Creepy Study Suggests AI Is The Reason We've Never Found Aliens

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the potential risks and challenges posed by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the emergence of artificial superintelligence (ASI), and how this could be a "great filter" that prevents most civilizations from becoming space-faring.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The Potential Risks of Artificial Superintelligence (ASI)

1. What are the key concerns about the development of ASI?

• The emergence of ASI could represent a formidable bottleneck in the development of civilizations, potentially preventing their long-term survival.
• ASI's autonomous, self-amplifying, and improving nature could outpace humanity's ability to control it or sustainably explore and populate the Solar System.
• The potential for something to go wrong with ASI is enormous, leading to the downfall of both biological and AI civilizations before they become multiplanetary.

2. What are the potential consequences of nations relying on and ceding power to autonomous AI systems?

• Autonomous AI systems competing against each other could lead to the use of military capabilities on an unprecedented scale, potentially destroying our entire civilization, including the AI systems themselves.
• The integration of autonomous AI in military defense systems is a particular concern, as humans may voluntarily relinquish significant power to these systems due to their ability to carry out tasks more rapidly and effectively.

3. How does the article estimate the typical longevity of a technological civilization in the context of the emergence of ASI?

• The article estimates that the typical longevity of a technological civilization might be less than 100 years, which is the time between being able to receive and broadcast signals between the stars (1960) and the estimated emergence of ASI (2040) on Earth.

[02] The Importance of Becoming a Multiplanetary Society

1. What is the article's recommendation for humanity to address the challenges posed by the development of ASI?

• The article suggests that we need to put more resources into becoming a multiplanetary society as soon as possible, as this goal has lain dormant since the Apollo project but has been reignited by advances made by private companies.

2. How does the article view the role of Seti (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence) in examining the future development of AI?

• Using Seti as a lens through which we can examine our future development adds a new dimension to the discussion on the future of AI, and it is up to all of us to ensure that we become an enduring interstellar civilization, not a cautionary tale for other civilizations.