Ridley's thoughts on machine intelligence

Daniel_N

MemberOvomorphJune 13, 20121765 Views8 Replies

I'd be interested if anyone has some video or text on Ridley's philosophies regarding AI. The reason I want to know is that even in the '79 storyline there was conflicth with both the synthetic and the ship AI. Although Mother is a lesser articulated AI (perhaps) in both mind and communication with Ripley the rigid coldness of the machine is a definite theme- although her interface in a womblike terminal counteracts this.. lots of layers to this! The synthetic, since more advanced that David (supposedly- the production model in the future could actually be [i]inferor[/i] to David, and that synthetic if you take a few steps back actually operated in a much more narrow capacity. David's apparent lack of emotion still allows for mimicry of it to blend in with us... yet there are moments of conversation that would not be considered efficient unless David would suspect that being somewhat cruel to be better able to blend in. That is a stretch... especially when considering his contemplation of freedom. At least three or four times in the movie he is a smartass and even a bit cruel... he considers humans "you people" for example in a manner that expresses disdain. Although he refers to the engineers as a superior lifeform even if biological after knowing that they are like us and are clinicly destructive (like a machine). Obviously, the engineers do not share our enthusiasm of AI (what a hoot it would be if their makers are AI or evolved bios into some sort of hybrid) since the awakened engineer examined then reacted with disgust (an affront to biologic perfection?). In any case, I wonder if Ridley thinks machines will be cruel or at least have a cruel streak.. when taken in context of the movie then I wonder if this is simply due to the view that the universe begats cruelty and therefore of course they will be cruel. It's kind of worth talking about as we edge closer to creating machine intelligence every year.... inevitably it is going to happen.

Frantz
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June 13, 2012

you will never have machine intelligence ( imo ! ) ... you will have something that from the exterior will look as intelligence :p but will never be much more than a pre programmed code of conduct ( as deep and wide and randomized as it could be ) and in my view scott watch robots as robots ..so machines ...while the replicants of Bladerunner are just a tool to cast a different light on the human condition Both of Ash and of David the people use their heads just for the informations that are stored inside

David 1
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June 13, 2012

Hi, Daniel_N: That is a very interesting theme, and I'm quite sure Sir Ridley has a good interest in it [otherwise why making Blade Runner or Alien to begin with], but I'm not sure Sir Ridley ever made a full presentation of his Ideas concerning A.I. per se, other than the interviews of those above mentioned movies. If you ever do come across such presentations by Sir Ridley, do post them as I think they are of general interest. Kudus

[b]Ask nothing from no one. Demand nothing from no one. Expect nothing from no one.[/b]

Daniregald
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June 13, 2012

"In any case, I wonder if Ridley thinks machines will be cruel or at least have a cruel streak.." Humans portrayed just as much ability to be cruel as the Engineers/David. I don't think we can really differentiate us by them through this, which begs the question of how exactly we are any different from them.

Daniel_N
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June 13, 2012

Frantz we are probably going to create an intelligent machine in a timeline similar to what is laid out in the movie... [url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=human-brain-project-digital-simulation-neuron]Brain simulation[/url] [url=http://www.33rdsquare.com/2012/06/nanotechnology-used-to-reproduce.html]Nanotech neurons[/url] We already have a working model. Without your body you are just a pattern of electrical activity floating around in space! Unfortunately when we succeed we might drive it insane through lack of sensory input or not provide it enough feedback so that it just sits there even though it is capable of thought... it will probably reverse engineer itself with machine efficiency and become a superintelligence or godlike being. This event is known as the Technological Singularity... I've often thought that perhaps this happened in an "earlier" universe and the intelligence consumed all the matter and we're just running in a 'simulation' in its own 'mind'... the more we learn about the physical universe the more this becomes highly plausible ([url=http://www.simulation-argument.com/]Simulation Argument[/url]! ) In the long run, Daniregald, we would not be any different from them when considering our energy pattern would be carried around in bodies serviced by nanomachines etc... lots to think about. I was just curious because Ridley Scott seems to have a healthy wariness of such things.... although I am wondering if the cruel streak would be a developed thing or if it would be inherent according to him.. just curious.

Daniregald
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June 13, 2012

That's been something I dread to think about, haha. Despite the plethora of possibilities that technology can provide mankind, having it imbedded within us is disturbing. I'm not really sure if it's wariness though, because we are continually made to sympathize with synthetics/replicants. "All he’d wanted were the same answers the rest of us want: Where do I come from, where am I going, how long have I got?”. It's from Bladerunner, but I found it strikingly similar to how things were progressing in Prometheus. I'm not really ready to draw conclusions on how David is being portrayed until I get my hands on the translation for the confrontation with the Engineer. I think that's really the defining point between whether David's actions are a consequence of his programming.. our own doing. Or whether he has surpassed himself as our creation and is fully in control of his own path.

Tokyokid
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June 13, 2012

Well, some scientists hooked up a flight simulator to an ant's brain, which has somewhere around 100,000 neurons. That brain could keep the simulated plane level like a computerized or mechanical auto pilot. We are close to having working quantum computers that look at all potential solutions to a problem at once and provide the statistically correct answer. So, I think we will see significant advances in computing and brain power, but it may not be our brains. RS' questions are relevant. Processing power vs. soul. Machine vs. human. Which is better and why? Or, what is better at some things and worse at other? Compassion appears to a problem for both humans and machine, but it is obviously missing from almost all of RS' robots (and greedy corporations), with the exception of Rachel with implanted memories of Tyrell's daughter to make her compassionate and think she is human.

Svanya
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June 13, 2012

Well, I do have some actual insight on the matter. My brother's father-in-law works for IBM, originally programming the supercomputers way back when, he has been with them over 30 years. I asked him a few months ago if the robots/androids we love from sci-fi movies like Alien and A.I will ever be a reality and he laughed and said no. He gave a long and complex explanation, but the gist of it was, no matter how compact we are able to make a computer's componants, they will never be able to make them like a human brain, or give them any real/ functional A.I. as computer functions stay essentially the same regardless of how many years pass. We won't even be getting brainless butler robots... I was a very sad panda when he told me this. :(

Wat

BK3365
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June 14, 2012

There are some that have predicted that in the not too distant future technological intelligence will catch and pass human intelligence. In fact as Daniel states above the moment when this occurs is termed the Singularity. Additionally due to the continually increasing speed with which techno advances are occurring now, it is also specualted that once the Singularity happens the speed which techno intelligence continues to advance will be so fast that we will solve for problems that have spanned life times in seconds...eg. poverty, famine, cancer to name a few. Check out Ray Kurzweil or search Singularity.