Alex Kiam

[Alex Kiam @alexkiam94]

Homo floresiensis (another human species that lived on Flores Island in Indonesia) existed until at least 50,000 BP. No more recent fossils have been found, but there are relatively few fossils dating between 700,000 BP and 50,000 BP, during which period the species presumably survived on the island, suggesting that it did a great job of concealing itself. Island locals describe a mysterious creature called "ebu gogo" that sounds remarkably similar to floresiensis. Just saying...

[Alex Kiam @alexkiam94]

AI's effect on society will be slower than people think. And larger.

[Alex Kiam @alexkiam94]

I think that lots of superstitions are actually correlated with the things they supposedly relate to. Walking under a ladder is supposed to be unlucky. It's not, but it's careless since you can just walk around the ladder and not risk it falling on you. The same type of person who would walk under a ladder instead of around might be the same person who would take their eyes off the road while driving and get into a car crash.

Other examples: stepping on a crack in the sidewalk (not looking where you're going) and touching the conference championship trophy in the NHL (a team that's so excited about simply making the Stanley Cup Finals may be that way because they're not that good).

[Alex Kiam @alexkiam94]

I don't think AI is conscious, and the reason is it has no concept of one outcome being better than another. No pleasure, no pain, no good or bad. A lot unravels when nothing is at stake for the system itself. RLHF trains models to "prefer" some outcomes over others, but without the ability to experience pleasure or pain, that preference is similar to river water's "preference" for flowing to lower elevations.

[Alex Kiam @alexkiam94]

Despite the amazing AI advances that I've seen firsthand as the founder of a company that sells data to the labs, I believe that the next 10-15 years will equally be known for a shift away from technology in people's day to day lives, especially as it negatively affects wellness: less screen time, less social media (which will go the way of cigarettes), and more time spent in nature. We're seeing the beginnings of it already. The AI Revolution has already been transformational, but so will the Happiness Revolution.

[Alex Kiam @alexkiam94]

@avipat_ Competition is natural. We at @NeonAIResearch were there first and aren't going anywhere. We're here to win.

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