Today I had a 30-minute meeting with Taylor Powell which lasted for 84 minutes. He’s a documentary maker and there is so much interest and synergy that our conversations last for hours. Great material for a hashtag#docuseries
We had deep conversations about the future of AI and philosophical views on the impact of capital in AI. This time we went deeper into how Austin has changed, how capital influences technology and how wealth discrepancies will be exponentially wider and wilder in the future with AI.
Here’s a point I shared with Taylor about why I think there should be a global pause on AGI: Looking ahead to 2030, the picture isn’t necessarily rosy. As you pointed out, change is exponential. We now have capabilities that were previously hindered by computational and data limitations. However, this superpower can also be exploited maliciously in ways that were previously inaccessible to criminals.
Half a century ago, a phone call from someone was generally trusted. If the police, your doctor, or your banker called, you would believe it was them. But with the rise of outsourcing and scams, trust in phone calls has eroded. The advent of voice cloning technology has made it even easier to mimic someone’s voice and deceive others. Now, even calls from close family members can’t be trusted, let alone professionals like your banker or doctor.
As we enter an era where technology is increasingly accessible, we’re losing certain aspects of our lives, such as trust. For instance, when we built the internet and digital infrastructure, we didn’t foresee the potential misuse of these technologies, such as scams. Now, we’re grappling with issues like voice cloning.
As more powerful technologies become accessible, we’re experiencing exponential growth. But we’re not prepared for this. There needs to be a point where we collectively decide how far we want to go. We’ve been sweeping the negative aspects under the rug, but we can’t ignore them forever.
So, my point is, that we need to take a pause. I’m not suggesting we halt progress indefinitely, but we need to stop and think. When we’re ready, we can gradually adapt to the AI shock and then invest in AGI.
Final note: Hummingbirds AI is bringing TRUST to the cyberworld by knowing that there is a real human on the other side and he is really who claims to be.
P.s. The painting behind Taylor is by one of his friends, an out-of-the-side thinker artist!
