The Importance of Hierarchy in Artificial Intelligence

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GPT-3 is very much a narrow AI, but certainly even a fallen AGI system is going to have a mix of competitive and cooperative dynamics. And that's basically inevitable in any system trying to achieve complex goals given limited resources. It can lead either to a pyramidal hierarchical control structure or it can lead to a different sort of hierarchical slash heterarchical dynamic where you have reciprocal accountability among different power centers on multiple scales. But how we get the more broadly favorable sort of hierarchy slash heterarchy as technology advances is not that obvious.

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Our special guest for the first episode of the Mindplex Podcast is David Brin, a scientist and science fiction author of more than 35 books over the last 40 years. His PhD in astrophysics from the University of California at San Diego led to his current involvement with NASA's Innovative & Advanced Concepts program - (NIAC).

David has won the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards, and he completed the final book in Asimov's famous Foundation science-fiction series). He is also well known for his nonfiction books, including VIVID TOMORROWS: How Hollywood Science Fiction Likely Saved Us All.

A film was made of his classic novel “The Postman.” His series of novels for teens and young adults include, most recently, Castaways of New Mojave.

Links that David references during Episode 1 of the Mindplex Podcast:

1. David’s paper about AI and advertising
Micropayments may be the future as advertising fades:
https://evonomics.com/advertising-cannot-maintain-internet-heres-solution/ http://evonomics.com/beyond-advertising-micropayments-sustain-new-internet/

2. A fascinating discussion of the issue with a trio of brilliant law professors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13KTZhn7CXc

3. David’s book about Hollywood: VIVID TOMORROWS: Science Fiction and Hollywood - http://www.davidbrin.com/vividtomorrows.html

4. David’s story about fortune telling
Called “The Tell” http://www.davidbrin.com/bestofdavidbrin.html

5. From David: "Okay this one is purely political, trying to get Democrats to try new tactics in phase 8 of the US Civil War: Polemical Judo, by David Brin: http://www.davidbrin.com/polemicaljudo.html

6. Civil War Phases - CONTRARY BRIN - http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2014/09/phases-of-american-civil-war.html

7. Just for fun! The Ancient Ones: http://davidbrin.com/ancientones.html

8. The Colony High series: aliens kidnap a California high school! http://www.davidbrin.com/colonyhigh.html

9. Best reference re: George Marshall and the Marshall Plan
https://web.archive.org/web/20210609223749/
https://www.marshallfoundation.org/marshall/essays-remarks/quiet-adult-candidate-man-century/

10. David’s TED talk about being self-righteous: “The addictive plague of getting mad as hell." http://tinyurl.com/wrathaddicts
And the scientific background: http://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/addiction.html

11. “Existence” novel: http://youtu.be/wzr-DSDMkJM