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Author Topic: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?  (Read 2290 times)

zisraelsen

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Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« on: 30 May 2018, 21:28 »

A train of thought I just rode for a while, that I think might be discussable:
So, we've seen that AI have the ability to browse the web using just their brain. We've also seen Momo hooked directly to a library's database, so we know that there's some manner of user interface in their head they can use to analyse data. Presumably, a calculator and similar programs would be trivial to add to their UI. There's also information their system would need to collect very quickly and accurately in order to keep them from being too clumsy (for example, precise placement of limbs so they don't trip over themselves, and pressure readouts from their hands so they don't break stuff). Human bodies analyse that data too, for the same reason, but the difference is that an AI would have access to that information as numerical data, meaning they can do actual, practical math with it. The question these observations led to, for me, was: Even in a world where consciousness is a similar experience for AI, shouldn't every AI be better at certain things than any human? I'll give a few examples of what I'm thinking of:

An AI carpenter would be able to make a design for, say, a bookcase, download it (essentially, memorizing it perfectly), calculate in their head the material requirements, and make the cuts with nothing but a saw and a sharpie. They'd be able to calculate the distance between their hands, so all they'd have to do would be keep one hand on the free side of the board and they'd be able to consistently mark the cut, without taking time to measure twice or futz with finding a tape measure. with a high end chassis, they could probably do the work of a routing table with a normal dremel.

An example closer to my personal experience: If an AI were an engineer, they'd be able to perfectly memorize fit, finish, and other tolerance charts, and tracking down and interpreting that data is relatively time-consuming. Additionally, they'd be able to do any necessary calculations in  their head, and presumably would be capable of interfacing with the CAD software directly, making the design process far more intuitive than it could possible be for a human. A team of AI engineers, communicating and collaborating on the same project at the same time, would be exponentially more efficient and accurate than a team of humans.

tl;dr: With how much work gets done on (or with) computers today, shouldn't a person whose computer is a literal extension of their mind be way better at most work?
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Undrneath

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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #1 on: 30 May 2018, 21:49 »

There is a comic with Momo talking to Emily about AI's in which she says something to the effect of all the extra processing power an AI has goes to running their bodies so they don't particularly think faster than humans. And we can't say their spacial awareness is automatically better than humans because we haven't seen them actually do anything that suggests that, just because we think they should be capable of something doesn't mean they are. As far as memory goes Melon doesn't seem to be able to remember some things like which apartment is hers, and there are humans with eidetic memories with just the sort of recall you describe.  So I'd say each individual either human or AI needs to be judged based on their own merits.
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OldGoat

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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #2 on: 30 May 2018, 21:57 »

tl;dr: With how much work gets done on (or with) computers today, shouldn't a person whose computer is a literal extension of their mind be way better at most work?
Scentience takes lots of processing capacity, but it's 'way more fun and interesting.   Most AIs, at least those who opt for anthropomorphic chassis, choose that over super proficiency.  They can, however reconfigure at a need.  Some, like Station, have enough computing power at their disposal to be able to do both in all but the most dire situations.
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zisraelsen

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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #3 on: 30 May 2018, 22:07 »

The thing is, even for an AI for whom sentience is identical to a human's, just being able to intuitively interface with a computer (which has been shown in-comic) would make an AI better at accounting, data entry, data analysis, and for AI who take an interest, graphic design and engineering positions. In fact, interfacing with just the processing power of, like, a standard smartphone, with extra processing power, accelerometers, internet access, and cameras, gets most of the stuff in the original post done within the confines set in the comic.
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Undrneath

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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #4 on: 30 May 2018, 22:20 »

I don't remember ever seeing any AI character do anything more than access information from an external processor. We have seen Momo download the catalog at the library but not how she perceives it, whether she has instant access to it or has to concentrate to recall it. Pintsize regularly downloads porn and one would imagine replays it. The only real advantage I have seen AI's show that humans definitely don't have is the AI IM allowing them to communicate to each other without any external device.
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BenRG

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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #5 on: 31 May 2018, 01:21 »

That's the thing; from what Momo said to Emily, most mobile AIs spare processing power is used up just running their chassis and sensory interpretation subsystems. As a consequence, they generally don't have much different raw cognitive power than the average human. Non-mobile AIs with processor stacks the size of an average house, have huge amounts of spare processing power and really are super-minds.
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Cornelius

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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #6 on: 31 May 2018, 02:24 »

For that reason, I think it might be interesting to see what May's back story is like. If she had been running in a server somewhere, as has been theorised before, I can see a couple of strips where she can make very clear what the difference is, exactly.

Aside from that, there's also the question of how, exactly, AI learn. It's not because you can have the plans ready, and measure accurately - if in fact they have the necessary sensors and software to do so - that it means they can readily outshine a trained carpenter. How to put it together is another skill. I think we need to see first how they can actually gain skills, before we can assume they will outsine humans anytime.

As for jobs that already require working with a computer I'd say again that it depends. For one thing, if they are having to work with humans on the same system, I can imagine working with or in the tables directly might well give them the equivalent of a bad head ache, as it does auditors now, from time to time.

Finally, there's also the question of, whether they want to do so, or not. It seems to me that in the comic, there's enough signs of AI trying to act like humans  - going from Momo's preference for reading a physical book, to Roko's foot issues, or their recreational downcycling. It might just be something that got in, somewhere, and now is part of their make up. There's another possible reason though. Perfection is eery, and the first introduction of a full sized, human form chassis, stressed the fact that it was rather close to the uncanny valley already. I think that outside of the people we see in the comic, there's still quite a lot of fear of AI around - as shown by Evie's monologue - and constantly outperforming humans would rather feed that fear and hate. Personally, I rather prefer the idea that they like the imperfection, and try to be as much of a person as they can. There's also the fact that they are, in fact, their own person, and not just some programme on a some machine. Individualism might go a long way in explaining why some habits (of mind) are adopted. But that, partially, ties in with learning.

Edit: there's also the fact that connecting to other systems seems not to be without its risks.
« Last Edit: 31 May 2018, 02:48 by Cornelius »
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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #7 on: 31 May 2018, 03:01 »

Humans demonstrate on a regular basis that there is a world of difference between possessing the technical knowledge for how to do something, and possessing the proficiency of skill needed to actually do it successfully. Just because an AI has ready access to all the knowledge available on the internet (and as we are well aware, not all of that is useful knowledge), doesn’t mean that they are automatically proficient at any given skill. They might have a shorter learning curve, so they might be able to become more proficient sooner, but it’s not automatically a given.


To use your own example of designing a bookcase, I can do exactly that, all in my head, and I have been doing it for 40 years, so I have the necessary proficiency to build it as well. Yes, I still need to use a tape measure. But there’s no reason to assume that an AI would not need to as well. There are too many events in the day-to-day life of a person that could throw built-in measurement sensors out of calibration. That’s why engineers keep their precision instruments in cases and treat them so carefully. So I reason there would be only very rare instances where a chassis would have such instruments built in. For the average AI chassis, they would be just an excess cost without a significant return.
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Re: Shouldn't AI constantly outshine humans?
« Reply #8 on: 31 May 2018, 06:20 »

Jeph has portrayed transhuman AIs so we know it's possible.

They seem to have little ambition. Jeph said one reason there's been so little competition for jobs is that many of them are lazy. Socializing with humans seems to be a priority.

Jeremy probably out-competed humans doing the kind of work a robot arm does.
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