So, in my earlier blog I mentioned
about the year 2012, and the coincidence of generative algorithm and CRISPR
Cas9, as also add to it the doomed year mayan prediction, apocalyptic movie 2012
so on. It’s quite clear that generative algorithms have potential to create serious
havoc in the society, keep in mind how humanity was found wanting to deal primitive
recommender algorithm. Generative AI can be pernicious as it weaponize misinformation,
disinformation, trust on which facts are exchanged and opinions shared. What is
seen as amusing tech toy has potential to create devastating dilution of
democratic institutions and fragile setup of social contract on which society
hinges. Crispr tech is equally significant, it has revolutionized the dealing with
life form, that has amazing benefits and also potential to create havoc -specifically
tampering germ cells that can alter offspring as also cripsr gene drive -that can
wipe out whole specie (ofcourse fast breeding short life cycle species). These are
as significant as atomic energy. There was a world before atomic energy and then world after atomic energy. The world was not the same again. Humanity has acquired the potential to
annihilate itself (ofcourse there are benefits of nuclear energy). The world
also changed in 2012. There was a world before generative AI and Crispr tech. There
is a world after Generative AI and Crispr tech. So that is an interesting
coincidence, as also the call by developers of both these tech to stall.
There is another coincidence that
really spooked me, this after I watched AlphaGo about five years back, I even
wrote about it in the comment section but failed to get traction so ignored it (as
also living in a herd churning world which overwhelmingly values nonsensical
crude miracles, herd riveting divine crap, religion driven hallucinations/faith,
holy book fantastical trash, cheap entertainments that nurture these so on, I was
reluctant to pursue this interesting coincidence). In the recent time the
spookiness of move 37 is back in the scrutiny so thought of writing about it. In
the second GO (a game so complex
that there are more possible configurations for pieces than atoms in the
observable universe) match of DeepMind’s AlphaGo with
Seedol the move 37 in 2nd game was out of the world, Go master Fan Hui said “It’s not a human move. I’ve never
seen a human play this move. So beautiful.” (you must see the documentary
to get the full impact of the move). The move was counterintuitive that even
experts thought it was a mistake but eventually turned out to be decisive, as a
commentator wrote insightfully “move 37 condenses the complex undecidability of machine
creativity into a single moment”. “The position is not as absurd as it
might sound, especially when one considers that Darwinian natural selection is
purposeless, directionless, and creatorless, yet it is the most creative force
known to science”. This was much before ChatGPT so few us, nontechs,
were aware of something incredible in the horizon. Now, I do follow chess (quite an average
player and add to it impulsive tendencies, in recent times atrocious, and I do a
replay analysis to study my deteriorating brain! Interestingly I play few games
of chess before writing my blog to get into logical serious thinking frame
while if I play chess after writing some prose I play wonderfully bad!) and I recall
tracking DeepBlue Vs Kasparov in 1996-97, and much discussed match that
was won by DeepBlue, not many recall but it was the 2nd game 37th move, the
Bishop c2-e4 -the positional move, not the expected materialistic move from ‘machine’
-Queen f2-b6, that was the most discussed, and for many beginning of AI -optimizing
problem to maximize objective function. I also recall reading an article ‘From DeepBlue
to DeepMind’ few years tracing the development of AI.
