Re: AI's at risk from viral memes ??

From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Sun Sep 16 2001 - 17:34:33 MDT


Adrian `Guru Zeb` Harper wrote:
>
> No doubt this topic has been discussed at various times on this list, but
> i'll share my thought all the same.
> If an AI was constructed, and said AI was truly sentient, self aware,
> possessing the ability of independent thought.
> How could we guarantee that such an AI would not become infected with the
> same religious viral memes that afflict so
> many humans.

Because the AI wouldn't have the brainware emotional support for
infection, unless someone specifically designed an AI that operated that
way. The vast majority of memes and all the most pernicious ones are not
replicating rational constructs, they are replicating irrational
constructs that cannot exist apart from the irrationality. The
"irrationality" is not resource limitation, but specific, evolved features
of the human emotional set and cognitive architecture.

-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence



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