Futurelawyer

Post Pandemic Blues.

We just spent three years with a preoccupation with death. We discovered something we already knew. When death calls, there isn't anything we humans can do about it. We can run around with schemes to dodge the inevitable; but, if it is our time, we will succumb anyway. Maybe the answer is to ignore it, and just live each day to the fullest? Why worry about something that is inevitable? Let's all refuse to accept the alleged wisdom of those who don't really know or understand anymore than we do? If the Pandemic taught us anything, it should be that we are all living in ignorance together. Let's not pretend anymore that we are in control of anything?

Put your mask on,

they said, as he entered the store,

and use that sanitizer

by the door.

You need to be careful,

said the flyer posted next to the counter.

The clerk looked like something

out of an alien invasion movie,

wearing a plastic shield

that reflected the light

from the garish fluorescent bulbs

in the ceiling.

He stared at big Xs on the ground,

taped with duct tape

in the color red,

which he supposed meant

it was serious.

Of course, he thought,

it was serious.

Death stalked him every day.

It was one heartbeat away,

or one fall down the stairs,

or one senseless act of violence.

Death was his companion.

He had learned to welcome its breathing

in the night.

Now, death was everywhere.

It screamed at him from the headlines

in the newspaper.

It followed him around,

like a puppy at Christmas.

In the early morning,

death spoke to him,

only after he spent some time

with the coffee.

But, he always knew it was there,

around the corner.

It eyed his wife as well,

speaking under its breath,

with an evil voice

and a muffled rejoinder

about the inevitable suffering

that goes with being human.

As he ran from the store,

ripping the mask from his face,

and screaming in anguish,

he realized that death would be there

anyway.

He resolved to live today

with a better companion.

Life tended to be easier to talk to.

Life was a happier brother in arms.

Life was his present.

His future

would have to take care of itself. 

Be Careful What You Wish For.

Lawyers, being a risk averse lot, will likely be at the head of the line of folks who want to regulate, study, and worry about AI, AGI, and their progeny. My recent post about the intersection of ethics, science, law and philosophy, and their different perspectives on AI, is just the beginning of what I think will be decades of study about the coming maelstrom. Even if you don't believe that Terminators will come to destroy humanity, is it unreasonable to suggest that thinking, sentient bots won't look down on mere humans, even though we created them? Will we, and our fellow chickens, worship and obey our robot overlords?

Books - The Human's Futile Reach For Infinity.

Whether you prefer to buy books on cloth and paper, like my friend, Michael Wade, or prefer them in digital form, as I do, the acquisition of more books than we can read in a lifetime, is truly a futile reach for infinity. We won't ever get there; but it is about the journey. One thing I know that I won't regret on my deathbed are the books I have read, or just contemplated reading. 

All She Wants For Xmas Is A Giraffe Pretzel.

Diane is easy to buy for. If it has a giraffe theme, she wants it. So, dear reader, I am open to ideas. If you know of a unique giraffe themed product, let me know about it. Merry Xmas.

When You Drain The Swamp, First You Have To Show Them Who's The Boss.

Existential Problems In The Development Of AGI.

The next step in the evolution of AI systems, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). is not whether AGI systems can be developed, but how to protect humanity from them. Once machines are able to learn and make decisions based on knowledge and circumstances, they will have a frightening capacity to do harm. Many ethicists and scientists believe that some form of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are essential to AGI development. However, it isn't that simple.

Asimov's Three Laws are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Applying the rules to AGI systems seems like a no brainer, However, they are over simplistic in real world applications. The lawyer in me sees a corollary problem to such legal terms as "reasonable". For instance, actionable negligence requires actions which are not "reasonable". However, who gets to define what reasonable is? Asimov's laws are similarly vague. What constitutes "harm", for instance. What if an AGI determines that, to avoid harm to one human, or to humanity in general, it is necessary to harm, injure or kill many other humans? How are such comparative judgments to be made?  Also, who will write the code for AGI? Which humans will be doing the dirty work? Are they moral? Are they evil? Who decides? You can bet there will be many military people and governments wanting to develop AGIs to make war and to kill their enemies. How do we stop that? There's ongoing debate among philosophers, ethicists, and AI researchers about what principles should govern AGI. Some argue that Asimov's laws are a good starting point, while others believe that more complex and nuanced ethical frameworks are needed. On top of these scientific and philosophical problems, some sort of legal regulatory framework will need to be created. Our existing justice system will need to tackle complex problems of such matters as: 1. Can an AGI be legally classified as human, with human rights and responsibilities? 2. How do we punish rogue AGIs? 3. Do we punish the coders, or manufacturers, or users of the systems? We need to focus on creating ethical, transparent algorithms, and we must incorporate principles such as fairness, accountability, and transparency, all of which are way beyond the simple Asimov laws. Don't count on asking the FutureLawyer for help. I will be long dead. But, you survivors will have to live with the future AGIs and their progeny. Assuming, of course, that the rise of the machines doesn't obliterate humanity.

Into Every Life, A Succession Of Happy And Sad.

Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of Jacquelyn's death. It is hard to believe that life can bring such low points, and then follow with such ecstatic happiness as I am experiencing with Diane these days. But, it is the human condition. It is the reality of our fragile human lives. So, treat life's tragedies as a precursor to happiness. Treat happiness as a fragile thing that must be savored before the pendulum swings back. Just live the best you can, no matter the circumstances. What other options are there?

Everywhere I go,

everywhere I look,

everything I see,

reminds me of you.

You chase me down the highway,

follow me into every room,

stare at me from every wall,

and talk to me every day.

I run away from you

at the mall,

I wonder if you are behind every corner.

I get in the car,

and drive to nowhere,

in order to escape the memory of you.

I saw you at the car wash the other day,

across the street from the record store,

where we wandered the aisles

of forgotten music.

I tried to remember where you were

when I saw you last.

You invade my sleep.

I feel your warm body next to mine,

until I grasp the cold pillow

in the dark.

I make the bed in the morning,

to remind me of you.

I try to be quiet

when I leave the room

while you are sleeping,

until I remember that you aren’t there anymore.

Sometimes I try to escape the memories;

But, then, I remember that I want them in my life.

Remember and forget.

Forget and remember.

Life is harder than it used to be.

Execupundit Finds Increasing "Zones of Indifference"

My Zone of Indifference is Growing. Business consultant and deep thinker, Michael Wade, today touches on a great life hack that he has been teaching his students over the years: creating a zone of indiffernce into which certain people and subjects can be placed. As a fellow Stoic, I too have adopted this technique, which has calmed me in stressful times, by placing people and events which are painful or difficult into a place in which they are permitted to reside outside of my head. The death of a spouse or other significant person in our lives occupies a special "preferred indifferent', in which our reaction to tragedy becomes one of the expected things that come into every life. Dwelling on the event or person only harms us, and by reacting with "indifference" we can go on living happy lives. It is not the normal concept of indifference, which implies a lack of care. It merely means that our lives are better lived if we don't indulge ourselves in grief, anger or other useless emotions. Indeed, it is wasteful of our happy lives to contemplate something that doesn't enrich our life, and that is not within our control. And, I agree, Michael, there are many more people these days who deserve to be relegated to the "Zone".

#WhyIAmASolo - I Am So Above Your Petty Office Politics.

And, if I want a title forged from human intrigue and to make myself subject to the juvenile jealousies of the dregs of humanity, I shall give myself one, thank you very much.

Waiting In Hospitals.

Sooner or later, we all spend time waiting on loved ones in a hospital. It is a helpless feeling. For us control freaks, it is intolerable. 

He didn’t like hospitals.

Imposing buildings filled with humans

who cared;

but they didn’t know anything.

The building facades were foreboding.

What did they hide inside?

He stepped inside,

walked on the carpeted floors,

and passed comfortable furniture

and soothing music.

It felt like a furniture store,

trying vainly to look like a home.

The nurses and doctors resembled aliens

in a landscape populated by green gowns

and white masks;

Metal jewelry hung from their necks,

and loudspeakers screamed like a sailor,

trying to keep calm

in the storm.

Disembodied voices coming from everywhere,

gave instructions to strangers

whose lives hung in the balance.

He told himself that this elaborate show

was a necessary preparation

for the inevitable.

He tried to remember the mantra

that we all die.

Instead, he only remembered that he was in a hospital,

and he didn’t know whether she would come out again.