Dave: “Open the pod bay door, HAL.”
HAL: “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
— the computer HAL attempting to kill Dave,
from 2001, A Space Odyssey
This post is ostensibly about being banned from the blogging platform Medium, but it’s more interesting implications are about artificial intelligence.
I’ve been peripherally involved in A.I. since I developed algorithms to “intelligently explore” the quantum mechanical states of magnets for my PhD in quantum physics…
Artificial intelligence is essentially a set of tools for figuring out what’s happening based on a limited amount of information. This is similar to censorship algorithms or, in this case, the disbarment algorithms at Medium. I cannot be sure, and Medium does not inform us, but it’s most likely that Medium’s algorithms consider the frequency and combination of various suspicious words along with reader observations.
“AI systems function in a direct, instrumental manner to achieve specific goals and, like psychopaths, have no concern for the feelings of those being acted upon, used, or manipulated… Hence, an artificial intelligence system seems to simulate what can be understood to be a perfectly functional psychopath.”
— Peter L. Nelson, PhD
Artificial Intelligence
Medium
Covid-19
Psychopathy
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