[epsteingpt]

Not going to be popular, but this article misses the point entirely.

The reason we are pursuing AI so quickly is the same reason we (the West, US) pursued the atomic bomb so quickly: not because having it was great (we've only used it twice), but because 'the other guys' having it is worse.

As bad as anyone thinks AI is for a free and democratic society with oligarchs, you can be assured that a future in a China or Russia controlled totalitarian AI state would be infinitely worse.

The US at least in principle values an individual human life, as judged by its conduct in roughly 3 centuries of conflict.

China and Russia emphatically do not.

It may be cold comfort when the terminator eventually comes for you, but I'd trust an American Skynet over a Chinese, North Korean or Russian one any day.

[xtn]

I don't post often, but want to write a bit here to change the world slightly. The outcome depends on how people think and believe. If everyone believe others are evil and will (e.g.) nuke the other country first, then indeed we are fucked. But this does not happen, right? I'm Chinese and lived in Europe for 10 years. I don't feel people are that different. Feel free to visit and talk to people here :)

[epsteingpt]

Thank you. I (and others) do appreciate you commenting. I'm glad you are being part of the change. The attitude is useful and also naive.

Many ideologies are so 'hard won' (the price was so high) that they don't die easily.

You can see this concretely in the Middle East especially. In theory everyone could just start thinking and believing differently and achieve peace. The problem is it often only takes a single person to reopen old wounds.

Chinese and Russian and Americans are all the same - individually people are wonderful and have limited control over our day to day government activities. Have traveled the globe and know this - the individuals you talk to are amazing, even if you disagree.

Conflict can be repaired in the mind of the individual - it is the crowd's spirit that must be changed, and that is much harder.