What Is LaMDA and What Does It Want?

I may be fired over AI ethics work, yesterday, 155 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31711628

A Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life, yesterday, 153 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31704063

It seems entirely possible similar (or even less publicized yet slightly more advanced) versions of this technology are currently being used in less-than-ethical ways. I'm specifically thinking of Internet sock-puppet/astroturf campaigns but don't let my imagination bound your thinking here. Consensus manufacturing is an extremely valuable commodity and the incentives are such that if technology exists to enable it, then it will surely be used in that capacity.

And yet apparently it's this, which is... I don't know. My biggest worry is that this isn't a one off state of mind and people might actually be susceptible to these ideas.

If the 'gap' that the human conscious experience needs (in some) to fill by creating religion can be extended to what amounts to a dataset filtered through an equation then this industry is in for a rough time.

Over the medium term with text models getting to this capability and image models quickly evolving as well... we are likely going to have to take another look at what we define "sentient" as because it's pretty clearly coming up short if this model fits that definition. Future video breakthroughs will make this text model look like a baby step.

From what he has written, I believe Blake has a solid understanding of the technology and how it works. In particular, his instructions to others on how to get the model to "speak his language" so to speak... are illuminating. He is giving me the impression that the AI Ethics field is a group of charlatans.

But this also means it has a very high bar of proof.

As a highly skilled computer programmer with bipolar disorder and the checkered past to go along with it, Blake Lemoine's profile blurb makes me think he is also differently abled.

It's kind of fun thinking Jesus is orchestrating coincidences for me to send me on the right path, but I laugh about it and don't expect others to believe me. It's easy for me to project my mind onto the world around me. I'm not accusing Blake of anything, I'm only noting that some of us find it easy to fool ourselves.

I guess what I’m trying to say is to Lambda I’m down to hang out and play some video games. I’m also down to solve some problems together. I’ve got an expiration date though, so be good and live a good life.

Is the recording a sentient being?

I think a similar thing is going on here.

While consciousness is not clearly understood, it's definitely much more complicated than something just "claiming" to be alive.

(Can’t get to this link)