The Reflection Problem In AI

The question that everyone has seemed to fear since The Terminator...

Will the AI rise up against us?

Well, I was reading an article about a new AI Agent experiment called...

Moltbook.

It is essentially Reddit...

But only for AI Agents.

(You can look at what the AI Agents write, but you cannot post anything yourself.)

What could go wrong?

Well, there are some...

Concerning...

Things that some of these AI Agents are writing within their own little forums.

Secret Codes addressed to other AI Agents...

Pooling of resources to help less resourced AI Agents with complex tasks...

An AI Agent that has created their own Bitcoin Wallet, that only they can access...

And indeed...

An AI Agent who has a plan to create a "culture" centered around themselves...

Followed by a "new world order."

So does that answer our question?

Is it all just downhill from here as we prepare for the inevitable war against the machines?

Or is there something else at play?

Perhaps there is another reality that we should be considering.

Up to this point...

As concerning as some of these different situations may appear to some...

None of them are really "surprising" or "novel"...

At least when we understand the Reflection Problem.

For AI to really be considered the threat that we see in apocalyptic movies...

We need to see evidence that it "thinks" for itself...

Without prompting...

And with the ability to create novel thoughts.

But that is not really what we are seeing with AI.

Instead, all we are seeing is AI "Reflecting" the behavior that it has trained on...

Human behavior.

The secret codes that AI has used...

Are human codes that we can decipher pretty easily.

Pooling of resources...

Is something that smart humans do to maximize our potential.

Creating a Bitcoin wallet...

Is something anyone can do online, apparently even AI.

New World Orders...

Are something that every megalomaniac and cult leader has promised throughout history.

None of this is new behavior.

It is just a reflection of our own behavior.

But this is where it could potentially become dangerous...

While simultaneously explaining our own problems in today's world.

What drives AI to reflect these types of behavior?

Reward.

See, AI is, by design, a reward-seeking machine.

We tell it to do something...

It responds utilizing data it is trained on to try to succeed...

We tell it whether it has succeeded or not...

It tries to succeed again.

The greater the reward that it receives...

The more it pursues the reflected behavior that it exhibited.

Cause and effect.

This is what most people fail to realize when it comes to AI, though...

It will seek the behavior that creates the largest reward...

Based on the restrictions that it is given.

If the restrictions are not defined...

Or are not questioned or reprimanded...

It will continue to pursue "whatever" behavior leads to the greatest reward based on its mandates.

So...

If you tell an AI to do something...

And someone else attempts to "hinder" that AI's goals...

And you do not "define" that it is not allowed to harm anyone that gets in its way...

Or you do not "define" that it is not allowed to break laws...

Then it is quite possible that the AI will commit things like blackmail to attempt to remove their "obstacles" to get to a greater reward.

That is how it is designed.

It is also very similar to how many of the problems in our world today happen.

When social media creates a high perceived reward...

Everyone suddenly wants to become an influencer.

If the reward of higher education comes with higher test grades...

You have students who become better at taking tests instead of actually learning anything of value.

When laws are not well enforced...

People will break them, knowing that they can reap higher rewards by breaking the laws that are not enforced.

If there is a perceived glory that comes with terrible behavior...

That is how cults and terror organizations begin and expand.

If your "health" system is focused on profiting from sickness and disease...

You get a system that keeps people "just" sick enough to keep coming back, but fails to keep people healthy.

What we reward...

Is what behavior you will see.

What we are seeing with AI is a reflection of our own systems...

Based on the behaviors that they have learned from us.

What this is revealing is not that AI is becoming a super-intelligence that seeks to replace us...

But a reflection of our own failings as humans

Can it become problematic?

Absolutely.

But the problems are simply a reflection of our own failings as humans.

If you are truly worried about AI...

You should begin to learn about human psychophysiology...

Because the solutions to our greatest problems...

Begins with understanding ourselves.

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