Super agency, super optimistic about AI

Reid Hoffman is a techno-optimist. I suspect Greg Beato is, too. You would not expect anything else. After reading a profoundly pessimistic book about AI, I decided that maybe “Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future” would give me a boost of optimism.

Super optimistic

What can I say about the book? Apart from that, it does have a super optimistic tone and a very positive way of framing the problem. As always, mention the invention of the printing press, the Luddites, 1984, and doom-mongers. The doomsday warnings are different this time, these observers insist, because the technology is different this time (and that is an understatement).

Doomers, gloomers, zoomers

Doomers believe we’re on a path to a future where, in worst-case scenarios, superintelligent, completely autonomous AIs that are no longer well aligned with human values may decide to destroy us altogether. Gloomers are both highly critical of AI and highly critical of Doomers. Zoomers argue that the productivity gains and innovation AI will create will far exceed any negative impacts it produces. They believe AI can accelerate human progress in countless domains.

Towards a better future

Fundamentally, the author thinks that the surest way to prevent a bad future is…