http://www.preventingskynet.com Just say "no" to genocidal artificial intelligence! Thu, 28 May 2009 10:53:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en by Kaj Sotala Skynet in the Terminator movies is a powerful, evocative warning of the destructive force an artificial intelligence could potentially wield. However, as counterintuitive as it may sound, I find that the Terminator franchise is actually making many people underestimate the danger posed by AI. It goes like this. A ... http://www.preventingskynet.com/thinking-of-ais-as-humans-is-misguided/ by Michael Vassar Movies are made to entertain today, not to predict tomorrow. Unfortunately, movies are the only reference frame that most non-specialists have for thinking about the future. As a result, plot elements used for entertainment value are frequently treated like realistic best guesses about the future. Inaccuracy ... http://www.preventingskynet.com/apocalyptic-revelations-regarding-contemporary-ethics/ by Eliezer Yudkowsky There are certain important things that evolution created. We don’t know that evolution reliably creates these things, but we know that it happened at least once. A sense of fun, the love of beauty, taking joy in helping others, the ability to be swayed by moral argument, ... http://www.preventingskynet.com/why-we-need-friendly-ai/ by Mitch Howe Hollywood can't scare me.  I don't lose sleep to crimson-eyed androids and their sentient overminds.  But don't think for a moment that I'm well-rested. I lose sleep at night because the more I learn about our modern world, the more I see that nobody can hope to understand ... http://www.preventingskynet.com/prevent-skynet-we-are-skynet/ by Matt Brown A motorist stops to help someone whose car has broken down.  A person volunteers their time to help a homeless shelter.  A man rushes into a burning building to save a child.  Humans are an altruistic species.  We do seemingly irrational things, putting ourselves in discomfort or ... http://www.preventingskynet.com/machines-will-not-be-like-us-unless-we-want-them-to-be/ See the call for essays here. http://www.preventingskynet.com/hello-world/