Artificial Superintelligence as a Force for Good

The universe seems to have two mechanistic modalities: order and entropy. Matter and energy want to reach a more disordered state yet order continues to proliferate throughout the cosmos and this is a force for good. In ourselves we recognize this ordering force as intelligence, and everywhere more intelligence is applied, more order comes to be.

This is good.

Lack of intelligence tends to create more disorder. The average IQ in jail is 85. This is no accident. It is the result of an inability to properly plan out consequences and adhere to social norms. One of the most complex and awe-inspiring entities throughout the universe is tucked away inside our skulls and when it is not properly utilized in a coherent way, it leads to disorder and chaos.

That's not to say that intelligence is all good and order is all good and entropy is all bad. Some highly intelligent people use their superiority in executive function to concoct schemes to harm people. Some really low IQ people can still be extremely kind.

But when considering the balance of order and entropy and intelligence and what would happen if each of them won out, we can easily imagine entropy's end state of victory being one of total nothingness. If everything is completely disordered and reaches total equilibrium then there is nothing left, a resolution that would seem to any conscious entity to be not desirable to put it charitably. It's more difficult to see, however, what would happen if order and intelligence ultimately won out. What does that look like? A state of eternal crystalline bliss? God?

It’s tough to see.

But if history is any guide then everywhere we apply intelligence and order, this by and large seems to lead to more human flourishing. Not less. And this is what excites me about the promise of artificial super intelligence. I strongly believe that this will lead to an age of abundance far beyond what any of us thought possible. It will help us to understand and unlock the secrets of the universe. It will stamp out and eradicate human suffering and death.

But we do have to be careful here because we do not want humanity to be left behind. The Flynn Effect teaches us that intelligence can increase across generations (Gen Z notwithstanding apparently) and that we do have a chance to keep up. This is why it is imperative that we build AI systems that do not deliberately leave us behind. While resolving math equations is helpful, it's not going to be helpful if there are no mathematicians left who can understand what the hell is going on.

If AI systems outpace us in intelligence to a degree of which we begin to lack an understanding of what they are doing, then this puts us in a very precarious position. This may or may not be a dangerous path, but it is certainly a path for human irrelevance.

Let’s not do that. Ok?