Some of the world's most prominent minds have offered their thoughts on how AI will affect the world and it's often not a pretty sight, yet the man behind the famously eerie simulation theory has now proposed a potentially chilling future for everyone on Earth.
It's no surprise that many experts are concerned about the dangers that continued artificial intelligence development could bring about, with a group of scientists even proposing a horrific and realistic timeline that would see humanity eradicated in just five years time.
Jobs, the environment, and the ever-increasing intelligence of each model are among the primary concerns raised with AI, yet Nick Bostom – the man behind a theory that claims we're living in a simulation – has levied his own potentially dystopian projections of the future.
Who is Nick Bostrom?
Nick Bostrom initially became a big name in the tech world following his 2003 Philosophical Quarterly paper that theorized that we're all living in a simulation not too dissimilar from The Matrix films.
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He followed this up with two subsequent major theories, including one in 2014 that (now correctly) theorized that AI could become smarter than humans, and then another last year that questioned what would happen if AI managed to 'fix' everything.
This makes him a particularly fascinating figure to evaluate the current state of AI and how that could continue to manifest in the future, and he has proposed some wild theories both good and bad.
What has Bostrom said about AI?
As reported by Futurism, Bostrom revealed to the London Standard how 'impressed' he is at the speed at which his predictions are coming true alongside the rapid development of AI, adding that all signs point towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) being achieved very soon, effectively fulfilling what he wrote back in 2014.
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While he previously proposed that AI was a bigger threat to humanity than climate change, he has now suggested that the world's doom could come quicker than we think through some other method.
"There remains always the possibility that human civilization might destroy itself in some other way," Bostrom proposed, "such that we don't even get the chance to try our luck with superintelligence."
He has also leaned more towards the positive benefits of AI in recent times though, claiming now that "completely reorganizing society could be a positive thing."
One particular area that he believes would be beneficial, despite undoubtedly causing short-term pain, is the mass job losses that almost feel like an inevitability thanks to AI.
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"The goal is full unemployment," he proposed. "We'd need to find different bases for our self-worth and dignity and different ways of filling our lives and days, aside from having to work for a living.
"Ultimately, much greater space for human flourishing could be unlocked through advanced AI," Bostrom continued. "If things go well, people will look back on 2025 and shudder in horror at the lives we lived."
One way this could eventually manifest is through systems like universal high income that Elon Musk has previously proposed, which would give ever individual on Earth high earnings simply for existing as all other profits are generated by AI.
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Some understandably find this hard to believe in a world that's currently dominated by profits, and other key figures in the AI world have suggested that further advancements would only widen the wealth gap, and lead to fascism.