When we asked AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT what the rise of artificial intelligence means for the future of humanity, we got a cautious answer: “Humanity’s future with AI is not predetermined; depends on how AI is developed: regulated and integrated into different aspects of society.”
It’s a smart thing to do, but let’s be honest, it’s evasive. If you really want to understand how the age of AI will affect us, you should ask: scott aaronson and boaz barak, a computer scientist at the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard University, respectively. They have already gone to the trouble of condensing a long discussion on this issue into a few results, giving each one a fanciful name. “Our goal was to map out scenarios that people are talking about right now,” Aaronson says.
After discussing this at length over dinner, they were convinced that just five future worlds would cover all possible endpoints of AI development. The two then posted on Aaronson’s blog: Five worlds of AI” helps people in the field have meaningful conversations about end goals and regulations. “We have a humorous tone, but we are serious about trying to keep the discussion grounded,” Barak said.
Here, you vaguely explore their five worlds in choose-your-own-adventure style. Depending on how you play, you might end up in an AI-assisted utopia, or even destroy humanity, which is a bit of fun.
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Source: www.newscientist.com
