Nick Bostrom: Difference between revisions
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==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
Nick Bostrom is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University, with a background in physics, computational neuroscience, mathematical logic, and philosophy. He is the founding director of the Future of Humanity Institute, a multidisciplinary research center at the University of Oxford which enables leading researchers to use mathematics, philosophy, and science to explore big-picture questions about humanity. Recently, the focus of the institute has been exploring questions regarding existential risks and the future of machine intelligence. The Future of Humanity institute works closely with the Centre for Effective Altruism <ref name=”1”> Bostrom, N. Nick Bostrom’s home page. Retrieved from http://nickbostrom.com/</ref> <ref name=”2”> Future of Humanity Institute. Mission. Retrieved from https://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/about/mission/</ref> <ref name=”3”> Adams, T. (2016). Artificial intelligence: ‘We’re like children playing with a bomb’. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/12/nick-bostrom-artificial-intelligence-machine</ref>. | Nick Bostrom is Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University, with a background in physics, computational neuroscience, mathematical logic, and philosophy. He is the founding director of the Future of Humanity Institute, a multidisciplinary research center at the University of Oxford which enables leading researchers to use mathematics, philosophy, and science to explore big-picture questions about humanity. Recently, the focus of the institute has been exploring questions regarding existential risks and the future of machine intelligence. The Future of Humanity institute works closely with the Centre for Effective Altruism <ref name=”1”> Bostrom, N. Nick Bostrom’s home page. Retrieved from http://nickbostrom.com/</ref> <ref name=”2”> Future of Humanity Institute. Mission. Retrieved from https://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/about/mission/</ref> <ref name=”3”> Adams, T. (2016). [[Artificial intelligence]]: ‘We’re like children playing with a bomb’. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/12/nick-bostrom-artificial-intelligence-machine</ref>. | ||
In the beginning of 1998, the World Transhumanist Association was founded by Nick Bostrom and David Pearce. Its objective is “to provide a general organizational basis for all transhumanist groups and interests, across the political spectrum. The aim was also to develop a more mature and academically respectable form of transhumanism, freed from the “cultishness” which, at least in the eyes of some critics, had afflicted some of its earlier convocations.” The association has since changed its name to Humanity+. There were two founding documents of the World Transhumanist Association: the Transhumanist Declaration and the Transhumanist FAQ. The first document was a concise statement of the basic principles of transhumanism. The FAQ was a consensus document, more philosophical in its scope <ref name=”4”> Bostrom, N. (2005). A history of transhumanist thought. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 14(1)</ref>. | In the beginning of 1998, the World Transhumanist Association was founded by Nick Bostrom and David Pearce. Its objective is “to provide a general organizational basis for all transhumanist groups and interests, across the political spectrum. The aim was also to develop a more mature and academically respectable form of transhumanism, freed from the “cultishness” which, at least in the eyes of some critics, had afflicted some of its earlier convocations.” The association has since changed its name to Humanity+. There were two founding documents of the World Transhumanist Association: the Transhumanist Declaration and the Transhumanist FAQ. The first document was a concise statement of the basic principles of transhumanism. The FAQ was a consensus document, more philosophical in its scope <ref name=”4”> Bostrom, N. (2005). A history of transhumanist thought. Journal of Evolution and Technology, 14(1)</ref>. | ||
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==Superintelligence== | ==Superintelligence== | ||
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) could advance rapidly, possibly becoming an existential threat to humankind. Bostrom, in his book Superintelligence (2014), compares the development of AI to humans being like small children playing with a bomb. He also considers it “the most important thing to happen… since the rise of the human species”. Indeed, there is no reason why human psychology should be projected onto artificial minds, and assume that they would have the same emotional responses that humans developed during the evolutionary process. Expecting human characteristics from an AI could impede our understanding of what it might be like <ref name=”11”> Silverman, A. In conversation: Nick Bostrom. Retrieved from http://2015globalthinkers.foreignpolicy.com/#!advocates/detail/qa-bostrom</ref>. This area of study has received some attention, with Elon Musk investing $10 million dollars to fund research about keeping AI friendly <ref name=”12”> Mack, E. (2015). Bill Gates says you should worry about artificial intelligence. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/01/28/bill-gates-also-worries-artificial-intelligence-is-a-threat/#b2a52b93d103</ref>. | The development of [[artificial intelligence]] (AI) could advance rapidly, possibly becoming an existential threat to humankind. Bostrom, in his book Superintelligence (2014), compares the development of AI to humans being like small children playing with a bomb. He also considers it “the most important thing to happen… since the rise of the human species”. Indeed, there is no reason why human psychology should be projected onto artificial minds, and assume that they would have the same emotional responses that humans developed during the evolutionary process. Expecting human characteristics from an AI could impede our understanding of what it might be like <ref name=”11”> Silverman, A. In conversation: Nick Bostrom. Retrieved from http://2015globalthinkers.foreignpolicy.com/#!advocates/detail/qa-bostrom</ref>. This area of study has received some attention, with Elon Musk investing $10 million dollars to fund research about keeping AI friendly <ref name=”12”> Mack, E. (2015). Bill Gates says you should worry about [[artificial intelligence]]. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/01/28/bill-gates-also-worries-artificial-intelligence-is-a-threat/#b2a52b93d103</ref>. | ||
==Simulation argument== | ==Simulation argument== | ||
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If the first proposition is false than it means that a significant portion of civilizations reach technological maturity. If the second one is false, it would mean that a significant fraction of these civilizations run ancestor simulations. It follows that if one and two are false, then there would be a great number of simulations. In this case, almost all observers with our types of experiences would be living in simulations. The simulation argument does not show that we are living in a simulation. Instead, it states that at least one of the three propositions its true, not telling which one <ref name=”6”></ref> <ref name=”15”></ref>. | If the first proposition is false than it means that a significant portion of civilizations reach technological maturity. If the second one is false, it would mean that a significant fraction of these civilizations run ancestor simulations. It follows that if one and two are false, then there would be a great number of simulations. In this case, almost all observers with our types of experiences would be living in simulations. The simulation argument does not show that we are living in a simulation. Instead, it states that at least one of the three propositions its true, not telling which one <ref name=”6”></ref> <ref name=”15”></ref>. | ||
==Transhumanism== | |||
In Bostrom (2005), transhumanism is described as “a loosely defined movement that has developed gradually over the past two decades, and can be viewed as an outgrowth of secular humanism and the Enlightenment. It holds that current human nature is improvable through the use of applied science and other rational methods, which may make it possible to increase human health-span, extend our intellectual and physical capacities, and give us increased control over our own mental states and moods. Technologies of concern include not only current ones, like genetic engineering and information technology, but also anticipated future developments such as fully immersive virtual reality, machine-phase nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence.” <ref name=”17”> Bostrom, N. (2005). In defense of posthuman dignity. Bioethics, 19(3): 202-214</ref>. This arises from the human desire to acquire new capabilities. Even in ancient times, humanity as sought to expand the boundaries of its existence <ref name=”4”></ref>. | |||
Transhumanism advocates that human enhancement technologies should be widely available, and that individuals should have the option to choose which technologies they want to apply to themselves. It also promotes the view that parents should decide which reproductive technologies to use when having children. Transhumanists believe that the potential hazards of human enhancement technologies will be surpassed by their benefits. The development and implementation of these future technologies could lead to our descendant being “posthuman”, with indefinite health-spans, greater intellectual faculties, new sensibilities, or possibly the ability to control emotions <ref name=”17”></ref>. | |||
===Cognitive enhancement=== | |||
Cognitive enhancement is “the amplification or extension of core capacities of the mind through improvement or augmentation of internal or external information processing systems.” For example, currently, external hardware and software give human beings effective cognitive abilities that in some aspects surpass those of biological brains. To improve cognitive function, interventions can be directed at the core faculties of cognition: perception, attention, understanding, and memory <ref> Bostrom, N. and Sandberg, A. (2009). Cognitive enhancement: methods, ethics, regulatory challenges. Science and Engineering Ethics, 15(3): 311-341</ref>. | |||
==Bibliography== | ==Bibliography== | ||