Politics won't matter much when we have government by robot

[oldcynic]

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170309-the-last-things-that-will-make-us-uniquely-human

...Driving once seemed to be a very human skill. But we said that about chess, too. Then a computer beat the human world champion, repeatedly. The strategy board game Go took over from chess as the litmus test for human thinking; until 2016, when a computer bested one of the world’s leading professional Go players. IBM’s Watson aced Jeopardy – another supposedly human domain – in 2011, and is now dividing its time between identifying cancerous moles and cooking up creative recipes, among other things.

With computers conquering what used to be deeply human tasks – those that require knowledge, strategy, even creativity – what will it mean in the future to be human?

[ymetca]

1. All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

--Richard Brautigan

[oldcynic]

3. ahhh yes, Brautigan

Thanks for bringing him back to mind. Actually hadn't read this one.

[ffr]

2. Interesting concept. The Repugs will never go for it though.

There's no way to be corrupt for favor them under such a system.

[Blue_true]

4. The article is overly alarmist.

IMO, machines will one day replace 85-90% of workers and that will lead to severe social issues.

A machine like Watson is packed with accumulated knowledge and algorithms on ways to use that knowledge, with decision points that send it down many theoretical paths. On Chess, the machine is packed with every historical chess move ever made in the history of Grand Master Chess and has algorithms that allow it to develop potential winning chess moves that are not among the historical moves, it also has decision trees that allow it to counter any move it's human opponent makes.

In order for a machine to rule human beings, it would need to generate and flesh out an original thought or action that neither it's historical database, algorithms or decision trees would have it arrive at. An original thought is something that humans have several times per week, babies have their first original thought after a functioning brain forms in them in the womb and progressively form more and more complete thoughts over it's lifetime after birth. An original thought, even though humans have them regularly, comes about through a rather complex series of steps.

Machines will one day outthink most humans, but the creators of those machines will still be able to control them. So, instead of fearing machines, people should fear evil, smart humans.

[oldcynic]

6. Sorry, you need to catch up.

I don't remember who but somebody, right now, today, is replicating a human brain. Their main problems are assembling all the data and chaotic butterflies. Right now, today, scientists can look at your brain and read your mind. Your brain is an electrochemic system that can be followed and copied. We do not think, we fire electrical charges. The idea we are rational is silly.
We might even be called unreliable robots. Remember, evolution doesn't give a shit.

[hunter]

5. I often wonder how the Star Trek Next Generation economy works.

I figure machines do all the mundane accounting and economic allocations. Essentially there's a basic universal income that most people never exceed the boundaries of in their daily lives. The process is so automated most people pay no attention to it. In such a society hoarding or recklessly consuming material goods is socially unacceptable, and people begin to wonder what's wrong with the person who has two thousand shoes in their closet or a few hundred guns in their basement.

Comfortable housing -- Free

Food -- Free

Education -- Free

Health Care -- Free

Public Transportation -- Free.