> If AI create a new material, a new solar cell, advance fusion reactor is all of humanity that jump forward.
Putting aside that AI is terrible at novel discovery relative to its abilities otherwise, the direction of new technology is governed by incentives, not hypothetical good for humanity. Take social media as an example, which certainly had potential for good. How was it deployed? By which actors? To what end? And what were the unintended consequences? Not saying it’s all bad, but the utopia of the world becoming more connected and empathetic from the social-topological changes is clearly not the dominant outcome.
Putting aside that AI is terrible at novel discovery relative to its abilities otherwise, the direction of new technology is governed by incentives, not hypothetical good for humanity. Take social media as an example, which certainly had potential for good. How was it deployed? By which actors? To what end? And what were the unintended consequences? Not saying it’s all bad, but the utopia of the world becoming more connected and empathetic from the social-topological changes is clearly not the dominant outcome.