AGI: kind of nonsense?

Is AGI just a really dumb idea?
Is the concept essentially meaningless?
And are we entirely barking up the wrong tree?

In this episode of TechFirst, host John Koetsier interviews Neil Lawrence, the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge and senior Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute about his latest book 'The Atomic Human: What Makes Us Unique in the Age of AI.'

Lawrence explores the complexities of human intelligence, the misconceptions around artificial general intelligence (AGI), and the implications of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. He also discusses the limitations and strengths of human decision-making, the potential risks of AI, and the importance of preserving human culture and diversity in intelligence. The conversation delves into the role of AI in enhancing human capabilities, the challenges in deploying AI in sensitive areas, and the necessity for regulatory interventions to maintain a balanced technological ecosystem.

00:00 Introduction
00:40 Meet Neil Lawrence: AI Expert
01:19 The Atomic Human: Book Insights
02:26 Philosophical Perspectives on AI
04:16 Neil Lawrence's Journey into AI
05:45 Current State of AI and AGI
08:06 The Complexity of Intelligence
18:31 Corporate Culture and Innovation
20:00 The Impact of Large Language Models
23:18 Exploring AI as an Interface
28:53 The Evolution of Internet Search
29:57 Human Flaws as Strengths
31:06 Collective Intelligence and Decision Making
33:16 AI and the River Gods
35:21 The Complexity of Culture and Technology
40:49 Regulating AI and Digital Markets
52:31 The Role of Teachers and Human Connection
55:17 Concluding Thoughts and Optimism

[moonsonate]

00:05 AGI is considered nonsense due to misunderstanding of intelligence nature
02:08 AGI's ability to mimic human abilities raises questions about human essence.
06:42 AI not just a faster horse
09:00 Society can be impacted by misuse of machine intelligence.
13:16 Achieving AI capabilities akin to a 'Star Trek' like scenario.
15:24 Intelligence involves tension between planning and improvisation
19:21 Disruption by small companies
21:22 Human limitations shape AI capabilities
25:10 Artificial Intelligence struggles with understanding shared cultural concepts.
27:12 AGI enables transformative communication at a mind-blowing speed.
31:14 We should make decisions that improve society.
33:08 AI advancements may lead to ethical implications
37:00 Technology impacts ecology and culture in complex ways
38:57 Challenges in political systems stem from tension between traditional conservatism and liberalism
42:53 Cycles of growth and vulnerability in technology and supply chains.
44:49 Regulating digital markets for healthier competition
48:48 Ethical governance of AI capabilities is crucial for fair access.
50:40 Transition from written words to digital impacting social responsibilities.
54:41 Human intelligence cannot be replaced by AI.
Crafted by Merlin AI.

[lenniedoan]

A perfect example of two obviously intelligent people being willfully ignorant.

[AxisSage]

3:50 i can explain the ship of Theseus.. so because our minds work on geometric cognition principles in non-Euclidean space (cortical columns are packed hexagonally( roughly) with sparse neighbors for wavefront propagation) so even if you replace lots of parts, the information in a few pixels of the grid is encoded and contains everything needed to unpack into new substrate.

[Manwithsecondmemory]

AI can translate essentially every known language in real time. It can generate pictures, videos, and music. It can solve coding and math problems, write essays and poems, understand queries in natural language, summarize information, and easily engage in knowledge recall (very trivial thing, a chimpanzee can do it)

We now are seeing models that are engaging in a solid form of reasoning (o1)

What more is needed for general intelligence

[b-tec]

False equivalence can distort arguments and mislead discussions.

[h.c]

He's basically saying that AI is more than just what we're being spoonfed with by these large companies. I agree with him.

[Dina_tankar_mina_ord]

It's healthy to maintain skepticism when hype is at its peak. I’d really like to see this video revisited in about four years to evaluate whether the criticisms were accurate or if they stemmed from a narrow, preconceived misunderstanding of what AI is actually about. I vividly remember David Bowie’s foresight on the impact of the internet, long before it had fully developed.

[SuperJonathanmatthew]

this discussion is exceptionally misguided and shortsighted. Every person desperately need to rip out the Human exceptionalism part in their brain. noting makes a Human more or less important than a rock or piece of paper just by existence alone. what makes us unique is only the degree by which we can transform and adapt to new information, and i bet once we get very good Ai translators that can translate between different species/animals(something that is already in the work) we will realize how similar we are to every other animal, and what exactly makes our human minds leap beyond a certain threshold. even if Ai might never actually be conscious which i very heavily doubt, the ability to translate between every medium and every language be it human or otherwise will actually put in to perspective where we stand and to what degree we differ cognitively from everything else, and even if we find that the human mind has been the best transformer of information currently that doesn't make us intrinsically or morally or spiritually better. Once we can emulate actual brain neuron by neuron there is no physical law that states that mind wont be conscious. we already know its possible to emulate an entire organism with "OpenWorm" if its possible to accurately predict another animals behavior in a computer simulation then humans are just a more complex version of that, and human brains are so far away from "Bremermann limit" in terms of computation that it would be hubris to assume we are beyond comprehension or Simulation. lastly every human goes trough the ship of Theseus experience every decade or so when every atom is gradually replaced throughout the body but the pattern of that person remains. the only people being simplistic ironically are the people in the video.

EDIT: also using eugenics as a thought stopping trap is a truly hideous way to mislead.

[ankhenaten]

Ai isn't about if a computer is intelligent it is about can A COMPUTER AUTOMATE ANYTHING HUMANS DO.

[josepablolunasanchez]

Current AI is a statistical+calculus calculator. HP-35 was an arithmetic calculator. Can we make AGI with any such calculators? That is the real question. To me it sounds dumb. AI is terrible at reverse engineer rules from data. And it sucks at rule based systems, and is unable to use basic logic. It uses probabilistic next word, but truth is not probabilistic.

[rowannadon]

Awesome video, finally a rational perspective

[josepablolunasanchez]

AI is a solution to a problem we have not found, and it does not have even a business model.

[billykotsos]

AGI is coming next year...but its not going to be able to drive.

[AxisSage]

academics would have you believe that forcing us to be stuck with how they want things to look even if it makes life hell.

Look at my work in non-Euclidean geometry please, i want to communicate that the problems in modern science probably stem from cartesian planes, making us forced to think in in bases that work on a Cartesian euclidean grid, making it impossible for us to explain the world and our minds which are mainly non-Euclidean in base 6 configurations. Just look at the world and show me other man made shapes.

[filbertneon]

Sometimes I can't even understand what he's saying. He has groups of words he says really fast and other times it;'s almost like you can't even hear him but he's talking. Think about this when you speak: Talk like your teaching and it's very important to speak clearly and deliberately to help such deep ideas penetrate. Focus on your mic and keep the proper distance. Great ideas but lots of assumptions.

[stoneneils]

AGI is simply a meme young YouTubers use to maintain their conspiracy/fear mindset. Scary stuff..AGI..run for you lives...its a network of computers!!