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I posted, but deleted this in response to a previous AI thread, but I think it actually aged better with Elon's signature to the letter yesterday and Yud's oped:
I am not a Musk fanboy, but I'll say this, Elon Musk very transparently cares about the survival of humanity as humanity, and it is deeply present down to a biological drive to reproduce his own genes. Musk openly worries about things like dropping birth rates, while also personally spotlighting his own rabbit-like reproductive efforts. Musk clearly is a guy who wants and expects his own genes to spread, last and thrive in future generations. This is a rising tides approach for humans Musk has also signaled clearly against unnatural life extensions.
“I certainly would like to maintain health for a longer period of time,” Musk told Insider. “But I am not afraid of dying. I think it would come as a relief.”
and
"Increasing quality of life for the aged is important, but increased lifespan, especially if cognitive impairment is not addressed, is not good for civilization."
Now, there is plenty, that I as a conservative, Christian, and Luddish would readily fault in Musk (e.g. his affairs and divorces). But from this perspective Musk certainly has large overlap with a traditionally "ordered" view of civilization and human flourishing.
Altman, on the other hand has no children, and as a gay man, never will have children inside of a traditional framework (yes I am aware many (all?) of Musks own children were IVF. I am no Musk fanboy).
I certainly hope this is just my bias showing, but I have greater fear for Altman types running the show than Musks because they are a few extra steps removed from stake in future civilization. We know that Musk wants to preserve humanity for his children and his grandchildren. Can we be sure that's anymore than an abstract good for Altman?
I'd rather put my faith in Musks own "selfish" genes at the cost of knowing most of my descendants will eventually be his too than in a bachelor, not driven by fecund sexual biology, doing cool tech.
Every child Musk pops out is more the tightly intermingled his genetic future is with the rest of humanity's.
In Yud's oped, which I frankly think contains a lot of hysteria, mixed among a few decent points, he says this:
I'm unclear whether this is Yud's bio-kid or a step kid, but the point ressonates with my perspective of Elon Musk. A few days ago SA indicated a similar thing about a hypothetical kid(?)
In either case, I don't know about AI x-risk. I am much more worried about 2cimerafa's economic collapse risk. But in both scenarios I am increasingly of a perspective that I'll cheekily describe as "You shouldn't get to have a decision on AI development unless you have young children". You don't have enough stake.
I have growing distrust of those of you without bio-children eager or indifferent to building a successor race or exhaulting yourself through immortal transhumanist fancies.
To be honest, I fail to see the step(s) between "database on steroids aces tests made largely to test people remembering various shit" and "my daughter would be murdered before reaching adulthood".
I am not arguing about the likelihood of AI outcomes. Yud seems hysterical to me. But what do I know either way.
I am making the (apparently controversial) claim that I like the idea of someone who has the future of their children as a weight on their decision making algorithm when pursuing transformative technologies.
Well, it's not about being a prophet. Sure, maybe tomorrow a new pandemic sweeps the globe, or the Sweet Meteor of Death finally arrives, or those angels finally get to their musical exercises on their trumpets. I don't see how one could avoid such things, or predict them - unless one is a prophet, and those are rare nowdays. And I am not against "having the future of the children" as a weight. In fact, I am no longer spring chicken, but I plan to have (barring unpredictable accidents) several good decades ahead of me myself, so I also have some stake in the future. I just don't how we got from this to "my children are going to be murdered before adulthood". And while we're at that, if they are serious about it, why are they having children and why all they doing about it is bloviating? I am not advocating anything, Heavens forbid, but I mean, if they sincerely believe their children will not survive to adulthood, the intensity of their belief does not seem to match the intensity of their action. I guess it's a good thing for us, but still confusing for me.
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