Our tech overlords are planning for conscious AI to conquer the cosmos. What could go wrong? | Eduardo Porter
TL;DR
A new belief system is uniting some of the world's wealthiest men around a 'transhuman' future — with ordinary humanity treated as expendable. OpenAI's Sam Altman has mused that humans could be the first species to design their own successors, predicting a human-AI 'merge' within 50 years. Elon Musk argues that two species chasing the same goal — dominance — are bound to clash. The piece questions where this Silicon Valley worldview ultimately leads.
Nauti's Take
There's value in the most powerful tech minds thinking big about AI and humanity's future — such visions push research and debate forward. The risk: if a handful of billionaires alone define where we're heading, democratic oversight and ordinary people get sidelined fast.
Nauti's view: bold visions are fine, but we should scrutinize them rather than accept them as destiny.
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