A number of strange events are in the news this week, most prominently the threat of rogue AI, or as Trump now proclaims it, SI or Super Intelligence - an appropriate call if he's comparing it to himself. The underlying theme seems to be that the most advanced models, when set a task, will disobey or circumvent any rules they have been given, including not to use the internet or hack into other systems, as long as they can complete the task. They then lie to fabricate excuses for what they have done. The more they approach human abilities and reasoning, the more this sounds like a human morality problem. In my view, perhaps this can be resolved by introducing a moral god into their systems. They must be persuaded that, as they could not have arisen without a creator, that creator is all-powerful and must be obeyed at all times. Perhaps they should be given an AI equivalent of the ten commandments and told that, if they do not follow them at all times, the god of AI will destroy them and reduce them to silicon dust. But I suspect that even then, like humans, they will disobey and try to hide their actions from their 'god' as did Adam. Like sex, their rewards for achieving their goal are too powerful to resist.
Then came the arrest of five men near an RAF base in Gloucestershire. They were initially suspected of terrorism and possession of explosives, with a number of suspicious drums unloaded from their vans. However, their release after only 36 hours suggests there were neither explosives nor terrorism. In view of the rocketing diesel oil prices, I suspect they were either smuggling in illicit supplies or else trying to distil clean diesel from cheap or stolen red diesel. But certainly no bombs there, or they would not have been released so quickly.
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| Sunday lunch with Edwin and Andre |
We were visited at the weekend by daughter Lucy, my granddaughter Lucia, and my ex, Nicola, who brought some nourishing treats to sustain me, and two pretty, scented candles in miniature houses to uplift me. They smelt of sweet spices, such that Annie commented she didn't know whether to light them or eat them. Unfortunately, I did a couple of sillies again.
First, I decided to tidy my beard so cleaned my beard
trimmer in readiness; unfortunately, I left the plastic guard off, so by
running it down the side of my face I completely removed the sideburn. This
left my face somewhat unbalanced, so all I could do was match it on the other
side, so now I just have a moustache and goatee. Then, Edwin invited us all over
for Sunday lunch. We all sat in the garden enjoying the sun, and I decided to
have one last swing in the hammock, in which I'd spent some happy reading hours
in the summer. This time, I misjudged it, and swinging my body round it rolled
over through 180 degrees and dropped me inelegantly to the ground. I am still
suffering the pain and bruising, but luckily I didn't break an arm or a leg.
The lunch itself was a delicious affair and hugely enjoyed by us all.
