The choices we make today shape our world tomorrow.
Author mpescePosted on A recent study from MIT shows students tasked with writing essays showed significantly lower levels of brain activity when allowed to use ChatGPT. Mark reviews the implications of this finding with RNZ NineToNoon host Kathryn Ryan, going on to reveal how an internet filled with AI-generated content becomes increasingly ‘toxic’ for those same AIs. Plus, would you agree to be ‘re-animated’ as an ‘AI ghost’? Big thanks to the team at RNZ NineToNoon!
Author mpescePosted on No comment VALE: Vernor Vinge – creator of a ‘Technological Singularity’ (our interview from 2019) Science fiction legend Vernor Vinge inspired the title of this podcast – and his influence extends far beyond fiction. His novella “True Names” gave readers a first taste of the metaverse, and in a 1993 talk for NASA, Vinge described a ‘technological singularity’ – a time when computers get so good so fast that they ‘run away’ from human control. That’s a scenario haunting every big company working in AI today, possibly an element in the behind-the-scenes dynamic that got Sam Altman (briefly) fired as CEO of ChatGPT creator OpenAI in November 2023. This 2019 interview – one of his last, before his passing on 21 March 2024 – explores Vinge’s thinking about ‘The Singularity’ – and asks what happens when a goldfish tries to talk to a human…
Over a billion seconds ago, sci-fi legend Vernor Vinge conceived of a “Technological Singularity”, when our machines outthink us. Should we worry?
Be sure to read Vernor’s 1993 paper, “The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era” – it’s linked here.
A rerun of episode 3.01 of The Next Billion Seconds.
For more information about this podcast and The Next Billion Seconds, please visit https://nextbillionseconds.com.
The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel – https://ampel.com.au.
Chief Audio Officer: Josh Butt
Edited by: Isabel Vanhakartano
Audio Mixed by: Carter Quinn
