Today in AI Risk History: The Terminator (1984 film) was released.

post by Impassionata · 2022-06-09T01:32:10.570Z · LW · GW · 6 comments

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6 comments

On this day in 1984, a film by James Cameron was released popularizing many of the ideas written extensively in science fiction at that time.

You have to ask yourself, if you're capable of developing theories about future risks of AI, how can you best and most effectively combat such an AI?

James Cameron knew how! Popular culture is an important and effective way to seed ideas for the next generation. I don't think he gets enough credit for this work, which is, admittedly, a thankless business.

Rather like being on the side of the road with a cardboard sign: "The end is near." The thanklessness just comes with the territory.

The cardboard sign people have a certain amount of grace. The medium is the message, after all.

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comment by Impassionata · 2022-06-09T01:32:34.806Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

It's come to my attention that The Terminator (1984 film) was not actually released on this day in 1984.  I apologize for the error. 

comment by avturchin · 2022-06-09T06:09:14.279Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Colossus from 1970 is more realistic. Terminator requires time travel to stop AI, which is implausible. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus:_The_Forbin_Project

Replies from: JBlack, Impassionata
comment by JBlack · 2022-06-09T07:10:51.299Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Time travel to stop AI is probably more believable than being able to stop unfriendly self-replicating AGI without time travel.

Replies from: avturchin
comment by avturchin · 2022-06-09T07:15:45.355Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Logically, it will not be stopped by time-travel, as it will remain in the another time-line of the universe. But now you have your own time-line without AI, so it is net win.

Replies from: carey-underwood
comment by cwillu (carey-underwood) · 2022-06-09T07:52:13.211Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Obligatory link to “Branches on the Tree of Time”: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/9658524/1/

comment by Impassionata · 2022-06-09T21:38:25.050Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Implausible... but perhaps not impossible.