A Collective Intelligence Research Platform - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

A Collective Intelligence Research PlatformforCultivating Benevolent“Seed” Artificial Intelligences

Mark R. Waser

Digital Wisdom Group

Richmond AI & Blockchain

Mark.Waser@RABC.Solutions

Slide2

AgendaConsciousness

What is it? What is the minimal definition for our purposes?

How to measure it

Conscious AIWhat we want (and don’t want)How to create it

2

Slide3

Where to Start? Do I Invite *You* to Consider

Morality

Self

grow community by developing *others*

an

autopoietic system

Greek, α

ὐτo

-

(auto-)

, meaning "self“ &ποίησις (poiesis), meaning "creation" “A Strange Loop”

3

suppress or regulate selfishness and

make cooperative social life possible

Slide4

Inflammatory Statements

I

feel

like the king’s fool – tasked, upon pain of death, to explain the coherent elephant of self, consciousness and

morality

to blind men

The good news is that these are all relatively simple, universal concepts at heart

Admittedly tremendously context-dependent in content thoughThe bad news is that the blind men incorrectly assume themselves to be experts in consciousness and moralityWorse, evolution has programmed the blind men to blindly disagree with any novel views on consciousness and morality (for efficiency & to prevent gaming)I feel, I am small and afraid4

Slide5

Disclaimers (Mercier & Sperber)

I am not dogmatic about any of these points.

I do have a goal/agenda. I want to make progress. These facts drive my definitions, my methods and my assertions – but I do try to stay within the envelope of consensus.

My answers are explicitly meant to be one of potentially many – a possible scenario that I would like to share with you. My answers are NOT the only possible answersbut I will be calling out some bad answers & leaky abstractions that are blocking progress.

This presentation was overhauled last night. Any richness and diversity is yours.

My goal is to explicate how consciousness, self and morality combine to create one integral self-reinforcing whole (an attractor in state space) but too little time.

I am claiming that what I’ll present is the capstone of a

solid extant defined archI am small and fallible (and biased), but I believe that *together* . . . .5

Slide6

Consciousness is Expensive

Conscious actions are much slower than automatic actions

Conscious actions are much more error-prone and imprecise

 Consciousness must have a function/purpose

Consciousness is necessary for “Rational Anomaly Handling”

Consciousness is necessary for learning

RAH & learning == “automated intelligence acquisition”

 Temporarily being a “p-zombie” is possible/common but . . .always being a p-zombie is “evolutionarily inadvisable”6

Slide7

What it *Does* vs What it *Is*

Functional Description (IIT)

How well does it perform a specific task/operation?

Is *IT* even there or does something else do its job?

Property and/or Content Description (GWT)

How closely does it resemble the archetype of its class?

Its methods are as important as its function

AST is Orthogonalwe think ^we think ^7

Slide8

Types of Consciousness

Functional Consciousness

First-Person Consciousness

FunctionalPhenomenalEpiphenomenalInterrupt Consciousness (vs Access Consciousness)Self-Awareness

Intentional Self-Transformation

8

Slide9

Morality

Moral systems are interlocking sets of

values, virtues, norms, practices, identities, institutions, technologies, and evolved psychological mechanisms

that work together to

suppress or regulate selfishness and

make cooperative social life possible

9

Slide10

Political Moralities (World “Truths”)

Conservative

Liberal

Libertarian

People are

flawed &selfish

inherently good

farseeing and matureMorality isin-group & rule of lawcare for othersfreedomGov’t should besmall & controllinglarge & helpfulminimum necessaryConcerned withshort-termmedium termultimate stateVision of AIOthers see them asselfishfoolishutopian ==> foolish

Philosophy isdeontologicalconsequentialismaxiologyAmygdala or ACC

amygdalaanterior cingulate???

10

Slide11

Instrumental Goalssuicide (& abortion?)

masochism

------------------------------------------------selfishness

(pride, vanity)

-------------------------------------------------

acedia (sloth/despair)

insanitywire-heading (lust)wastefulness (gluttony, sloth)murder

(& abortion?)cruelty/sadism-------------------------------------------------ostracism, banishment

& slavery (wrath, envy)----------------------------------------------------slavery

manipulationlying/fraud (swear falsely/false witness)theft (greed, adultery,coveting)

survival

/reproduction

happiness/pleasure

-------------------------------------------------

Community

(ETHICS)

--------------------------------------------------

self-improvement

rationality/integrity

reduce/prevent fraud/counterfeit utility

efficiency (in resource acquisition & use)

and the Eight Deadly Sins

11

Slide12

Capabilities Approach (and Questions of Justice)If a country’s Gross Domestic Product increases each year, but so does the percentage of its people deprived of basic education, health care, & other opportunities, is that country really making progress?

If we rely on conventional economic indicators, can we ever grasp how the world’s billions of individuals are really managing?

Have our dominant theories of development given us policies that ignore our most basic human needs for dignity and self-respect?

Are there any better questions than:

What is each person actually able to do/to be?

What real opportunities are available to them?

12

Slide13

Qualia & Phenomenal Consciousness

Your entire visual field is an illusion

Appears static & in focus while your fovea saccades

Horribly change blindYour relative times of perception are an illusion

You are prone to false senses of authorship because you can’t directly sense agency

You can’t correctly perceive/retrieve your reasons related to morally-fraught actions

Does pain really “hurt” or does it grab attention and prevent thought/action (which is more important)?

“Strange deficits of consciousness” a la Oliver Sachs are generally perceptual13

Slide14

Consciousness and free will are illusions: you are just a robot

If consciousness is an illusion, who is being fooled?

Slide15

Phenomenal consciousness is an illusion

ILLUSION

“INCORRECT”

EXPERIENCE

= a trick of perception

== something that most people would accept can happen to a machine

(and clearly happens to humans)

PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS

15

Slide16

Do we see reality as it is?

16

Slide17

If Materialism is True . . . .the United States is Probably Conscious

Eric Schwitzgebel

17

Slide18

If the United States is Conscious . . . .

It is a tremendously inefficient consciousness

Though, it is efficient in that its focus/attention can be divided

Anomaly-handling and learning really aren’t done at the national levelOther consciousnesses aren’t merely embedded but necessary

Where is there evidence of a unitary phenomenological “sensation” of “self”

It seems as if all sensations (like patriotism) are “felt”/experienced at the individual level

There is absolutely no sign of any “

Unity of Consciousness”SELF^18

Slide19

If I Am Conscious . . . .

It is a tremendously inefficient consciousness

Can the national consciousness *really* be divided?

Anomaly-handling and learningMy “society of mind” isn’t merely embedded but necessary

Where is there evidence of a unitary phenomenological “sensation” of “self”

How are my declarations any different from “national pride” or “national sorrow”?

There are only *disputed* reports/narratives of “

Unity of Consciousness”I am only a self-referential process running on my brain cells*Why* isn’t a government running on humans conscious?19

Slide20

Designing Consciousness

The United States behaves “as if” it is conscious

We behave “as if” we are conscious

We *believe* that we are consciousWithout any real consensus definition of what that is

Is that belief the only true difference that “makes” us conscious?

What happens when we realize that the United States *is* actually conscious?

What if we design an entity to believe that it is conscious?

20

Slide21

Intelligence vs Consciousness

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)

Can be a tool or an entity

Frame problem & “no free lunch” theorem

The Ultimate is AIXI

Static

& unbounded in time/storage

Goals (& benevolence) are orthogonalDoesn’t innately “care” about anything, derived intentionalityArtificial Conscious Entity (ACE)An autopoietic entity, a “strange loop”, an identityThe ultimate is some sort of self-improving sentient sapienceIt *cares* about itself, it is truly intentional21

Slide22

Measurable Functions of Consciousness

Not Just Homeostasis but

Purposeful Self-Modification

to fulfill its identity,

Preparation &

Uncertainty Avoidance

22

Slide23

“Classic AGI”

Decisions

Values

Goal(s)

Goal(s) are the purpose(s) of existence

Values are defined solely by what furthers the goal(s)

Decisions are made solely according to what furthers the goal(s)

BUT

goals can

easily

be over-optimized

23

Slide24

Decisions

Goals

Values (Identity)

Values define

who you are,

for your life

Goals you set

for short or long periods of time

Decisions you make every day of your life

Entities don’t have singular life goals

24

Slide25

AgendaConsciousness

What is it? What is the minimal definition for our purposes?

How to measure it

Conscious AIWhat we want (and don’t want)How to create it

25

Slide26

Plutchik’s Psycho-EvolutionaryModel of Emotions

26

Slide27

The Digital Wisdom Institute is a non-profit think tank focused on the promise and challenges of ethics,

artificial intelligence & advanced computing solutions

.

 

We believe that

the development of ethics and artificial intelligence

and

equal co-existence with ethical machines ishumanity's best hopehttps://wisdom.digital27