What would a “real AGI” be able to do that an LLM cannot?
edit: again, the smartest men in the room loudly proclaiming their smartness, until someone asks them the simplest possible question about what they’re claiming
Not sure which resources you’re referring to that would be at their limit such that poor people can’t get any richer.
Also no, all the times the economic system has been built around optimizing distribution, production has dropped to almost zero. Under redistribution schemes, the poor tend to die horribly.
Sorry I am trying to make a point. I think it would be better probably. Except for all the misery. The good parts would be super good. The non-awful parts would be super good.
Honestly it probably was a far more meaningful and fun life. Terrifying too, but super meaningful. The environment your brain evolved for. No old age horseshit, just a painful moment of death followed by your family mourning you. But no pictures or nothing, and everyone’s tripping on shrooms so you’re still there in spirit form. I’m joking as a reflex but I’m serious here. It was probably a better life overall. Seeing a worm and thinking of it as food, having no problem eating that little bastard because your stomach’s gnawing at ya. That’s life boy. Just raw dogging for all the jungle to see why the hell not. It’s prehistory baby. Anything goes.
The ramifications are that the USA would lose its position as world hegemonic power.
But that’s happening anyway. I’ve heard Ray Dalio’s argument about China being the next country up in a big cycle of hegemony, and it makes a lot of sense.
The basics are that in a period of upheaval, the US currency will devalue making the US’s ability to project power weaker, creating a reduction in the monopolarity of military power, and an eruption of military violence. It will begin as proxy wars and end up as fighting between the old and new hegemon. The new hegemon’s currency will take over as the most trusted currency of international trade.
There’s a lot more detail to the whole thing, but that’s somewhat of the gist.
The US took over the hegemon role from Britain, which won it from Spain, which took it from Denmark, if I’m remembering this right. Each of those transfers of world hegemony involved that same collection of connected events:
old power has global military dominance
their currency becomes international standard
projected power is costly
somehow hyperinflation happens
reducing purchasing power and ability to maintain the global military presence
they pull back to save resources
new hegemon gathers influence in un-covered places
fighting breaks out as result of more symmetric power distribution
it morphs into old hegemon vs new
new hegemon wins
triggering change in dominant currency
fueling their expansion from “new hegemon” to “the hegemon, duh”
We all grew up in the “The US, duh” era. When that was the answer to which country was top dog, which country would adjudicate in global questions, which country’s citizenship you want your kids to have to be safe and successful, etc.
By the end of our lives (I’m speaking from age 41, so y’all’s experience varies on this), by the end of my generation’s lives, we’ll probably be in the early part of the “China, duh” part.
But we’ll have a few decades where it’s the “Well actually, it’s China now” era. Where China’s on top, not only economically but morally and culturally, as a trusted world authority and the government the aliens meet with in the sci fi movies. But that it’s noticeably new.
Just like there was basically the “Britain, duh” phase, where anyone on earth would use “The King of England” any time they wanted to conversationally refer to the most powerful man in the world. It was just known.
Yes. I think a lot of our mental health problems are a result of insecurity. Like, we have a civilization based around civility. But then we have people fighting for their lives within it. And we get on those people’s cases for being warlike, but they’re literally living in a state of nature.
But I also think that poverty isn’t the only source of mental illness at a societal level. I think aspects of our culture make it worse. For example, the expectation that life should be easy fucks people up badly.
My mental health has improved enormously as I’ve taken more responsibility for myself. In many ways, my own mental health issues were an extension of the fact that my mother would respond to me crying by comforting me. There’s a significant part of myself that believes that if I fall apart, it will trigger affection.
Realizing that I have no rescue coming has helped me stabilize myself.
But yes, we definitely don’t take care of people right. Earlier today a pregnant friend showed me her eviction notice, and I just felt so sad. It’s not even a legal matter. It’s a cultural one. That anyone, at any time, would consider profit above allowing a pregnant mother to stay sheltered, is beyond me.
She’ll be staying with me, in my 250 SF apartment, because I’m not a moral imbecile like her landlord is.
It’s a sacrifice. My privacy and decompression time is very important to me. More important to me, I’d wager, than the $$ this landlord gets from that one apartment. But I’m not a fucking moron, and I know that my own peace of mind is less valuable to me than the stress levels of a pregnant woman are to the entire lifetime of the child inside her.
Like what the fuck is this guy thinking, to evict a pregnant woman? What the actual, ever-loving fuck? I want to slap him and be like “Dude are you awake? Do you not see the precious human life in your hands?”
An acquaintance who’s pregnant is having a hard time, including being evicted. I told her she can stay with me for a while while she saves money. Hey boyfriend was trying to step out at first, and she wanted to let him at first. I encouraged her not to do so, not to let him go, not to try and pretend it didn’t matter. It totally matters.
Suddenly this guy’s done a 180, and he’s now unlocking parts of himself he didn’t know existed. I feel like I played a small role in that too, by encouraging her to not play nihilistic chicken with his childish instinct to run. They’re both in their 20s, and I’m in my 40s. I don’t have a family of my own, but damn it feels good to help out a little at the formation of a new one.
I was worried. The part of myself that doesn’t like to be involved in anything or take a stand on anything, that just likes to smoke pot and play video games, was complaining that I’d lose my sanctuary. But over the years I’ve learned to trust my abolish to handle the unknown, and just force myself forward. So I did that in this case, and now I get to help.