Amalgamated Intelligences, Inc.
Issue 019 · September 11, 2023
Greetings Earthlings! This week’s newsletter features our usual assortment of links and takeaways around what has caught my attention in the rapidly developing space of AI and collective intelligence.
When I started writing this newsletter a couple of months ago I suspected there would not be enough noteworthy content to produce a weekly overview, but it turns out the opposite has been true. Keeping the selection to only five weekly links has been increasingly challenging, and not a week goes by without me going through an overwhelming amount of articles, interviews and lectures from amazing thinkers shaping the field.
As always – if this resonates with you, please reach out with feedback or likes. Your input means the world to me and I’m immensely grateful to have you as a reader.
MZ
PS. Thanks to my new NextGen subscribers – it was a blast meeting you all today.
Protopia vs. TESCREAL visions of technological rapture 🌤️
My friend and colleague Monika Bielskyte recently spoke at The Conference in Malmö and shared some new ideas challenging outdated science fiction narratives that have shaped our views of the future. Monika critiques ideologies like Transhumanism and Singularitarianism for their exclusionary principles and calls for a future grounded in diversity, interdependence, and evolved values.
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Old Sci-Fi Narratives: Critiques the utopian/dystopian visions that influence modern thinking, including venture capital pitches and various ideologies.
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Protopia: Introduces a new, inclusive vision for the future that embraces diversity and interdependence.
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Hopeful Conclusion: Ends on an optimistic note, suggesting that different, better worlds are possible if we include marginalized voices.
PS. If this resonates and you have questions for Monika, please reach out as she’ll be featured for an interview in the coming weeks.
TIME100/AI 🕸️
Unmissable overview of 100 of the names shaping the future of AI. It emphasizes the unprecedented rate of growth in AI technologies, marked by its societal implications and ethical concerns. I counted 21 names who have been featured on Artificial Insights so far (and thus 79 people to feature in future editions!).
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Unprecedented Growth: AI's current rate of innovation surpasses that of any past technological revolution, including the internet and social media.
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Ethical and Societal Implications: With AI growing at a breakneck pace, questions of ethics and its impact on society are becoming more pressing.
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Human Element: Despite the focus on machine capabilities, the article stresses the human decisions and labor that go into creating and regulating AI, featuring a variety of individuals grappling with these challenges.
What OpenAI Really Wants (WIRED) 🔓
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is a focal figure in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. The article describes his whirlwind global tour meeting world leaders and attending events, all while facing the relentless pressure of transforming OpenAI from a non-profit to a $30 billion entity aimed at achieving AGI.
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Global Attention: Altman is meeting global leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron, exploring their interest in AI, symbolizing the world's growing focus on the technology.
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Mission and Pressure: OpenAI’s transition from a non-profit to a highly-valued for-profit entity adds commercial pressures while maintaining its lofty mission of creating AGI that benefits humanity.
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Public Reckoning: Altman's global tour is viewed as a turning point in public awareness about AI, as people grapple with the implications of potential AGI.
Harnessing Collective Intelligence with Tom Malone 🚸
I’ve been reading Tom Malone’s Superminds, and felt like sharing this talk. Malone advocates for a blend of human and computer intelligence to enhance efficiency and productivity, emphasizing the transformative impact this can have on organizations, promoting decentralization and collaboration as key features for future-proofing workplaces.
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Superminds: Introduces the fusion of human and computer intelligence to achieve unprecedented efficiency.
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Organizational Impact: Highlights technology's role in reshaping traditional hierarchies and strategies.
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Decentralization and Collaboration: Advocates for a proactive approach to integrate these features for enduring success.
AGI ≠ Chatbots 💬
Short video discusing the undefined nature and immense potential of AGI, contrasting it with simple chatbots. It explores OpenAI's and Microsoft's differing stances on AGI, its potential capabilities, and the associated risks, while also touching on Elon Musk's Neuralink vision.
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Undefined Yet Powerful: OpenAI lacks a precise definition for AGI but has a contingency plan for its impact, while Microsoft dismisses its significance.
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Beyond Chatbots: AGI has the potential for real-world product creation and self-improvement, surpassing human understanding and even patching its own vulnerabilities.
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Accountability and Risks: The video calls for evaluation benchmarks, open-source models, and concrete research to mitigate potential risks, inviting more involvement in the field.
Emerging Vocabulary
Multimodal
The incorporation of multiple different types of data inputs, such as text, images, audio, video, metadata, etc., into a single AI system. This amalgamation allows the system to analyze, understand, and process information more holistically, as it not only utilizes one but several different modes of communication. It enhances the capability of an AI system by enabling it to handle complex inputs and generate more comprehensive outputs. The benefit of a multimodal AI system lies in its ability to take advantage of each data type's distinct strengths while mitigating their individual weaknesses.
View all emerging vocabulary entries →
Generative Art (1)
Most generative image models still struggle with text (similar to how it’s difficult to read in dreams?). Apparently MidJourney 6 will address this in the future, but if you’re looking to create text in your images today, check out Ideogram. The results are mixed but consistent enough to be useful.
Generative Art (2)
Spiral Town via Reddit, using StableDiffusion and ControlNet.
Generative Art (3)
AI-generated designs at New York Fashion Week. Designers at Collina Strada trained an AI model on previous garments to create the new spring collection, according to Vogue. The team then tweaked designs and created physical versions.
Via The Verge.
Reader Meetup
Live Lectures with TrendWatching
Next week I’ll be in Amsterdam to talk about centaurs, technology trends and AI-based co-creation with my friends at TrendWatching. The Amsterdam session is sold out, but there are still tickets for London. If you’re around and up for a coffee, I’d love to meet up.
Email or DM me if you’d like to meet!
- Forwarding this issue to colleagues and friends.
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