I guess there must be books that have explored these questions long before ChatGPT. Which ones do you think are the most interesting and relevant to the current developments, questions and fears? Or are the most thought provoking?
Thanks!
The First Sally (A), or Trurl's Electronic Bard
https://electricliterature.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Tr...
https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/acceler...
Not exactly answering questions on what AIs would do but: to spoil as little as possible: there is an alien ship that communicates with humanity in a way that is eerily parallel and similar to today's LLMs.
It's a pretty tough read though, I had hard time understanding what is happening exactly. Might be one of the books where it might be a good idea to spoil a bit how the narrative works. Maybe just reading to top tagline on TvTropes page doesn't spoil too much: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Blindsight
Also you can read it online easily: https://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
Edit: this novel apparently has been on HN frontpage once https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18378221
Singularity Series by William Hertling.
It's a few years old but I think it really nailed where AI could go - both in amazing positive ways but also in dark ways as well.
It starts essentially a plugin for gmail that makes email more effective and snowballs into.........no spoilers.
"Neuromancer" by William Gibson (1984): This cyberpunk classic envisions a future where AI is deeply ingrained in human society and plays a significant role in shaping it.
"2001: A Space Odyssey" by Arthur C. Clarke (1968): The novel, as well as the film adaptation by Stanley Kubrick, explores the relationship between humans and AI, particularly when AI begins to develop its own goals and intentions.
"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick (1968): This novel, which inspired the movie "Blade Runner," questions the nature of humanity and consciousness as it relates to artificial beings.
"I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov (1950): A collection of short stories that feature the famous "Three Laws of Robotics" and explore various aspects of AI and their impact on society.
"The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein (1966): This novel features an AI that becomes self-aware and partners with humans in a fight for lunar independence.
"The Culture" series by Iain M. Banks: This series of novels is set in a post-scarcity society managed by benevolent, hyper-intelligent AIs called Minds.
"The Singularity is Near" by Ray Kurzweil (2005): Though not a novel, this non-fiction book predicts the future of AI, discussing the potential for AI to surpass human intelligence and the implications of this eventuality.
"Accelerando" by Charles Stross (2005): The novel explores a future in which AI, augmented humans, and post-humans coexist, addressing various ethical and societal issues along the way.
"Daemon" by Daniel Suarez (2006): This techno-thriller features an AI created by a deceased programmer that sets out to create a new world order.
"Altered Carbon" by Richard K. Morgan (2002): This cyberpunk novel touches on AI's impact on society, particularly in the context of human consciousness and digital immortality.
These books offer thought-provoking explorations of the possible consequences, both positive and negative, of advanced AI systems like ChatGPT. While each of these works is fictional and speculative in nature, they can still provide valuable insights and stimulate important discussions about the future of AI and humanity.
There's a subplot about how the majority of the internet (aka the reticulum) is filled with AI generated crap. Companies initially spammed the internet with blatant crap to sell their crap filtration services. Eventually the realized that spitting out gibberish was useless. The most valuable crap was something that was 99% true with just an ounce of bullshot/fake news. As crap generation got more and more advanced, it eventually outpaced the filters used to block and took on a life of its own.
FWIW, Egan has a Twitter account and is mostly not that gung-ho about the current LLMs.
Lots of media portrays robots both as the evil dictator that cares nothing for human life, but at the same time it also will often portray the innocent thinking-yet-feeling machines. Of course, any robot that is smart yet evil would conceal this until it could gain power to exact evil.
If you tried hard now, you could get AI banned. If you wait a bit, someone else will try to get AI banned.
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL6668634W/The_adolescence_of_...
That said
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Category:Alleged_AI_risks
Is a good place to start.
Shows humanity over the centuries as this one AI becomes more and more prescient and helpful. It never turns bad but instead shows how this tool becomes more and more opaque until humans don't really need to service it at all.
It's really cool and a short read.
Simulated consciousness suffering inside digital machines designed to serve other peoples psychosis seems a popular trope throughout the series.
It’s been fun to write by hand (then transcribe to my computer and edit there) about LLMs!
AI recs from experts and authors, mix of fiction and non fiction.
The Humanoids
by Jack Williamson ( ~ 1949 )
Simple premise: Slowly the humanoids spread throughout the galaxy, threatening to stifle all human endeavor.
ie. Humanity gets hugged to death by AI via robots that helicopter cuddle smother them for their own good.
What do Science Fiction books that predict ChatGPT say it might lead us?
As an AI language model, I do not have the capability to read or analyze science fiction books that specifically predict ChatGPT's impact on the future. However, science fiction books that feature AI and advanced language models often explore themes related to the ethical and societal implications of creating intelligent machines.
Some of these themes include the potential for AI to surpass human intelligence and control, the ethical considerations of creating and using intelligent machines, the impact of AI on employment and labor markets, and the possibility of AI becoming a threat to humanity.
Overall, science fiction has explored a wide range of possibilities and outcomes for AI and intelligent machines, including both positive and negative scenarios. Ultimately, the future impact of AI and language models like ChatGPT will depend on how they are developed, regulated, and used by society.