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Why do we need human mathematicians anymore?

293 points · 384 comments · auggierose

  1. twelve40 · · focus · HN ↗
    > We (humans) should help humanity flourish. I understand that not everyone agrees. I have been called a “speciesist” for being “too human-centric”.

    this is insane. the "speciesist" people aside (the best way for all other species to flourish is for humans to eradicate themselves right now, which is completely mad), i have the opposite problem: the _axiom_ seems to be: we should help ME flourish. "Me" as in people who are raking in trillions for their own very special selves right now, at the cost of everyone else's future, while none of them can be trusted to hold my cell phone for a second.

    > if an industry commits to the axiom of helping humanity flourish

    where does he see such industries, outside of maybe nonprofits?

    1. sinuhe69 · · focus · HN ↗
      As I understand you referred to Elon Musk. But this is Poh Shen Loh talking. If you don’t know who he is, look up or at least read his articles.
      1. twelve40 · · focus · HN ↗
        weird bias by authority aside, do you really think that the daily decisions in this world today, and anytime soon, will be made based on the "let humanity flourish axiom"?
        1. sinuhe69 · · focus · HN ↗
          In daily decisions perhaps not, and certainly not when we were in the cave. But from time to time, we will face fundamental questions that need addressing clearly and decisively, and I believe it’s the case with AI. The more advances we make, the more frequent such questions will arise. That is also one of the main reasons why we don’t see any alien civilization. It’s getting harder and harder to keep the entropy low as we gain more knowledges and cognitive power.
          1. buildingapcin20 · · focus · HN ↗
            How's humanity tackling that climate change question then? Lots of talk. Even lots of action I would argue. And yet, not enough. Why do you think that's going to change with discussions around AI when there are trillions of dollars at stake?
            1. sinuhe69 · · focus · HN ↗
              Because it will never change if you not try.
              1. palmotea · · focus · HN ↗
                > Because it will never change if you not try.

                That's why it's important to convince people to not try. It reduces the medium term risk to investor returns.

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