X-Message-Number: 24114 From: "Tyler Emerson" <> Subject: The SIAI Voice by the Singularity Institute - May 2004 Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 13:18:33 -0500 The SIAI Voice . May 2004 Bulletin of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence A nonprofit and community for humane AI research http://www.singinst.org/ To view the online version: http://www.singinst.org/news/newsletter.html To receive the bulletin by email every other month: http://www.singinst.org/news/subscribe.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTENTS 1. 2004 Website Campaign 2. 2004 Challenge Grant Challenge 3. Executive Director - Tyler Emerson 4. Advocacy Director - Michael Anissimov 5. Featured Content: What is the Singularity? 6. Donors for March and April 7. Singularity Institute FAQ 8. AI Project Update 9. New at our Website 10. Volunteer Contributions 11. Volunteer Meeting 12. Volunteer Opportunities 13. Q&A with Eliezer Yudkowsky 14. Singularity Statement from Anders Sandberg 15. Singularity Quote from Ray Kurzweil 16. Events - Transvision 2004 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first bulletin from the Singularity Institute. We hope you find it valuable. Comments on what we've done well, poorly, or have missed, are welcomed. We graciously ask to know what you would like from our updates in the coming months. Thank you for giving time to explore the Institute. Tyler Emerson (417) 840-5968 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. 2004 WEBSITE CAMPAIGN 3 Laws Unsafe will be a website campaign from SIAI. The campaign will tie in to the July 16th release of "I, Robot," the feature film based on Isaac Asimov's short story collection of the same name where his 3 Laws of Robotics were first introduced. The 3 Laws of Robotics represent a popular view of how to construct moral AI, and their failures were often explored by Isaac Asimov in his stories. What we hope to do is advance the Asimov tradition of deconstructing the 3 Laws. We want to encourage critical, technical thinking on whether they're real solutions to moral AI creation. If you can contribute to the success of 3 Laws Unsafe, email We're especially looking for graphic and site designers who can create the site in blog format, promoters who can help ensure that it has a high search engine ranking for keyword combinations related to the film, and writers who can submit content. This project is urgent because of the film's early July release. Our deepest thanks to everyone who contributes to its success. 3 Laws Unsafe > http://www.singinst.org/asimovlaws.html Ways to Contribute > http://www.singinst.org/action/opportunities.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. 2004 CHALLENGE GRANT CHALLENGE The Singularity Institute is now seeking major donors to provide matching funds for our $10,000 Challenge Grant Challenge for Research Fellow Eliezer Yudkowsky - one of the leading experts on the singularity and the development of moral AI. Major donors to the Challenge Grant Challenge will match any donations up to $10,000, resulting in $20,000 in possible donations. Once the pledges for matching donations are secured, the Challenge Grant itself will run for 90 days. Donors may pledge by emailing or phoning (404) 550-3847. Our sincere thanks to the first major donor, Jason Joachim, who has pledged $2,000. All funds go toward a subsistence salary for Yudkowsky so that he may continue his critical research on the theory of Friendly AI - the cornerstone of our AI project that must be sufficiently complete before the project can responsibly begin. For more on the value of Yudkowsky's research, see: The Necessity of Friendly AI > http://www.singinst.org/friendly/why-friendly.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - TYLER EMERSON On March 4, 2004, the Singularity Institute announced Tyler Emerson as our Executive Director. Emerson will be responsible for guiding the Institute. His focus is in nonprofit management, marketing, relationship fundraising, leadership and planning. He will seek to cultivate a larger and more cohesive community that has the necessary resources to develop Friendly AI. He can be reached at More > http://www.singinst.org/about.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. ADVOCACY DIRECTOR - MICHAEL ANISSIMOV On April 7, 2004, the Singularity Institute announced Michael Anissimov as our Advocacy Director. Michael has been an active volunteer for two years, and one of the more prominent voices in the singularity community. He is committed and thoughtful, and we feel fortunate to have him help lead our advocacy. In 2004 and beyond, Michael will represent SIAI at key conferences, engage in outreach efforts to communities and individuals, and perform writing tasks for conveying the Institute's mission to a wider audience. He can be reached at More > http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. FEATURED CONTENT: WHAT IS THE SINGULARITY? The singularity is the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence. There are several technologies that are often mentioned as heading in this direction. The most commonly mentioned is probably Artificial Intelligence, but there are others: direct brain-computer interfaces, biological augmentation of the brain, genetic engineering, ultra-high-resolution scans of the brain followed by computer emulation. Some of these technologies seem likely to arrive much earlier than the others, but there are nonetheless several independent technologies all heading in the direction of the singularity - several different technologies which, if they reached a threshold level of sophistication, would enable the creation of smarter-than-human intelligence. More > http://www.singinst.org/what-singularity.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. DONORS FOR MARCH AND APRIL We offer our deepest gratitude to the following donors. They realize the extraordinary utility of the Singularity Institute's pursuit: responsible intelligence enhancement, a Friendly singularity, through Friendly AI research. They have taken that very crucial step of financial support for SIAI's research. Whether it is $10 or $1,000, more or less, one time or each month, we ask that each in-principle supporter become a regular donor. Major Contributions: * Edwin Evans $7,000 * Mikko Rauhala $1,200 Periodic Contributions: * Jason Abu-Aitah $10 (monthly) * David Hansen $100 (monthly) * Jason Joachim $150 (monthly) * Aaron McBride $10 (monthly) * Ashley Thomas $10 (monthly) One-Time Contributions: * Anonymous $200 * Michael Wilson $200 Donate to the Singularity Institute > http://www.singinst.org/donate.html Why Even Small Donations Matter > http://www.singinst.org/small-donations-matter.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. SINGULARITY INSTITUTE FAQ Q: Why does your current research focus on Artificial Intelligence? A: Artificial Intelligence is easiest to get started on by comparison with, say, neuroelectronics. Artificial Intelligence is easier to leverage - in our estimate, a small to medium-sized organization potentially can do more to advance Artificial Intelligence than to advance neuroelectronics. Furthermore, given the relative rates of progress in the underlying technologies, our current best guess is that Artificial Intelligence will be developed before brain-computer interfaces; hence, to accelerate the singularity, one should accelerate the development of Artificial Intelligence; to protect the integrity of the singularity, one should protect the integrity of Artificial Intelligence (i.e., Friendly AI). Singularity strategy is a complex question which requires considering not just the development rate of one technology, but the relative development rates of different technologies and the relative amount by which different technologies can be accelerated or influenced. At this time Artificial Intelligence appears to be closer to being developed, to be more easily accelerable, to require fewer resources to initiate a serious project, and to offer more benefit from interim successes. If the Singularity Institute had enough resources to fully support multiple projects, we would branch out; but until then, it seems wise to focus research efforts on one project. More > http://www.singinst.org/institute-faq.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. AI PROJECT UPDATE The centerpiece of the SIAI's effort to bring about a Friendly singularity is an upcoming software development project. The aim is to produce the world's first artificial general intelligence; a Friendly "seed AI." To do this we will employ the most advanced theoretical framework for seed AI available, the architecture derived from, but much more comprehensive and sophisticated, than that described in "Levels of Organization in General Intelligence." As of May 2004, this framework is close to completion, but a great deal of work remains to be done on the associated Friendliness theory. It is the policy of the Singularity Institute to not initiate a project with a major potential for existential risk until it has been proven that the net result will be a positive one for all of humanity. Fortunately we have made strong progress with a formal theory of Friendliness (the document "Creating Friendly AI" describes an informal precursor) and will continue to develop it until it's complete enough to allow project initiation. Although we are not yet ready to start building Friendly AI, we are close enough to begin forming the development team. At present, we have two confirmed team members, including Eliezer Yudkowsky. The SIAI is now actively searching for Singularitarians with software engineering and cognitive science expertise to join the development team. Volunteers who make the grade may be able to start work on a part or full-time basis immediately. The search for suitable Friendly AI developers is a top priority for SIAI. If you believe you may be suitable or know of someone who may, please read "Team member requirements" and then consider getting in touch at We are searching for nothing less than the core team to fulfill our mission; we need the very best we can find. Team member requirements > http://www.sl4.org/bin/wiki.pl?SoYouWantToBeASeedAIProgrammer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9. NEW AT OUR WEBSITE About Us Page Updated >> http://www.singinst.org/about.html Read about our mission, board, staff and accomplishments Chat >> http://www.singinst.org/chat Access our volunteer chat room through the Java applet Singularity Quotes >> http://www.singinst.org/comments/quotes.html Quotes from Vernor Vinge, Ray Kurzweil, Hans Moravec and more Tell Others about the Singularity Institute >> http://www.singinst.org/tell-others.html Spread the knowledge - open the opportunity - to your email circle Become a Singularity Volunteer >> http://www.singinst.org/volunteer.html Contribute your time and talent to a safe singularity Why We Need Friendly AI >> http://www.singinst.org/friendly/why-friendly.html Why Moore's Law is no friend to Friendly AI research Donations Page Updated >> http://www.singinst.org/donate.html Contributions may be made monthly or yearly Feedback >> http://www.singinst.org/feedback.html Your comments, questions and suggestions are welcomed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10. VOLUNTEER CONTRIBUTIONS The notable progress made in March and April was possible because of considerable volunteer help. We especially want to thank Christian Rovner, who made tangible progress each week for eight weeks. It is no lie to feel blessed to have him with SIAI. Special thanks to these individuals for their effort: Michael Roy Ames, Joshua Amy, Michael Anissimov, Nick Hay, Manny Halos, Shilpa Kukunooru, Tommy McCabe, Tyrone Pow, and Chris Rovner. View Contributions > http://www.singinst.org/action/contributions.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES We believe that W. Clement Stone's aphorism "Tell everyone what you want to do and someone will want to help you do it" will hold true for our charitable mission. If you can contribute this year, please email View Opportunities > http://www.singinst.org/action/opportunities/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12. WEEKLY VOLUNTEER MEETING The Singularity Institute hosts a chat meeting for volunteers every Sunday at 7 PM EST (GMT-5). The Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server is singinst.org, port 6667; chat room #siaiv. Each meeting revolves around planning and action. More > http://www.singinst.org/chat/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 13. Q&A WITH ELIEZER YUDKOWSKY It seems that you're trying to achieve an AI with the philosophical complexity roughly equal to or beyond that of, e.g., Mohandas Gandhi, Siddhartha Gautama, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Do these individuals represent to you the "heart" of humanity? What they represent to me are moral archetypes, not just of selflessness but of moral reason, of moral philosophy. Whether they were really as good as their PR suggests is a separate issue, not that I'm suggesting they weren't - just that it doesn't quite matter. The key point is that we ourselves recognize that there is such a thing as greater and lesser altruism, and greater and lesser wisdom of moral argument, and that from this recognition proceeds our respect of those who embody the greater altruism and the greater wisdom. There is something to strive for - an improvement that can be perceived as "improvement" even by those who are not at that level; a road that is open to those not already at the destination. Anyone who can recognize Gandhi as an ideal, and not just someone with strangely different goals, is someone who occupies a common moral frame of reference with Gandhi, but less advanced in terms of content, despite a shared structure. So what the statement "Put the heart of humanity into a Friendly AI" symbolizes is the idea of moral improvement, and the idea that a Friendly AI can improve to or beyond levels that we recognize as ideal levels (e.g., the level of a moral philosopher or of Martin Luther King Jr.). More > http://www.singinst.org/yudkowsky/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 14. SINGULARITY STATEMENT FROM ANDERS SANDBERG Anders Sandberg, Science Director, Eudoxa: The research of SIAI is essentially a bold attempt to explore Smale's 18th problem: What are the limits of intelligence, both artificial and human? (S. Smale, Mathematical Problems for the Next Century, Mathematical Intelligence, Spring '98.) Developing a theory for how intelligent systems can improve the way they solve problems has both practical and theoretical importance. SIAI is also one of few organisations devoted to the study of general motivational systems and how they might be designed to achieve desired behavior - another open-ended issue of great practical and ethical importance. More > http://www.singinst.org/comments/statements.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 15. SINGULARITY QUOTE FROM RAY KURZWEIL Ray Kurzweil, "The Law of Accelerating Returns," 2001: http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0134.html?printable=1 People often go through three stages in examining the impact of future technology: awe and wonderment at its potential to overcome age old problems, then a sense of dread at a new set of grave dangers that accompany these new technologies, followed, finally and hopefully, by the realization that the only viable and responsible path is to set a careful course that can realize the promise while managing the peril. More > http://www.singinst.org/comments/quotes.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 16. EVENTS - TRANSVISION 2004 The World Transhumanist Association's annual event, TransVision, will be held at the University of Toronto from August 6th-8th, 2004. The Singularity Institute is fortunate to be a sponsor of TransVision, and will have members attending or giving presentations. Proposal submissions for the conference are being accepted until June 1st. Registration costs range from $100 to $150. Conference speakers include: * Steve Mann, Inventor of the wearable computer * Stelarc, Renowned Australian artist * Howard Bloom, Author of The Lucifer Principle * James Hughes, Author of Cyborg Democracy * Nick Bostrom, Chair of the World Transhumanist Association * Natasha Vita-More, President of the Extropy Institute * Aubrey de Grey, Cofounder of the Methuselah Mouse Prize Transvision 2004 > http://www.transhumanism.org/tv/2004/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The SIAI Voice is produced by the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence. The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for the pursuit of Friendly AI and responsible intelligence enhancement - a mission of immense potential. Since intelligence determines how well problems are solved, the responsible enhancement of intelligence - a safe singularity - will make difficult problems, such as the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's and AIDS, much easier to solve. If intelligence is improved greatly, every humanitarian problem we face will be more amenable to solution. Because AI is positioned to be the first technology to enhance intelligence significantly, SIAI concentrates on the research and development of humane AI. By solely pursuing a beneficial singularity, the Institute presents the rare opportunity for rational philanthropy. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For comments or questions, contact us at (404) 550-3847, , or visit our website: http://www.singinst.org/ The movement for a safe singularity advances by word of mouth. If you believe what we do is valuable, it's vital that you do tell others. Share the Bulletin > http://www.singinst.org/tell-others.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24114