THE GOOD NEWS
'More intelligence will lead to better everything'
In 1999, I predicted computers would pass the Turing test [and be indistinguishable from human beings] by 2029. Stanford University found that alarming, and organised an international conference experts came from all over the world. They mostly agreed that it would happen, but not in 30 years - in 100 years. This poll has been taken every year since 1999. My guess has remained 2029, and the consensus view of AI experts is now also 2029.
Everything's going to improve. We will be able to cure cancer and heart disease, and so on, using simulated biology - and extend our lives. The average life expectancy was 30 in 1800; it was 48 in 1900; it's now pushing 80. I predict that we'll reach "longevity escape velocity" by 2029. Now, as you go forward a year, you're using up a year of your longevity, but you're actually getting back about three or four months from scientific progress. So, actually, you haven't lost a year; you've lost eight or nine months. By 2029, you'll get back that entire year from scientific progress. As we go past 2029, you'll actually get back more than a year.
Most movies about AI have an "us versus them" mentality, but that's really not the case. This is the result of our own efforts to make our infrastructure and our way of life more intelligent. It's part of human endeavour. We merge with our machines. Ultimately, they will extend who we are. Our mobile phone, for example, makes us more intelligent and able to communicate with each other. It might not be literally connected to you, but nobody leaves home without one. It's like half your brain.
Denne historien er fra July 14, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra July 14, 2023-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Starlink's conquest of the Amazon leaves Brazil in a dilemma
The helicopter swooped into one of the most inaccessible corners of the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian special forces commandos leaped from it into the caiman-inhabited waters below.
Dalai Lama's mountain town feels the strain of tourist boom
SUVs and saloon cars pass slowly along McLeod Ganj's narrow one-way Jogiwara Road, blaring horns at pedestrians and scooter riders and playing loud music.
'I am all the world' The brutal rule of a West Bank settler
Palestinians tell ofblacklisted Yakov's reign across the Jabal Salman valley and heisjust one of many violent bosses
Stormy waters New flashpoint emerges in South China Sea dispute
Hopes that tensions in the South China Sea might ease have been short lived.
'Justice delayed' Why trust in public inquiries to bring closure is fading
After the final report of the Grenfell fire inquiry was published, Hisam Choucair, who lost six family members in the blaze, said: \"We did not ask for this inquiry... It's delayed the justice my family deserves.\"
Celeriac soup with almond pangrattato
I'm not ashamed to say that as soon as September hits, my stick blender comes out. Just as I embrace salads when the clocks go forward in the UK, I wholeheartedly throw myself into soup season once the summer holidays end. Autumn is approaching in the northern hemisphere and I'm ready with my ladle. Celeriac is one of my favourite soup heroes, because it gives the creamiest, silkiest finish with little effort. You don't have to make the almond pangrattato, but it is a wonderful addition.
Are smoke signals telling me to make an oil change in the kitchen?
Should you that is, not can you) cook with extra-virgin olive oil? Antonio, Atlanta, Georgia, US
Going underground
A darkly humorous encounter between an American spy-cop and the members ofan eco-commune she is hired to infiltrate
All work and no play
Hard Graft, a powerfulnew London exhibition, focuses onworkers’ exploitation, from the ruined hands ofa washerwoman to mothers forced to sell their bodies
What the princess and the shaman tell us about hereditary privilege
It should have been an Instagram-perfect wedding image, but it turned out to be something more embarrassing.
