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Living Together: Mind and Machine Intelligence

Neil D. Lawrence

arXiv.org May 22, 2017 preprint

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper
Key points Argues that the fundamental difference between human and machine intelligence is captured by "embodiment factors" — the ratio of communication bandwidth to computation — and that machine intelligence functions as a dominant "System Zero" that can drive human behavior subconsciously. Concludes that non-sentient intelligence, not sentient intelligence, is what should be feared, and suggests prophylactic courses of action.

Abstract

In this paper we consider the nature of the machine intelligences we have created in the context of our human intelligence. We suggest that the fundamental difference between human and machine intelligence comes down to \emph{embodiment factors}. We define embodiment factors as the ratio between an entity's ability to communicate information vs compute information. We speculate on the role of embodiment factors in driving our own intelligence and consciousness. We briefly review dual process models of cognition and cast machine intelligence within that framework, characterising it as a dominant System Zero, which can drive behaviour through interfacing with us subconsciously. Driven by concerns about the consequence of such a system we suggest prophylactic courses of action that could be considered. Our main conclusion is that it is \emph{not} sentient intelligence we should fear but \emph{non-sentient} intelligence.

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