First Thought
I am optimistic and pessimistic about AI at the same time. There are many good things about an LLM (the tech behind the current common label of AI) in areas such as medical and software development.
About
I am a church leader of about 30 years and a 20+ year veteran of the IT industry, including software engineering, and I have a hobby of looking into the AI and transhumanist debate. I haven’t just looked into it, but I have used AI in development — I enjoy it, but at the same time I am extremely wary of it. This blog will record my thoughts on AI and transhumanism.
Articles
Intelligence and Being Smart
What is intelligence? What does it mean to be smart? AI “super-intelligence” is a label that is applied to AI that is “smarter” and better than humans at doing the thing.
Intelligence is a Human Quality
According to old definitions of the word intelligence, like in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, it indicates that intelligence is a human attribute with a core meaning of understanding.
The Amount of Information Does Not Equal Intelligence
There is no doubt that AI (an LLM) has a tremendous amount of knowledge in its dataset. Simply amassing knowledge doesn’t mean that something is intelligent.
Decision Making Does Not Equal Intelligence
AI is amazing at making decisions and that is what makes AI top-of-the-class. Advanced decision making like this does not equal intelligence.
Agentic AI
What is an agent? It is a computer program that uses an LLM as the decision-making engine, whereas a traditional program essentially uses a decision tree that the programmer sets up.
Concern About Job Loss From AI
I think there is cause for concern for persistent job loss due to the use of AI. What happens when productivity increases beyond what a business needs?