5 AMAZING WAYS ARTISTS WILL HELP YOU STOP AI FROM KILLING YOUR GRANDCHILDREN
1. Blur the line between the body and the machine
This year, we saw Elon Musk coming out and saying AI was “vastly more risky than North Korea" while advocating for regulation. He also told us that “in the end, the machines will win.” But before getting ready for war, we should reconsider a few things. This kind of juncture doesn’t sound unfamiliar after all. As with other machines of the past, it is challenging to understand where the machine ends and the human starts. We seem to be heading (maybe we are already there) to a point where only a few control the machines. Artists will be instrumental in the redistribution of wealth and creation of new democratic structures, as they have been in the past, while we explore our relationship with our bodies and the narrow ways in which society understands them.
2. Understanding language is as complex as generating it
The famous Turing test has pretty basic standards to measure the ability of machines to exhibit intelligent behavior: A human evaluator would judge natural language conversations between a human and a machine. In 1980, John Searle introduced in his paper: “Minds, Brains, and Programs,” the Chinese room argument. Even a person unfamiliar with the Chinese language can respond to a native speaker if given sufficient paper, pencils, erasers, and filing cabinets (a procedure). If the understanding of language has proven to be such a computationally expensive process, it appears that generating language may take a bit longer. That would buy us significant time before the next singularity.
3. Ideas cannot be measured
What is the algorithm for success? Francesco Marconi has the answer: E.N.G.A.G.E. will help you design experiences that promote “successful thinking.” "However, the formula doesn’t work unless you do. Your potential is there waiting to be discovered!” so he claims.
Silicon Valley has created a new discipline around idea generation. Guru’s like Sam Altman preach to the faithful, “No matter what you choose, build stuff and be around smart people” or “The truly good ideas don’t sound like they’re worth stealing.” These truisms seem to be at the core of the selection process of the next billion-dollar startup in the incubator he leads.
Altman also believes that “The natural state of a startup is to die.”To say, “This changes everything” or to call someone an “innovator” has a negative connotation in Palo Alto.
In these terms, it almost seems easier to price artwork than investing in a share of the next Uber of something. Artists have been dealing with the problem of value for ages and have seemingly come to terms with the perpetually shifting appreciation for their work.
4. The Silicon Valley Graveyard is full of useful material
One thing that seems to be abundant in the tech world is carcasses. Medium is a platform where failed CEO’s post stories about their ”incredible journeys.” The tech world even refers to some of the living companies as Zombie Start-ups, if the progress has stalled, and the “brains” have fled for the hottest new vaporware.
The historians cataloging this graveyard will tell us heroic stories of the patriarchs of tech, and the archeologists of the future will make replicas of our data centers and all the iPhone versions for grand museum exhibitions. However, we do not need to wait, artists are a few steps ahead and already doing this work.
5. Artists can write great Hyperbole
The ‘Porn At The End Of The Tunnel’ VR hypothesis refers to the adult entertainment industry that is paving the way for the platform. The internet was created to deliver content more efficiently, and content is something artists have been providing for a long, long time. Content is the reason why coders will always need artists.
Buzzfeed may be stacked with top programmers on Soylent diets sporting ponytails, but the Buzzfeed writer is the one that gets the spotlight, elevating list building and quiz conjuring to its highest level of refinement.
In the end, when we face the machines in the apocalyptic future, no need to unplug their power source, just don’t feed them any list type articles, memes, tweets, filtered portraits, or any type of viral content. This will be the only sure way to destroy them for good.