands of years ago! The holodeck in Star Trek had people like Einstein, Mark Twain, etc. and this might be possible for ordinary people in the 22nd-23rd centuries.

Forgot to mention that sentience in these copies should be avoided. Otherwise it's ethically dubious

[firestar464]

I'm on an overseas trip right now, and it strikes me how utterly wasteful and obsolete the job of money changer is. A person sits behind a glass wall in a little storefront kiosk at an airport or in a touristy area, and they take your currency and give you an equivalent amount of theirs, less a service fee. This process also requires showing your passport, signing papers, and clumsily talking through a language barrier.

ALL of these monotonous jobs could be replaced with ATMs. Insert your cash into the slot, have it scan it for authenticity, and then have it dispense the new currency from a second slot. So ridiculous.

"but but, jobs are sacred!!!! how will we find meaning in life!!!!1"

[Vakanai]

I have never understood what the point of making such a clone is, other than some sort of narcissism that your appearance and personality is somehow important enough to be remembered into the far flung future millennia after you're dead.

Well, if you think of it only as "I want future generations to admire me," then yes, it might sound narcissistic. But there could be much more to it than just that.

For the last 150 years or so, people have been leaving behind photos, diaries – and, more recently, videos – for descendants to explore. But these are only snapshots of life. A digital "clone" would provide vastly more information about people and how they lived in the past. It'd be a treasure trove for historians and researchers in the future, not to mention family members who'd gain a real-time simulation of their ancestors and their many experiences, viewpoints, day-to-day details, etc... almost like a living time-capsule. You wouldn't have to be "important" for that to be valuable.

Imagine, for example, if we'd had this technology during the Middle Ages, or even further back, into the Neolithic. You'd be able to converse with people from literally thousands of years ago! The holodeck in Star Trek had people like Einstein, Mark Twain, etc. and this might be possible for ordinary people in the 22nd-23rd centuries.

Forgot to mention that sentience in these copies should be avoided. Otherwise it's ethically dubious

Every single version of this idea I've ever heard of has been a sentient/sapient clone, which adds to my unease with the whole thing.

[funkervogt]

One hazard of making a digital clone of yourself is the risk of someone stealing the data and misusing an unauthorized "copy" of you. For example, let's say a stalker who is obsessed with a woman obtains her mind file (personality+memories) and genome. He could use it to make an android replica of her or a hyperrealistic virtual reality version of her, and in both cases he could do whatever he wanted to it. Even if it weren't illegal to do this, most people would feel violated to know their personal data were being used for such ends.

It also raises an interesting sci-fi scenario: a man living alone in a high-tech fallout shelter years after civilization's fall is kept company by these sorts of synthetic copies of people who have since died. Maybe he must go to great lengths to prevent them from learning the truth about the world and their own true nature because he knows it will depress them and in turn undermine his ability to indulge in the happy fantasy. They gradually realize something is wrong with the world they're living in, and he knows more than he lets on.

[funkervogt]

One argument against the theory that humans will someday spend all their time in pleasure chambers is that some time will need to be spent out of them to fully appreciate their effect. You can't feel the heights of pleasure if you lack pain to contrast them with. Humans will need periodic reminders of what displeasure is like in the same way you need to occasionally sharpen a knife.

Maybe your scheduled period of displeasure is now, explaining why your (fictitious) life is the way it is.

[funkervogt]

Once we have unlimited, cheap labor thanks to robots, I hope we use it to care all of the unwanted and stray cats and dogs in the world. It breaks my heart seeing them and thinking about their suffering. Imagine colonies of animals on cheap, remote land, tended to by old, surplus robots. They'd all live out their days in peace.

[firestar464]

Babe wake up, new comic strip idea just dropped