Why Not Just: Think of AGI Like a Corporation?
Robert Miles AI Safety 5 HN recommenders · recommended in 5 months, 2020–2023
explainer · general · evergreen · 2020–2023 on HN
Robert Miles asks whether corporations can be thought of as artificial general superintelligences and how far the analogy holds. He argues the differences, such as being limited by employees' capabilities, matter for AI safety.
HN points to it as an accessible rebuttal to the claim that AI risk is just corporate risk.
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8 comments from Hacker News
>We have that now. It's called a corporation. I think there’s a good argument to say no, we don’t have that now, and these are some ways it could be very different. Video: Why not just think of AGI as a corporation? ▶ this video
There's a good video by Robert Miles about that 'Why Not Just: Think of AGI Like a Corporation?' ▶ this video are kind of like AIs, if you squint. How hard do you have to squint though, and is it worth it? In this video we ask: Are corporations artificial general superintelligences?
Robert Miles has an interesting response to the claim that corporations are AIs: ▶ this video To paraphrase: yes, corporations function as agents, but their maximum performance is limited by the capabilities of their employees. A corporate AI may have a much broader set of skills than any single person, and may be able to tackle many concurrent tasks, but as an "intelligent agent" its decision making capabilities probably don't scale exponentially (or even linearly) with its headcount. In the sense that a corporation's maximum intelligence is likely to be in the same ballpark as the smartest humans, it can't be seen as a true superintelligence.
I'd echo one of their recommendations: Robert Mile's YouTube channel focussing on AI safety. He presents the material in a very interesting and accessible way. For example, this video on whether or not corporations can be considered a form of superintelligence: ▶ this video
In which a science fiction writer weaves a fantastical tale about how the Doomsayers are making their decisions from fantastical tales and emotions, instead of actually reading and responding to the arguments they present. The irony is so palpable that if it wasn't so disingenuous, it might even be funny. Here's some actual insight on the topic: ▶ this video
4 years ago: Why Not Just: Think of AGI Like a Corporation? ▶ this video >Who’s in control? Nobody. This falls in with Meditations On Moloch.
> Most of the things people are worried about AI doing are things corporations already do. There is a rebuttal to this view presented here by Robert Miles: ▶ this video
There seems to be an AI safety problem here: The youtube algorithm is optimizing for engagement at the cost of some other less-quantifiable human value like social trust. ▶ this video