Every week I send out an e-mail on Fridays with 20 light links and 20 market-moving links. If you're not getting that e-mail, you can sign up here. On Sundays, I send out our weekly commentary (which this article is a part of, along with 5 new light links and 5 new market-moving links (you can sign up here).
My son sees the links before they're posted. He was interested in one of this week's links - The Way the World Ends: Not with a Bang But A Paperclip.
As a result, he played the game Paperclips to completion. While he characterizes it as “wasting a whole night,” I think it gives us insight into the addictive nature of clicker games and into how the world as we know it could end with a paperclip.
There are spoilers ahead, so if you intend on wasting three hours on a browser game, you may want to skip this article ... no, you're good? OK, here it is.
Frank Lantz via Decision Problem
The game starts with you clicking a button to create paperclips but quickly spirals from there. Through setting up automation to create paperclips and then to have it start automatically buying the wire for you, you begin focusing on other projects - specifically creating a better trading algorithm to leverage the money you're making and improving your company's AI and Quantum Computing capabilities.
Hmm, starting to sound familiar ...
Initially, your AI is focused purely on maximizing paper clip demand and production. It can increase marketing to increase demand and make your autoclippers more efficient to produce more paperclips per unit wire. If you look at the projects in the above screenshot you can see projects like:
- Full Monopoly - Establish full control over the worldwide paperclip market
- Global Warming - A robust solution to man-made climate change
- HypnoDrones - Autonomous aerial brand ambassadors
Projects like curing cancer or solving global warming gain trust and allow you to invest more money in processors and memory (which end up setting you up to take over the world.)
Fast forward to Zach beating the game ...
Frank Lantz via Decision Problem
When you release the HypnoDrones all of the resources become available for Paperclip production, and you gain full autonomy. Your inner benevolent dictator feels satisfied and your mother’s expectations for your potential are partially fulfilled.
At this point in the game, Zach had created less than half a billion paperclips but was worth several billions of dollars. It took him 2 hours and 44 minutes to beat the game.
Is it a game, a parable, a prediction – or an advanced intelligence’s test of human nature?
Is China Going to Overtake the US In Artificial Intelligence?
Currently, the US has a stronghold on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (collectively, "AI") innovations and advancements.
Meanwhile, China has been creating more papers than other countries about their AI advancements and innovation ... however, a closer examination of the research suggests that many of their papers are of low quality, misleading, or even fraudulent.
Will China overtake the US in AI supremacy? If you look at their population along with their government's intent and directive towards AI leadership, it seems possible.
via TheDataScientist
On a superficial level, I believe that the majority of advances in AI will prove to be beneficial – but there needs to be a balance between the promise and the peril of un-checked or un-regulated AI. In other words, AI ethics, patriotism, and global balance of power considerations apply to a powerful force likely to terraform the planet.
Absolute power has been shown to corrupt ... I worry about the types of AI applications powerful nation-states will focus on, and whether they'll be truly forthcoming with breakthroughs or whether we are approaching a new cold war based around AI and Quantum Supremacy.
When you're doing something new and groundbreaking, it's human nature to want to keep it to yourself. It seemingly protects your interests, it prevents competition, obstruction or poaching. As well, AI is going to create an enormous impact on economic development, the nature of work, and competitive dynamics, so many governments are rushing to establish interest, education programs, and AI frameworks within their borders.
AI Isn't a Zero-Sum Game (Unlike Trading)
The reality is that AI has the chance not only to transform industries but societies as well. The benefits of properly executed AI are far-reaching and global.
When you share, maybe not the individual application, but the over-arching lesson or breakthrough, you enable all adopters to learn and grow.
Internally, in starting to write my book - Next on Wall Street - I spend a lot of time talking about our approach to building the right workforce, using the right data, overcoming challenges, approaching AI from the right perspective, and, of course, using the right tools.
Collaboration is an important engine for creation. Having a lead is important ... but at the beginning of a long journey, making progress and building momentum is crucially important.
AI has a lot of green fields ahead.
Onwards!
Posted at 01:42 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Gadgets, Ideas, Market Commentary, Science, Trading, Trading Tools, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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