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1-Page Summary of Superintelligence

Overview

Although written in 1994, this passage provides a glimpse into the future of technological developments that will affect society and humanity.

How many movies, cartoons and sci-fi series have you seen about superintelligent robotic races? Probably quite a few. In some films, such as Terminator, they come to conquer the world; in others, they help us out; and in some, like Wall-E, they’re simply adorable. Of course these robots are fictional but will that always be true? Will the future bring superintelligent AI? If it does what form will it take when it arrives and when will we see them?

In Superintelligence, we learn about the journey toward AI so far – where we might be going, how to address moral issues and safety concerns, and best ways to reach the goal of creating a machine that’ll outsmart all others.

In this article, you’ll learn about the thoughts of scientists who believe we will reach superintelligence by 2105. Additionally, you’ll learn the difference between Artificial Intelligence and Whole Brain Emulation. You will also discover how a 1956 conference in Dartmouth played a central role in creating technology that could lead to Superintelligence.

Big Idea #1: History shows that superintelligence is fast approaching.

What makes us different from other animals? The main reason is that we are capable of abstract thinking and communication. We can accumulate knowledge, which has allowed us to be more intelligent than other species.

So, what would happen if we were to create a new species that’s smarter than humans? First, let’s look at some history. For example, did you know that the pace of major revolutions in technology has been increasing over time? For instance, during the Agricultural Revolution it took 2 centuries for human technology to become economically productive enough to sustain an additional million people. This number dropped to 90 minutes after the Industrial Revolution.

Technology is advancing fast. Machines that can think like humans will change the world as we know it. But where do machines stand at present?

We’ve already been able to create machines that can learn and reason using information that’s been plugged in by humans. For example, spam filters keep our inboxes free from annoying mass emails and save important messages.

However, this is not the kind of general intelligence that humans possess. It’s still decades away from being built. But it may be closer than we think because advancements are happening quickly in the field of AI research. Such a machine would have a lot of power over our lives and could even be dangerous if it became too smart for us to control or disable in an emergency situation.

Big Idea #2: The development of computer intelligence has had its ups and downs over the past few years.

Since the invention of computers in 1940, scientists have been working on machines that can think. They’ve made progress by creating things like artificial intelligence (AI).

The story starts with the Dartmouth Summer Project, which was started in 1956. The project aimed to create intelligent machines that could do what humans do. Some of those machines were able to solve calculus problems and write music, while others drove cars. However, hardware wasn’t available for more complex functions required by these machines.

AI (Artificial Intelligence) was popular in the 1970s but lost its luster by the 1980s. However, expert systems were developed that used rules to help decision makers make inferences based on data. But there was a problem: these expert systems required huge amounts of information and interest dropped again when they proved too difficult to maintain.