In 1972, the Nobel prize-winning physicist Philip Anderson wrote the essay "More Is Different". In it, he argues that quantitative changes can lead to qualitatively different and unexpected phenomena. While he focused on physics, one can find many examples of More is Different in other domains as well, including biology, economics, and computer science. Some examples of More is Different include: Uranium. With a bit of uranium, nothing special happens; with a large amount of uranium packed densely enough, you get a nuclear reaction. DNA. Given only small molecules such as calcium, you can’t meaningfully encode useful information; given larger molecules such as DNA, you can encode a genome. Water. Individual water molecules aren’t wet. Wetness only occurs due to the interaction forces between many water molecules interspersed throughout a fabric (or other material).

Original text:

https://bounded-regret.ghost.io/future-ml-systems-will-be-qualitatively-different/

Narrated for AI Safety Fundamentals by Perrin Walker of TYPE III AUDIO.

---

A podcast by BlueDot Impact.

Learn more on the AI Safety Fundamentals website.