Bart Selman, Professor of Computer Science at Cornell University, joins us to discuss a wide range of AI issues, from autonomous weapons and AI consciousness to international governance and the possibilities of superintelligence.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

-Negative and positive outcomes from AI in the short, medium, and long-terms

-The perils and promises of AGI and superintelligence

-AI alignment and AI existential risk

-Lethal autonomous weapons

-AI governance and racing to powerful AI systems

-AI consciousness

You can find the page for this podcast here: https://futureoflife.org/2021/05/20/bart-selman-on-the-promises-and-perils-of-artificial-intelligence/

Have any feedback about the podcast? You can share your thoughts here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DRBFZCT

Timestamps: 

0:00 Intro 

1:35 Futures that Bart is excited about                  

4:08 Positive futures in the short, medium, and long-terms

7:23 AGI timelines 

8:11 Bart’s research on “planning” through the game of Sokoban

13:10 If we don’t go extinct, is the creation of AGI and superintelligence inevitable? 

15:28 What’s exciting about futures with AGI and superintelligence? 

17:10 How long does it take for superintelligence to arise after AGI? 

21:08 Would a superintelligence have something intelligent to say about income inequality? 

23:24 Are there true or false answers to moral questions? 

25:30 Can AGI and superintelligence assist with moral and philosophical issues?

28:07 Do you think superintelligences converge on ethics? 

29:32 Are you most excited about the short or long-term benefits of AI? 

34:30 Is existential risk from AI a legitimate threat? 

35:22 Is the AI alignment problem legitimate? 

43:29 What are futures that you fear? 

46:24 Do social media algorithms represent an instance of the alignment problem? 

51:46 The importance of educating the public on AI 

55:00 Income inequality, cyber security, and negative futures 

1:00:06 Lethal autonomous weapons 

1:01:50 Negative futures in the long-term 

1:03:26 How have your views of AI alignment evolved? 

1:06:53 Bart’s plans and intentions for the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence

1:13:45 Policy recommendations for existing AIs and the AI ecosystem 

1:15:35 Solving the parts of the AI alignment that won’t be solved by industry incentives 

1:18:17 Narratives of an international race to powerful AI systems 

1:20:42 How does an international race to AI affect the chances of successful AI alignment? 

1:23:20 Is AI a zero sum game? 

1:28:51 Lethal autonomous weapons governance 

1:31:38 Does the governance of autonomous weapons affect outcomes from AGI 

1:33:00 AI consciousness 

1:39:37 Alignment is important and the benefits of AI can be great

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