Michael Depp

Discussing AI, technology, competition with China, and whatever I feel like. Former @CNASdc @ORFAmerica. Opinions are my own; not sure who else's they would be

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, tackles AI with a focus on human dignity, but it relies too much on the ancient religion of the European technocrat: multilateralism

Instead of farming out its moral authority, the Church should look inward and use its own principles (and massive advantages)

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

Incredibly impressive how quickly AI has moved up the importance ladder in policy debates

though I will say, something become the most urgent priority overnight rarely leads to thoughtful policy interventions

[Mitt Romney @MittRomney]

Our highest and most urgent national priority should be AI safeguards. The risks of AI weapons, pathogens, mass unemployment, surveillance, and even extinction must not continue to be largely ignored.

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@Barkeye52 @SirSnipeyy Yea there is one of those

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@ChinaUncensored Completely agree on the need for vigorous competition, but I would caution on leaning too heavily on the "China is actually weak" angle. We need to be clear-eyed that they do have a lot going for them. Complacent superpowers do not stay superpowers for long

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@alexolegimas AI companies need to hire someone who just follows employees around all day saying this

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@SebJohnsonUK Ok sure but he had already conquered Gaul by that point.

The real lesson is, "don't worry if you have only conquered france by 32, you can still salvage your waste of a life"

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@Authw8 I really erred in making my substack lord of the rings themed...will get a "preparing for the Vong" rebrand going

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@HighyieldHarry Not to be too millennial about it but I think this is best summed up by an xkcd

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

Cool, great. Love that this came onto my timeline on my 33rd birthday

Anyone want to go to Persia or something?

[Tom Harwood @tomhfh]

Alexander the Great conquered the entire known world by the age of 33. What have you done?

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@allie__voss uhh, cause it just goes in a circle, and then discharges the water rather than using it all up permanently...wait...

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@agraybee This isn't exactly fair. R2 is a Naboo royal droid that follows Anakin around. "Own" and "property of my friend's secret wife who follows him around a lot and we are often together" are not synonyms

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

I'm actually sympathetic to the idea that the government needs a stake in AI, but this is like the platonic ideal for worst form of the argument

"My knowledge was used at some point in this so really it is mine" just flies in the face of all artistic or scientific effort

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

BREAKING: Bernie Sanders will introduce a bill to have the public take a 50% ownership stake in the country's biggest AI companies.

The American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act would have the government tax AI companies, take 50% of the stock, and put it under public control.

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@Willob Absolutely true. Whether you agree with the distinction between intelligence and understanding or not, it is philosophically sound. I just wish that there was more grappling with what it will mean for humans who have understanding but soon will meet a machine more intelligence

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

https://t.co/LjoEIiyvwY

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

I think this just reinforces my thoughts on the encyclical itself as a missed moment

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

Artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate or even simulate, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. #MagnificaHumanitas

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@Caol_MacCormaic @nikicaga Guys named Phillip at the stable hoping nobody asks what their name means

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@SimonLermenAI @Noahpinion Completely agree, although I think the tactical part of his plan also needs a little work: AI companies can't just pivot their public statements and solve the outcry

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

For those who missed some of the excellent explainers I relied on when writing this:
@TheZvi: https://t.co/WVnl0llk6t
@ShakeelHashim: https://t.co/d3zr7fzGmm
Yuval Levin: https://t.co/fdp6u82LUj
@CCamosy: https://t.co/oK6Cxe4FTJ

[Charlie Camosy @CCamosy]

https://t.co/sUiGqaBCYj

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, tackles AI with a focus on human dignity, but it relies too much on the ancient religion of the European technocrat: multilateralism

Instead of farming out its moral authority, the Church should look inward and use its own principles (and massive advantages)

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

https://t.co/LjoEIiyvwY

[Michael Depp @michaeljaydepp]

@moultano Which it was