My daughter is 21 months old. I love her more than anything and want her to develop into the best version of herself. Let's say I can press a button and give her perfect command of English. Another button gives her expert-level command of advanced mathematics. Perfect hand-eye coordination. Emotional self-regulation. Empathy. Etc. Keep listing every desirable trait and skill you can think of. Hit a button. Suddenly she has it.
I would not press it.
Yes, if LLMs can do all everything I listed, I'll be impressed. I'll also want nothing to do with any of it.
As I wrote in another comment, I want mathematicians -- in their current form, doing work as they traditionally have -- just as I want writers, philosophers, etc, because this is a better world that makes people better.
OpenAI's proofs do not make people better. They do not make our lives or work meaningful. Quite the contrary. OpenAI has clear-cut and salted fields that people have been painstakingly, lovingly sowing and cultivating for generations -- profoundly ugly actions that do real harm to some of the best of what people are and have produced.
If I were a person willing to hit that button and 'upgrade' my daughter, I don't know whether I'd be able to live with myself. I'd feel as though I'd killed her or at least done profound, unforgivable violence to her. She deserves the chance to grow into the best version of herself. What companies like OpenAI are doing is, if their plans pan out, at least as horrifying. It isn't progress. It isn't good for people.
We're not taking about attachment to old ways. We're talking about attachment to human value.
I would not press it.
Yes, if LLMs can do all everything I listed, I'll be impressed. I'll also want nothing to do with any of it.
As I wrote in another comment, I want mathematicians -- in their current form, doing work as they traditionally have -- just as I want writers, philosophers, etc, because this is a better world that makes people better.
OpenAI's proofs do not make people better. They do not make our lives or work meaningful. Quite the contrary. OpenAI has clear-cut and salted fields that people have been painstakingly, lovingly sowing and cultivating for generations -- profoundly ugly actions that do real harm to some of the best of what people are and have produced.
If I were a person willing to hit that button and 'upgrade' my daughter, I don't know whether I'd be able to live with myself. I'd feel as though I'd killed her or at least done profound, unforgivable violence to her. She deserves the chance to grow into the best version of herself. What companies like OpenAI are doing is, if their plans pan out, at least as horrifying. It isn't progress. It isn't good for people.
We're not taking about attachment to old ways. We're talking about attachment to human value.