24AR29-13

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(NOTE: Is it growing popular to render AI with hyphenation when spelled out?)

AR 29:13 - AI and its 'messianic celebrity entrepreneurs'

In this issue:

ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE - and "the influence of effective altruism"

Apologia Report 29:13 (1,654)
March 29, 2024

ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE

"How a Fervent Belief Split Silicon Valley - and Fueled the Blowup at OpenAI: Sam Altman’s firing showed the influence of effective altruism and its view that AI development must slow down; his return marked its limits" by Robert McMillan and Deepa Seetharaman (Wall Street Journal, Nov 22 '23) -- "The effective-altruism movement <www.tinyurl.com/AR-on-Effective-Altruism> dates back roughly two decades, when a group of Oxford University philosophers and those they identified as "super-hardcore do-gooders," were looking for a marketing term to promote their utilitarian version of philanthropy." We found the authors' informed pro-and-con quite arresting.

   "Over the past few years, the social movement known as effective altruism has divided employees and executives at artificial-intelligence companies across Silicon Valley, pitting believers against nonbelievers.

   "Coming just weeks after effective altruism's most prominent backer, Sam Bankman-Fried, was convicted of fraud, the OpenAI meltdown delivered another blow to the movement, which believes that carefully crafted artificial-intelligence systems, imbued with the correct human values, will yield a Golden Age - and failure to do so could have apocalyptic consequences. 

   "OpenAI, which released ChatGPT a year ago, was formed in part on the principles of effective altruism, a broad social and moral philosophy that influences the AI research community in Silicon Valley and beyond. Some followers live in private group homes, where they can brainstorm ideas, engage in philosophical debates and relax playing a four-person variant of chess known as Bughouse. The movement includes people devoted to animal rights and climate change, drawing ideas from rationalist philosophers, mathematicians and forecasters of the future.

   "Supercharged by hundreds of millions of dollars in tech-titan donations, effective altruists believe a headlong rush into artificial intelligence could destroy mankind. They favor safety over speed for AI development. The movement, which includes people who helped shape the generative-AI boom, is insular and multifaceted but shares a belief in doing good in the world - even if that means simply making a lot of money and giving it to worthy recipients. 

   "Altman, who was fired by the board Friday, clashed with the company's chief scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever over AI-safety issues that mirrored effective-altruism concerns, according to people familiar with the dispute. ...

   "The company announced Wednesday that Altman would return as chief executive and Sutskever, McCauley and Toner would be replaced. Emmett Shear, a tech executive favoring a slowdown in AI development and recruited as the interim CEO, was out. 

   "Altman's dismissal had triggered a company revolt that threatened OpenAI's future. More than 700 of about 770 employees had called for Altman's return and threatened to jump ship to Microsoft, OpenAI's biggest investor. Sutskever said Monday he regretted his vote. 

   "OpenAI's board members' religion of 'effective altruism' and its misapplication could have set back the world's path to the tremendous benefits of artificial intelligence," venture capitalist and OpenAI investor Vinod Khosla wrote in an opinion piece for The Information. ...

   "Altman toured the world this spring warning that AI could cause serious harm. He also called effective altruism an "incredibly flawed movement" that showed "very weird emergent behavior."

   "The effective-altruism community has spent vast sums promoting the idea that AI poses an existential risk. But it was the release of ChatGPT that drew broad attention to how quickly AI had advanced, said Scott Aaronson, a computer scientist at the University of Texas, Austin, who works on AI safety at OpenAI. The chatbot's surprising capabilities worried people who had previously brushed off concerns, he said. ...

   "Elon Musk has called the writings of effective altruism's co-founder William MacAskill "a close match for my philosophy." ...

   "The turmoil at OpenAI exposes the behind-the-scenes contest in Silicon Valley between people who put their faith in markets and effective altruists who believe ethics, reason, mathematics and finely tuned machines should guide the future. ...

   "The paper clip [in the shape of OpenAI's logo] has become a symbol of doom in the AI community. The idea is that an artificial-intelligence system told to build as many paper clips as possible might destroy all of humanity in its drive to maximize production."

   The authors also discuss 'AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) or AGI - advanced systems that match or outdo the human brain. ...

   "'Our goal is to make a mankind-loving AGI," said Sutskever, the company's chief scientist.

   "'Feel the AGI," he said. "Repeat after me. Feel the AGI."

   "Effective altruists say they can build safer AI systems because they are willing to invest in what they call alignment: making sure employees can control the technology they create and ensure it comports with a set of human values. So far, no AI company has said what those values should be. ...

   "While OpenAI is building automated tools to catch abuses, it hasn't hired many investigators for that work, according to people familiar with the company. It also has few employees monitoring its developer platform....

   "At Google, the merging this year of its two artificial intelligence units - DeepMind and Google Brain - triggered a split over how effective-altruism principles are applied, according to current and former employees."

   Another new term frequently discussed is "P(doom)" - which represents "estimates of the chances of an AI catastrophe." (Have a nice day. - RP)

   "Berkeley, Calif., is an epicenter of effective altruism in the Bay Area, Panickssery said. Some houses designate "no-AI" zones to give people an escape from constant talk about artificial intelligence. ...

   In the final few paragraphs, the authors conclude: "Effective altruists have since formed networks of online communities, where they exchange job advice, argue about philosophy and offer predictions. Affiliated nonprofits and student groups organize local meetups and conferences focused on using reason, economics and mathematics to solve the world's biggest problems." <www.tinyurl.com/2bvye6cc

    (We wonder how many of these altruists are, or have been involved with WEF (World Economic Forum) <www.tinyurl.com/AR-on-WEF> luminaries - or have yet to birth similar world-threatening collaborations.) 

    For additional significant background, also see "Fake it ’til you break it: Tech’s dangerous cult of genius" by Wessie du Toit (The Critic, Nov 17 '22) -- "On Friday [Nov 18] the saga of Elizabeth Holmes <www.tinyurl.com/23mnkevr> will move one step closer to its conclusion. Holmes, founder of the ill-fated health tech company Theranos, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy at the start of this year, and she will now receive her sentence. This is bad news for the army of hacks, podcasters and documentary makers who have spent years making hay from the Theranos debacle, a story of a charismatic young woman who fooled a wide swathe of elite America with her vision of innovation as a force for good."

   Enter "Sam Bankman-Fried, the 30-year-old crypto whizz-kid and Effective Altruism guru who exercised close control over [the cryptocurrency exchange] FTX and a powerful grip on the imagination of Silicon Valley investors.

   "Bankman-Fried has reportedly been taken into custody by authorities in the Bahamas, where FTX was based. ...

   "Bankman-Fried rose through the crypto world on a wave of high-minded talk and personal charm. He offered financial brilliance along with the image of a scruffy outsider, appearing on stage with Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in a t-shirt and shorts, playing video games during business calls...."

   du Toit notes that Bankman-Fried is "Closely associated with the Effective Altruism movement - a school of ethics that seeks the most rational ways of maximising human wellbeing. ...

   "Bankman-Fried’s rise and fall shows a more than passing resemblance to the case of Holmes and Theranos."

   du Toit also mentions in passing: "leading Effective Altruism philosopher William MacAskill."

   du Toit's conclusion: "The real story here is surely the lack of scepticism shown towards these celebrity entrepreneurs once their messianic image was established." <www.tinyurl.com/ww5rer5k>

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