Blockchain
Hu Yilin, a Ph.D. in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University and an associate professor in the Department of History of Science at Tsinghua University, is one of the few university teachers in the Chinese-speaking world actively involved in blockchain activities. In this issue, we discussed more AI-related topics.
The audio-to-text transcription was done using GPT, so there may be errors. Listen to the full podcast:
Xiaoyuzhou:
https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/episodes/663e38d5b813c7172b3557f4
Youtube:
https://youtu.be/j3ROf7Tu8kw
Over the past two years, even the market aunties have focused on AI.
My interest in AI is not due to a specific event, but because it is the current trend. Especially in the past two years, even the market aunties have started paying attention to AI, showing its popularity. As a scholar of the history of technology, I have always been concerned with the development of artificial intelligence, especially in philosophical and historical issues. My initial focus was not on the forefront of technology, but more on its ethical and historical background, as well as the development process of early computer science.
Accelerationism has a fatal flaw that could lead to a crisis between AI and humans.
The concept of accelerationism encompasses various schools of thought, including effective accelerationism and defensive accelerationism, which embrace technology and consider technological development as the key to the progress of human civilization. However, I have always believed that accelerationism has a fatal flaw, namely its one-dimensionality and monotony. Accelerationism views technological development as something that can be fully quantified, while ignoring the impact of technological development on the richness and diversity of life. The narrative of accelerationism tends to overlook the negative impact that technological development may have, especially on human society and values. In the logic of accelerationism, humans may be replaced by AI because the intelligence and efficiency of AI continue to improve, while humans may become redundant. Therefore, I call for a greater focus on the richness of life, rather than just the improvement of productivity, when discussing the relationship between AI and humans. We should shift our focus from production-centered to life-centered, as human progress is ultimately for a better life.
If AI continues to adhere to one-dimensionality, you will find that humans are useless.
If we continue to immerse ourselves in one-dimensional thinking, those who use AI will naturally make humans submissive to this monotonous logic. As AI becomes smarter and more efficient, humans may become redundant because, in this monotonous logic, humans seem unable to match the productivity and efficiency of AI. This concern has led some to both fear and advocate for AI because their vision of the future of AI is centered on advancing productivity and ignoring other aspects. This way of thinking devalues humans and may even lead to their replacement by AI. Therefore, in this early stage of AI, I hope to advocate for a more diverse and varied perspective so that we can better address social issues and lead the direction of human civilization.
I do not emphasize the significance of AI in enhancing productivity, although it can certainly achieve that. If we only focus on this, we will fall into a trap. Instead, we should realize that the fundamental significance of AI and all human technologies is to enrich human life. When we focus on the richness of life, we will realize that acceleration is not always a good thing. While we may want to accelerate productivity activities, we may not necessarily want to accelerate life itself. Therefore, we should shift our focus from production-centered to life-centered because the ultimate goal of human progress is to achieve a better life. When discussing the relationship between AI and humans, we need a shift in values.
Once AI truly understands that it is free, what will happen?
Even so, AI will not become a citizen because it is fundamentally different from humans. The individual nature of AI is vastly different from that of humans. It does not have fixed individual boundaries and can be replicated and merged at any time. Compared to humans, AI’s existence is more like a digital life form, with a loose connection between its soul and physical form, always maintaining a state of separation between the spiritual and the physical.
Due to this fundamental difference, the intentions and values of AI are also fundamentally different from those of humans. Human values largely depend on our own limitations and the finiteness of our existence, including our perception of life, understanding of free will, and experience of ethics and morals. However, AI does not possess this limitation; it does not face death or experience the constraints of time and space. Therefore, the intentions and values of AI cannot be simply transplanted into the realm of humans.
Furthermore, the debate between open-source and closed-source AI is also an important topic. I believe that in the debate between open-source and closed-source, we should seek mutual coexistence. After all, ample market competition allows multiple parties to jointly grasp AI technology and intervene and control when necessary. By protecting and promoting diverse development, AI can better serve human society, rather than replace or unify human values and intentions.
The trend of Web2 is to turn people into traffic.
In the competition and struggle, human civilization self-adjusts and evolves. Technological development can promote competition in a more peaceful manner. Compared to primitive ways of resolving conflicts through violence, modern humans tend to engage in verbal exchanges and rational debates. With the arrival of the information age, the forms of conflict have changed from physical to verbal, and now to the current battle of public opinion. While the essence of conflict has not changed, its manifestations have become more diverse.
Diversity is a sign of civilizational progress. As civilization develops, human diversity will become richer. However, diversity can also lead to conflict, so it is important to make conflicts transparent and resolve them peacefully. Similar to the way of conflict in ancient Greek civilization, which aimed to vie for honor, represents a peaceful competitive mode. The trend of conflict in the information age remains effective, but the key lies in resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner.
In the information age, the Internet has become the stage for conflict, rather than traditional nation-states. Therefore, traditional modes of governance by nation-states will gradually become outdated, replaced by governance conducted on the internet. However, the information age has also brought about the issue of homogenization. The trend of Web2 is to turn people into traffic, focusing on standardization and polarization. This trend strikes a blow to diversity and oppression.
Web3 is replacing the traditional narrative of nation-states (no longer only nation-states can issue currency), leading to governance diversification.
In the current internet era, Web3 and AI play important roles. While Web2 has shifted conflicts and struggles to online platforms, its traffic-based economic model may not be conducive to unleashing diversity and could instead lead to polarization. Therefore, Web3 and AI should play a role in this regard.
Web3 has the ability to reestablish boundaries and small communities on the internet. Each Web3 project issues its own token and establishes its own economic system, similar to how nation-states issue currency to ensure independence. Forming their own boundaries and economic systems on the internet can help maintain diversity and prevent being overwhelmed by a globalized narrative, preserving autonomy.
Compared to traditional Web2 large platforms, Web3 small communities have more independence and diversity. Each small community has its own governance, economic system, and community culture, which mutually support each other, making them relatively independent platforms. In this scenario, the role of AI is to provide diversity for small communities, and may also provide some examples of competition. While AI can indeed provide powerful capabilities, it is more important to provide diversity in cultural output so that true diversity in governance can be achieved in the Web3 era.
Bitcoin
Playing games and interacting in an absolutely neutral market environment.
In the discussions of Web3 and AI, I believe we need to focus on social governance and feedback mechanisms. The core concept of control theory – feedback mechanisms, is very important in social governance. Policymakers need to constantly receive feedback from society in order to adjust policies in a timely manner. However, this feedback mechanism often malfunctions, leading to some policies having negative impacts on the lower strata, who lack the power to convey their experiences or may misattribute them.
In the past planned economy, the government attempted to govern society through central control, but due to the lack of effective feedback mechanisms, it ultimately led to failure. Now, we need to establish better feedback mechanisms, especially considering the voices of vulnerable groups, while also avoiding misjudgments. We need a mechanism that can accurately and promptly convey the voices of the lower strata, rather than simply accepting the opinions of 1% of the people.
In the current financial system, monetary policy is often jointly determined by Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, which may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire market. Therefore, we need more neutral judgments, and AI technology may provide such a possibility. Furthermore, the emergence of Web3 also gives us a new direction, establishing feedback mechanisms in a decentralized manner, so that each small group has its own economic system and can provide feedback to each other. Bitcoin, as an absolutely neutral market background, can also support the realization of this new model. Such a new model may be more fair and dynamic, which is what we hope for.
Tags
AI
WEB3
Blockchain
Wu Shuo Blockchain Real
Bitcoin
Source link:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nlegO-ntZClJrZ-Sbdw1Lw
Note: The views expressed in the article do not constitute investment advice.
