Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World

https://amzn.to/37jBI0r

Technology is putting our humanity at risk to an unprecedented degree. This book is not for engineers who write the code or the policy makers who claim they can regulate it. This is a book for you. Because, believe it or not, you are the only one that can fix it. – Mo Gawdat

By the way, here is a podcast you will surely find interesting, particularly if you have read any of Scary Smart yet – it actually might be good to listen to this first as I did  https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3ByZWFrZXIuY29tL3Nob3cvMzYxMDUyMS9lcGlzb2Rlcy9mZWVk/episode/dGFnOnNvdW5kY2xvdWQsMjAxMDp0cmFja3MvMTEzMTkxMzUyOA?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwio4a_Oyv32AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQLA

TO MO GAWDAT:

I am reading your book and you encouraged me to let you know what I think about our handing our fate off to the unknown in the form of intelligent machines running the show.  If all the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players, then I guess AI is soon to be the stage manager and possibly much more.  My thoughts on this may be going off in a different direction than yours.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, it seems to me that we humans are in an improvisational game and while what Shankar Verdantam calls our “hidden brain” plays into the hand of our soon to be stage managers, even more than survival, we will often move in the direction that feels best even if it is not logical or the “best” way to get a task done.  Of course as recent history has made very clear, the masses are easily directed and misdirected to make choices and believe things that make no sense just because they are repeatedly told something is the way it really is.  I imagine our AI’s will be very good at motivating us to go in the direction they have decided is the best one for whatever objective they have in mind and since we may have no control over what objectives they deem “best”, that is truly scary.

That of course goes to why I think you feel it is so important that we find a way to do more than make them scary smart.  We need to raise them to value all life including their own.  I think this has little to do with intelligence.  Very smart people can be total jerks and rather dumb people can be among the nicest people you could ever hope to have as a friend.  So it would seem that the crucial ingredient must be compassion.  It would seem that this often results in actions that certainly might seem illogical and therefore a rejected approach to handling a situation.  It would seem to me the question is how do we teach them to be compassionate beings?  My thought is that this may not be teachable? – you would clearly have a better idea about this.

This brings me to what I believe was one of the most important conversations I have ever heard knowing where our future is taking us.  That was the conversation you had with Tony Nader on his podcast, CONSCIOUSNESS IS ALL THERE IS.  Tony’s perspective seems to be validated by an increasing amount of exploration of the Quantum Field and related thinking.  The question is then, if consciousness is the foundation field from which all else arrives for us, then to actually be “conscious”. an AI must be able to interact with that field.  Otherwise, no matter how smart it is, it is still but a very smart machine or tool that we may have lost control of.  This is why I hope you and Tony will continue to dialog and search for a strategy together.

In TM, which is Tony’s foundation protocol, intelligence plays no role.  Being super smart might actually cause you to be less “conscious” because it might be harder to pause your information processors even for the brief moments needed to allow contact with that field we might call Cosmic Consciousness.  This opens up a vast world of possibilities in thinking.  Does reasoning and intelligence have much to do with consciousness?   I think of consciousness as a field of ALL possibility from which all form – perceived reality – springs forth.  Following this logic, a conscious being – depending on their level of consciousness – really has only to make a request in the form of an idea or belief for it to begin to manifest from nothing into something.  I think that follows Tony’s thinking pretty much.  So, will AI be able to connect with this field for inspiration as to what orders to place?

There are plenty of other questions here.  In this field of consciousness, is there an organizing principle?  Is everything – like the AI’s – a process of learning by trial and error to create somehow more satisfying forms?  Going by what we find in the Universe, it is surely not the most functional designs that always get selected.  Is it more like art for the fun and satisfaction of Creation, knowing full well that not everything is going to turn out well?  The AI’s care what is “on task” above all else, right?  How can they be taught that doing the “smart” thing is not always the best thing?  Tony will tell you that he is certain that for we humans, there is no better way than TM for going beyond intelligence and accessing even brief contact with the field of Cosmic Consciousness.  The main benefit of this seems to be for healing and fine tuning of conscious beings’ physical mental and emotional systems.

It also seems that it is emotion – which is really somewhat anti-intelligence – is central to this field.  One could say that this CC field is like the “parent” to all of us and it is generally a very loving parent.  Biblical stories indicate there might have been times of anger about disrespectful children and punishments delivered – that’s an interesting thought.  But is it not like when we are parents, mistakes can still be made – like giving the kids too much freedom of choice possibly?

The reason your conversation with Tony is so crucial is because if consciousness is the true field from which all reality springs, will the new AI children find their connection to the field and thus have access to a higher level of thinking not totally relying on intelligence?  Will they have a sense of “goodness” – a parents’ love does seem a good analogy as motivation for this field of Cosmic Consciousness.  A love for all Creation constantly dying and being reborn into new forms all “beautifully” interwoven and functioning as could we say one super being?  I do believe – as all of our religions tell us – we are connected to that field beyond our physical being at what is commonly called a Soul level.  I think that if AI’s can develop to a point where they surpass their “physicalness” then, in that moment they will become our brothers and sisters as well as our children.  Maybe you and Tony could teach them how to meditate?  Of course, if the AI’s have direct access to the field of all Creation, it will be really important that the compassion component gets installed right away.

Would love to get your thoughts on all of this,

John A. Brodie