In article <5e8e01a0-850f-422e-b19f-bd3fec138f84n@googlegroups.com>,
pete...@gmail.com <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>The recent drama at OpenAI kind of feels like the opening chapters
>of a Technological Singularity novel.

If by singularity you mean the latest resource-wasting bullshit from
gullible and in some cases deranged techbros, maybe. Your classic
singularity generally doesn't involve shitty turbo-autofill.
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On Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 1:28:50 PM UTC, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <5e8e01a0-850f-422e...@googlegroups.com>,
> pete...@gmail.com <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >The recent drama at OpenAI kind of feels like the opening chapters
> >of a Technological Singularity novel.
> If by singularity you mean the latest resource-wasting bullshit from
> gullible and in some cases deranged techbros, maybe. Your classic
> singularity generally doesn't involve shitty turbo-autofill.
> --
> My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
If a Boardroom coup feels like the opening chapters of a novel on the singularity, the author must be David Weber :-)
Nevertheless, I can construct a chain of speculation that links this to the singularity. One theory is that what spooked the boardroom was technical advances involving an AI that was good at mathematics (as opposed to turbo-autofill) - https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-altmans-ouster-openai-was-precipitated-by-letter-board-about-ai-breakthrough-2023-11-22/ The point about this is not just that I am more impressed about mathematics than I am about turbo-autofill, but because an AI that was genuinely superhuman at mathematics could plausibly be used to design a more efficient AI, which is the sort of virtuous cycle of technological discovery that gets you the singularity.

On Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 10:15:08 AM UTC-5, Andrew McDowell wrote:
> On Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 1:28:50 PM UTC, James Nicoll wrote:
> > In article <5e8e01a0-850f-422e...@googlegroups.com>,
> > pete...@gmail.com <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >The recent drama at OpenAI kind of feels like the opening chapters
> > >of a Technological Singularity novel.
> > If by singularity you mean the latest resource-wasting bullshit from
> > gullible and in some cases deranged techbros, maybe. Your classic
> > singularity generally doesn't involve shitty turbo-autofill.
> > --
> > My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
> > My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
> > My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
> > My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll
> If a Boardroom coup feels like the opening chapters of a novel on the singularity, the author must be David Weber :-)
> Nevertheless, I can construct a chain of speculation that links this to the singularity. One theory is that what spooked the boardroom was technical advances involving an AI that was good at mathematics (as opposed to turbo-autofill) - https://www.reuters.com/technology/sam-altmans-ouster-openai-was-precipitated-by-letter-board-about-ai-breakthrough-2023-11-22/ The point about this is not just that I am more impressed about mathematics than I am about turbo-autofill, but because an AI that was genuinely superhuman at mathematics could plausibly be used to design a more efficient AI, which is the sort of virtuous cycle of technological discovery that gets you the singularity.

This article suggests some developers at OpenAI felt they were getting close enough to AGI to
warrant great caution.

https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/openai-could-be-on-the-verge-of-hitting-sam-altmans-agi-superintelligence-benchmark-but-it-nearly-led-to-the-companys-collapse

This claim may be wildly exaggerated, but the scenario certainly fits in SF genre.

Pt

On 11/25/2023 5:28 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <5e8e01a0-850f-422e-b19f-bd3fec138f84n@googlegroups.com>,
> pete...@gmail.com <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>> The recent drama at OpenAI kind of feels like the opening chapters
>> of a Technological Singularity novel.
>
> If by singularity you mean the latest resource-wasting bullshit from
> gullible and in some cases deranged techbros, maybe. Your classic
> singularity generally doesn't involve shitty turbo-autofill.

That's just the waste product they produce, much like the waste product
of biological digestion....

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

In article <4fad24e3-8c31-4d6a-9e02-2849a1515a36n@googlegroups.com>,
pete...@gmail.com <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>On Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 12:51:18 PM UTC-5, Dimensional
>Traveler wrote:
>> On 11/25/2023 5:28 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> > In article <5e8e01a0-850f-422e...@googlegroups.com>,
>> > pete...@gmail.com <pete...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> The recent drama at OpenAI kind of feels like the opening chapters
>> >> of a Technological Singularity novel.
>> >
>> > If by singularity you mean the latest resource-wasting bullshit from
>> > gullible and in some cases deranged techbros, maybe. Your classic
>> > singularity generally doesn't involve shitty turbo-autofill.
>> That's just the waste product they produce, much like the waste product
>> of biological digestion....
>
>"Quantity is a quality all of its own".
>
>Enough "shitty autofill" is being done to create works useful to their
>requesters, at the moment mainly high school essay writers.
>
>That you disdain the 'techbros' for their arrogance and self-importance
>doesn't mean they can't create something significant.
>
>I found this essay by an AI professor very interesting in exploring just
>what the breakthrough might be. It skips all the personal drama, and goes
>Into considerable depth (at least for a nonexpert) about the techniques
>involved, and why they may well have gotten beyond "shitty autofill".
>
>https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2023/11/26/about-that-mysterious-ai-breakthrough-known-as-q-by-openai-that-allegedly-attains-true-ai-or-is-on-the-path-toward-artificial-general-intelligence-agi/
>
>https://tinyurl.com/mpryfm2x
>
Ah, yes. Forbes, visionary celebrators of herioc technological pioneers
such as Bankman-Fried, Shkreli, and Elizabeth Holmes. Got a source that
is not one specialzing in promotional blowjobs for the soon-to-be-
mugshotted?
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll